Rangers Beat Angels

ARLINGTON, Texas — April is no longer the cruelest month for the Texas Rangers.

After a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, the Rangers finished April with a 14-10 record and in first place in the American League West.

A year ago, the Rangers limped out of April with a 7-14 record. They eventually rebounded to win the division, but this year the Rangers are sailing into May.

“We’ve played well,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “I don’t mark the calendar with the end of the month. We continue to go. There’s a lot of baseball ahead of us.”

Mitch Moreland’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run third inning for the Rangers.

Texas has won four straight after snapping a four-game losing streak.

Rangers starter Derek Holland (3-1) made sure the outburst was enough by

throwing six scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and no walks.

It was during the disastrous April of 2015 that Holland suffered an injury in his first start, causing him to miss four months.

“Thank God it’s over and we’re past April,” Holland said. “I’m a little excited about that.”

Leadoff hitter Rougned Odor led the Rangers with three doubles. He also had one crafty slide into third to avoid a tag and advance on a fly ball to left.

“Whether he’s at the top of the lineup, middle of the lineup, or bottom of the lineup, Rougie’s going to be a force for us,” Banister said.

The Angels did not score until the ninth inning when Albert Pujols homered.

The Rangers, who also won 4-2 on Friday, assured themselves of the series win over their American League West rivals. The Angels came to Arlington after a three-game sweep of World Series champion Kansas City.

Both teams’ aces, the Angels’ Garrett Richards and the Rangers’ Cole Hamels, square off in the series finale on Sunday at Globe Life Park.

A shaky ninth inning by Texas reliever Phil Klein kept the Angels from being shut out. Pujols’ solo shot was followed by a double by Kole Calhoun, who scored on a bloop single by C.J. Cron.

The Rangers erupted for six runs in the third for a 7-0 lead. At one point in the inning, the Rangers were 8-for-8 with a sacrifice fly.

It all started after a lengthy delay for a replay review. After a single by Delino DeShields, Odor lashed a ball down the right-field line.

Initially, the ball was ruled foul, with Odor showing his displeasure as he ran toward first. A video review showed chalk flying when the ball landed. Odor was given a double, and the speedy DeShields was sent to third.

The Rangers went on to pound out eight hits in the inning, the biggest a three-run blast to right field by Moreland.

After coming out on the wrong side of two replay reviews on Friday, Angels manager Mike Scioscia didn’t feel victimized by video.

“The ball was definitely fair, so you get second and third with nobody out instead of a guy on first base and a strike,” Scioscia said. “It’s a different situation, but the ball was fair. It’s not like we lost anything.”

After the Moreland homer, Angels starter Matt Shoemaker gave up a double to Elvis Andrus, his ninth batter in the inning, and was replaced by Jose Alvarez.

Shoemaker allowed nine hits — five for extra bases — in 2 1/3 innings. But it was the one bad inning that bedeviled him.

“I’ve got to find a way to stop that,” Shoemaker said. “It was a big inning. One or none there and we’re still in the game.

“I’ve got no excuse of bad luck, and I’m just trying to figure out a way to stop that. Three out of five games I can’t get back three or four innings. That’s unacceptable.”

The Rangers posted a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Odor led off with a double and scored three batters later on a Prince Fielder double.

The Angels’ highlight in the early going was a diving catch in right field by Calhoun, who was horizontal when he snared Andrus’ liner in the second.

Yunel Escobar tripled to lead off the game but was stranded.

Cron hit a two-out triple in the second that Rangers rookie Nomar Mazara kept from the leaving the ballpark by leaping at the wall and getting a glove on it. Cron was stranded after Carlos Perez flied out.

“It was a big offensive night for us, in the one inning,” Banister said. “You’d like to continue to spread those at-bats out and continue to add on. Seven runs was enough tonight.”

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