Rangers start slowly, then erupt to hammer Angels
Four different Rangers drove in a pair of runs apiece as Texas rallied from an early three-run hole to rout the Los Angeles Angels 12-7 on Monday night in Arlington, Texas.
Shin-Soo Choo, Joey Gallo and Asdrubal Cabrera each hit home runs, while Gallo, Cabrera, Nomar Mazara and Isiah Kiner-Falefa has two RBIs apiece.
Cabrera's two-run blast in the sixth capped a three-run inning and a surge of 10 runs over four innings that vaulted Texas from a 4-1 deficit in the middle of third to a commanding 11-4 lead after six.
Cabrera, who doubled to right and scored in the second inning, and Gallo, who went 3-for-5, each hit their fifth home run of the season. All of Cabrera's blasts have come at home.
Texas crushed Los Angeles pitching for a dozen hits through six innings and 14 overall to go with seven walks. The Rangers knocked out Angels starter Trevor Cahill after four innings. Cahill gave up four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two.
The Angels got little relief from their bullpen. Cam Bedrosian (1-1) surrendered four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk with one strikeout. Jake Jewell then allowed three more runs on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in one inning.
Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus saw his batting average dip below .400 with a 1-for-5 night, but he still provided a double to lead off a four-run fifth inning. He took third on a wild pitch and scored on Gallo's infield single.
Andrus' run-scoring groundout in the seventh made it 12-5.
Kole Calhoun, 3-for-5 on the night, cut the Texas' lead to 12-7 with a two-run homer off Kyle Bird in the eighth.
Bird imploded in the ninth after retiring the first two batters. He hit Brian Goodwin and walked the next two batters to load the bases and force manager Chris Woodward to go to Jose Leclerc. The Texas closer immediately went 3-0 to Zack Cozart before getting the third baseman to ground out and end the game on a 3-2 fastball.
Mike Trout returned to the lineup after missing three games with a groin strain. He went 0-for-2 with three walks and scored twice, both times driven home by Goodwin. First, he scored in the first inning on Goodwin's second home run of the season, a two-run shot that helped the Angels to an early 3-0 lead. Goodwin then scored Trout with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Rangers starter Shelby Miller failed to get out of the fifth inning, surrendering four runs on six hits and three walks with no strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. But Texas was steadied by reliever Kyle Dowdy (1-0), who tossed 2 2/3 effective innings, and an offense that produced six extra-base hits.
--Field Level Media
