Miracle Meck: Wade Meckler walks it off in Angels win

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Since the he arrived on the Major League roster, outfielder Wade Meckler has given the Los Angeles Angels a lift and level of intensity that has been sorely needed. On Thursday against the Minnesota Twins, he came through once again. 

The day began with standout rookie Walbert Ureña on the mound and he did not disappoint. 

After facing some trouble in the first with runners at the corners, Ureña buckled down with his patented mix of triple-digit fastballs and sinkers to carve through the Twins lineup. He finished the day with seven scoreless innings pitched while allowing just four hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. 

Ureña's Dominant Day

It was the best start of Ureña's season, and thus career. But manager Kurt Suzuki took it a step further.

"That might have been one of the best starts I've seen, honestly. Up there with [starts] that I've ever caught either," Suzuki said.

Both Ureña and Suzuki separately said that the Halos right-hander made the right adjustments by keeping the ball down in the zone. 

What stood out as well was Ureña's aggressiveness to get ahead early in counts and what that did to set up Minnesota's batters to play right into his hands.

"I think every time I have the count, that helps me a lot because it makes the hitters more aggressive," Ureña said. "That's better for me because I get a lot of ground balls and early contact."

Ureña needed to be as sharp as he was considering that after a three-run first inning powered by hits from Meckler, first baseman Moisés Ballesteros, third baseman Denzer Guzman and second baseman Oswald Peraza, the Angels offense once again went dormant. 

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Los Angeles Angels outfielder Wade Meckler (53) runs for the base during an MLB game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday September 17th, 2026 at Angel's Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.

That was fine when Ureña was dealing, but as soon as he left the mound for the last time things began to go awry. 

Twins Climb Back

The Twins put one on the board in the eighth inning and after two quick strikeouts from closer Ben Joyce in the ninth, a single from catcher Victor Caratini set the stage for outfielder Walker Jenkins to deliver his second home run of the season, a two-run shot, to tie the game 3-3. 

It was another example of Joyce's up-and-down season as the Angels closer, despite all the firepower he possesses, but Suzuki isn't willing to hold it against him. 

"I saw a lot of strikes. He threw a lot of strikes," Suzuki said. "Obviously, he got beat with his fastball, but I think the positive is he was throwing strikes tonight. He was attacking and the guy put a good swing on it."

Into Extras

Now the game looked to be an all-too painfully familiar story for the Angels. 

One of their biggest problems this season has been blowing games where they led through the eighth inning and this game was following the exact same pattern.

Things got dicey after a scoreless bottom of the ninth sent the game into extra innings and looked dicier still when third baseman Brooks Lee singled in shortstop Ben Ross to put the Twins ahead 4-3. 

Left-hander Blake Weiman was on the mound for the Angels at that point and soon found himself staring down bases loaded with two outs after intentionally walking pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers to set up the force out at any base. Yet Weiman kept his composure and struck first baseman Royce Lewis out swinging to escape the inning with just one run allowed. 

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Los Angeles Angels huddle up during an MLB game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday September 17th, 2026 at Angel's Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.

But the Angels were working from behind for the first time in the game and the pressure was on. 

There were three pivotal moments that set Meckler up for a major at-bat. 

The first was shortstop Zach Neto's boldness during his at-bat with one out. Neto challenged the first pitch of his at-bat, a strike call, and lost. Then he challenged the third pitch of that same at-bat and won, overturning a strike call and setting the stage for his walk. 

Then came outfielder Mike Trout, who quickly fell behind 0-2, fouled off two more, watched a ball go by, then watched strike three get called.

But Trout challenged as well and won, keeping his at-bat alive just long enough for him to rip a single up the middle that drove in outfielder Jose Siri, the designated runner, from second to tie the game.

John Panganiban-The Sporting Tribune

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout (27) during an MLB game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday September 17th, 2026 at Angel's Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.

Miracle Meck

Neto went from first to third on that same hit, putting the winning run just 90 feet away as Meckler, the Anaheim-native, feel good player of the season stepped up. 

Meckler didn't waste any time. He popped the first pitch he saw, a sinker way in on his hands, into right field to drive Neto home.

"I was just trying to get out of there in the at-bat as fast as possible," Meckler said about his first-pitch swinging approach.

It was Meckler's first walk-off of his career and in a season that has been so full of massive moments from the 26-year-old outfielder, but this one stands out as a special milestone for him. 

How special exactly, though, Meckler wouldn't say.

"It's my first career walk-off hit in the Big Leagues; it's a cool moment for me, obviously," Meckler said. "We'll see at the end of the year. I'm not really in the business of ranking them right now."