Rangers Lose To Angels
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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Los Angeles Angels claimed their major-league-leading 89th victory in front-running fashion, pounding the Texas Rangers 9-3 in front of a paltry crowd of 26,054 at Globe Life Park on Tuesday.
The Angels, who have put up 35 runs over their last three games, seem to be hitting their stride at the right time.
The Angels (89-55) have won six straight for the third time this season.
“We’re extremely confident,” said right fielder Kole Calhoun, who hit his 15th home run. “We’re in that stretch run, and it’s crunch time. Right now we are playing some great baseball.”
As has been the case for much of the season, the entire lineup got in on the action, with nine players scoring.
The Angels held a slim 2-1 lead for much of the game, but a seven-run outburst in the eighth inning thwarted any chance of a comeback.
Relievers Roman Mendez and Robbie Ross combined to give up six earned runs, allowing the Angels to bat around in the bottom half of the frame.
Center fielder Mike Trout drove in left fielder Collin Cowgill to start the scoring spree, crushing a line drive off the right-center-field wall for a triple.
“It seemed like all game we were waiting for that big hit and Trout gets the triple and we roll
from there,” Calhoun said. “It can be an explosive offense. We’ve got a lot of talented players, and if we’re all swinging the bat at the right times we can put up some big runs.”
The offensive binge continued as shortstop Erick Aybar hit a two-run, ground-rule double and Cowgill hit a three-run triple to make the score 9-1. Ross manage to get Calhoun out on strikes to put an end to an inning that lasted more than 45 minutes.
The Rangers added two runs in the bottom half of the inning on rookie first baseman Ryan Rua’s double to deep right, scoring third baseman Adrian Beltre and center fielder Leonys Martin.
The downward spiral continues for the Rangers (54-90), who lead the league with 90 losses — a mark they haven’t reached in more than a decade.
“This is a pretty potent offense we were facing tonight and the next two days,” Rangers interim manager Tim Bogar said.
Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis opened the game with three straight 88 mph fastballs, all for strikes. Calhoun watched the first two catch the outside corner of the plate, falling behind 0-2. He didn’t miss the third, lining it over the right-field fence for a 376-foot home run, his 15th homer of the season, to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Angels third baseman David Freese reached second base on an error by right fielder Michael Choice. After moving to third on Aybar’s groundout, Freese scored on designated hitter Brennan Boesch’s sacrifice fly to deep left-center, making the score 2-0.
The Rangers got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth on Beltre’s solo home run to center field, his 18th homer of the season.
Lewis finished strong, allowing three runs (two earned) on just five hits over seven innings. After undergoing hip surgery late last year, Lewis has shown marked improvement in the latter half of the season. Despite a lopsided win-loss record of 3-7 after the All-Star break, mostly due to the lack of run support, the right-hander has tallied a respectable 3.90 ERA while stretching out his starts to an average of 6.67 innings per game.
“I think he’s feeling healthy,” Bogar said. “He got stronger as the game went on. Colby has done a great job for us (this season).”
Despite the strong outing, Lewis was quick to downplay any individual praise, dismissing any comparison of his performance to his pre-surgery days.
“I don’t really like all the comparison of who I was before,” Lewis said, referring to his 2010 and 2011 seasons. “As the years go on, everybody learns and adjusts to their body and everybody finds a way to get it done, and I think that’s all I’m doing.”
Angels starter Hector Santiago notched his fifth win of the season, going five innings while allowing just one earned run on five hits.
“When we are this hot (offensively) it’s huge,” Santiago said, referring to the comfort level the offensive gives him. “It allows you to just go out there and pitch your game and try to keep the other team under three runs and know that (the offense) is going to put up six or seven.”
