Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers

ARLINGTON – It wasn’t quite Odysseus returning to Ithaca, but Ryan Johnson’s homecoming Saturday night was plenty memorable. The lanky 6-foot-6 right-hander came home to Dallas-Fort Worth, and he delivered the longest start of his career and arguably his best, holding Texas to one hit over seven scoreless innings. Johnson, a former Dallas Baptist University standout who was raised in the area, walked two and struck out three in earning his third win of the season in a 3-0 victory at Globe Life Field on Saturday. Michael Fulmer pitched the eighth, and right-hander Ryan Watson worked a perfect ninth for his second save of the season. Mike Trout, Moisés Ballesteros and Vaughn Grissom had run-scoring hits in the first, sixth and eighth innings for the Angels, respectively. Zach Neto went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and two runs scored for Los Angeles (52-78). “I didn't feel much pressure,” Johnson said about pitching in front of friends and family. “I was kind of just free. I felt like it's the preparation that got me here. I was able to trust in that and go out there, play and have fun.” Johnson (3-7) was in complete control while continuing to show marked improvement over his past four starts. During that stretch, Johnson has posted a 1.69 ERA, allowing four earned runs and 12 hits over 21 1/3 innings. He has walked 11 and struck out 13, producing a 1.08 WHIP. He also lowered his season ERA to 5.75. His best outing came Saturday. Johnson breezed through the Rangers’ lineup the first time around, facing the minimum number of hitters. His only hiccup was hitting Jake Burger with the third pitch of the third inning, but he was erased when Danny Jansen grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Johnson walked Joc Pederson to start the fourth, but retired the next three hitters, thanks partly to Christian Moore’s fantastic sliding stab of Corey Seager’s hard ground ball.