Mike Trout leads offense and George Klassen earns 1st MLB win as Angels top Rangers 5-2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout had three hits and two RBIs, Jose Siri keyed a three-run sixth inning with a pinch-hit RBI double, and George Klassen earned his first major league win in the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-2 comeback victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.

Klassen (1-1) gave up two runs and five hits over six innings, striking out five and walking one in his fourth career start. Angels reliever Blake Weiman threw a scoreless seventh before giving up two hits and striking out one in the eighth.

Ryan Watson replaced Weiman and escaped the two-on, one-out jam. Ben Joyce, who missed most of the past two seasons because of shoulder injuries, retired the side in order in the ninth for his fifth career save and first since Sept. 1, 2024.

Texas (60-61) dropped 1 1/2 games behind first-place Houston in the AL West.

The Angels trailed 2-1 when Moisés Ballesteros opened the sixth with a single off reliever Robby Ahlstrom (3-1) and was erased on Vaughn Grissom’s fielder’s-choice grounder.

Siri, batting for Josh Lowe, tied it 2-all with his RBI double to left-center and stole third without a throw. Oswald Peraza was hit by a pitch. Siri then scored on Denzer Guzman’s safety squeeze, beating reliever Peyton Gray’s flip home with a headfirst slide for a 3-2 lead. Trout’s two-out RBI single made it 4-2.

Adam Frazier’s RBI single off the first-base bag made it 5-2 in the seventh and snapped a string of 16 straight games in which the Angels scored four runs or fewer.

Texas took a 1-0 lead in the second when Evan Carter and Elias Diaz singled, Nicky Lopez was hit by a pitch and Joc Pederson walked to force in a run. Corey Seager’s solo homer in the third, a towering drive to right, made it 2-0.

The Angels cut the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the third when Guzman singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Trout’s single, only the seventh RBI in 47 games since June 16 for the three-time AL MVP.

Rangers starter Cal Quantrill gave up one run and four hits in five innings, striking out six and walking three.

Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (8-7, 3.87 ERA) will face Angels RHP Walbert Ureña in Thursday night’s series finale.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Texas Rangers' Nicky Lopez smiles with Texas Rangers first base coach Travis Jankowski after being hit by a pitch in the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher George Klassen works against a Texas Rangers batter in the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cal Quantrill works against a Los Angeles Angels batter in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher George Klassen works against a Texas Rangers batter in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday, powered by gains for AI-related stocks including computer chips as regional markets tracked a rally on Wall Street.

U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices were slightly lower.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 advanced 1.6% to 68,601.21.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 4%, climbing to 6,844.65, as shares in Samsung Electronics surged 5.4%. Computer chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 7.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 3,967.28, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.5% to 3,967.65.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4% to 9,155.80.

On Wednesday, several AI-related companies reported better earnings for the spring than analysts expected, while a report showed inflation across the United States was in line with forecasts for a slight improvement.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% for its first gain since setting an all-time high on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Stocks in the artificial intelligence technology business helped lead the way after strong profit reports raised hopes they can continue to deliver big-enough growth to justify the huge gains their prices have made.

AI stocks recently have been on a roller-coaster ride, surging to records and then coming under pressure on worries that they have shot too high. Investors want to see big spenders on AI prove their investments are yielding enough in profits and productivity to make them worth it. That in turn could lead to sustained demand for chips and other AI infrastructure.

Treasury yields fell after a report showed that U.S. consumers paid prices for gasoline, groceries and other costs of living last month that were 3.4% higher than a year earlier. That’s higher than anyone would like, but it’s not as bad as June’s 3.5% inflation rate.

The moderation in inflation could give the Federal Reserve more leeway to hold off on hikes to interest rates. The Fed’s members are notably split about whether they should have already begun hiking interest rates. But Wednesday’s update on inflation pushed traders to pull back on bets the Fed will hike its main interest rate at its next meeting in September.

In other dealings early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude dipped slipped 0.3% to $83.06 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.1% to $88.89 a barrel, returning to where it has traded in recent days.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 159.30 Japanese yen from 159.42 yen. The euro cost $1.1526, down slightly from $1.1527.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

A dealer stands near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People walk in the rain near electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walk in front of an electronic stock chart board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock chart board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)