Texas’ Patrick Corbin will chase his first win since July 10 when he starts for the Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday evening in the second contest of a three-game series between the American League West rivals in Arlington, Texas.
The game will feature a battle of left-handers as Corbin (6-9, 4.61 ERA) opposes the Angels’ Yusei Kikuchi (6-8, 3.42).
Los Angeles took the first game of the series 4-0 on Monday behind a solid start on the mound from Jose Soriano, homers by Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe, and Travis d’Arnaud’s two RBIs.
Corbin will make his team-high-tying 25th start of the season for the Rangers. He is 0-2 over his past seven starts and has especially struggled in August, when he’s made four appearances, dropped both of his decisions and amassed an 11.48 ERA.
In his most recent start, Corbin allowed four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings in a game Texas lost 6-4 in Kansas City on Thursday. It was the fourth straight outing he had not gone more than 4 1/3 innings, and he’s walked 10 batters in 13 1/3 innings this month while striking out just eight.
“Maybe I’m trying to do too much,” Corbin said. “It’s been frustrating. I’m trying too much for strikeouts, maybe, not just attacking and trusting myself.”
Corbin is 3-0 with a 4.45 ERA in six lifetime starts covering 30 1/3 innings against the Angels. Two of those wins (and three of the appearances) came this season when he allowed six runs (five earned) on 15 hits over 15 1/3 innings.
Kikuchi heads to the hill for his final start in August after amassing a 2-1 record and a 4.09 ERA over his first four appearances in the month. He won on Aug. 4 at home against Tampa Bay and on Aug. 9 at Detroit before losing on the road against the Athletics on Aug. 15.
In his most recent start, Kikuchi did not get a decision despite allowing just one run on seven hits over seven innings at home against Cincinnati on Wednesday. He struck out four and did not issue a walk in the game Los Angeles won 2-1.
“He was more efficient,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said about Kikuchi’s 88-pitch performance against the Reds. “He threw the ball in the strike zone the majority of the time. He threw it where he wanted it. He kept them off balance.”
“There’s going to be more data; other teams are going to adjust to me as well,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter. “It’s a continuous chess match. I just have to see how the game goes and make adjustments.”
Kikuchi has faced the Rangers 11 times (10 starts) in his career, going 4-2 with a 5.02 ERA over 52 innings. He is 0-1 with a 4.41 ERA against Texas in three appearances in 2025.
The Rangers announced before the game on Monday that second baseman Marcus Semien will miss the rest of the regular season with a broken bone in his left foot. The last time Semien played fewer than 159 games in a full season was for the Athletics in 2017, when he appeared in just 85 games because of a right wrist contusion.
That also was Semien’s only other stint on the injured list.
“Hopefully we get back in this race, and we’ll see where we’re at by that time,” Semien said. “I’m gonna be watching for a little while here.”
The Rangers enter play Tuesday 5 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the hunt for the final American League wild-card spot.