LA Angels 12, Texas 6
When: 7:05 PM ET, Sunday, July 5, 2015
Where: Globe Life Park in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Temperature:
91°
Umpires:
Home -
Tom Woodring, 1B -
Tim Welke, 2B -
Tim Timmons, 3B -
Todd Tichenor
Attendance:
28638
By The Sports Xchange
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Whatever the Los Angeles Angels found to spark their offense this weekend, manager Mike Scioscia hopes they can bottle it and use it the rest of the season.
Right fielder Kole Calhoun had four RBIs, one of seven Angels with run-scoring hits, and Los Angeles finished off a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 12-6 victory Sunday.
Calhoun capped a big weekend by going 2-for-5, including a three-run home run in the Angels' four-run fifth. He did his part to jump-start a sluggish offense and make a winner out of left-hander C.J. Wilson (7-6).
The Angels, winners of seven of their past eight games, entered the series with a minus-2 run differential but left Texas at plus-23 after outscoring the Rangers 33-8. Los Angeles had 47 hits in the series, including 20 with runners in position.
"It seemed everybody scored a run or had a hit," Wilson said. "That's what we really need is a wide contribution. When you can stretch the lineup and score runs with the 5 through 9 guys (in the batting order), that helps a lot.
"We've been playing good baseball. We're playing the type of baseball we need to play deep into the season."
For the series, Calhoun went 6-for-14 with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs. Calhoun, though, was merely one of a number of Angels who clobbered Texas pitching.
First baseman C.J. Cron matched a career high with four hits Sunday, including a run-scoring double in the fifth, his seventh RBI in two days and eighth in the series.
Second baseman Johnny Giavotella had two hits and two RBIs, as did designated hitter Albert Pujols, who connected on his AL-leading 25th home run in the fourth for Los Angeles (44-38).
Shortstop Erick Aybar, who collected his ninth hit of the series, center fielder Mike Trout and third baseman David Freese each had an RBI. The Angels finished with 15 hits.
"For a stretch this year, we've struggled with situational hitting," Scioscia said. "We did a good job in this series moving runners. It was a good offensive series for us."
Wilson won for the fourth time in his past five outings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings.
Texas designated hitter Prince Fielder, a .444 career hitter against Wilson, had two more hits, including a solo home run in the second.
The Rangers' offense entered having scored two or fewer runs in 11 of the previous 16 games, but it finally showed a little life by producing two runs in both the sixth and the seventh.
First baseman Mitch Moreland and shortstop Elvis Andrus had RBI singles in the sixth, and second baseman Rougned Odor wound up with three RBIs, including a two-run home run in the seventh. Texas had 11 hits, but only three in the first five innings.
Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis (8-4) gave up 10 runs on 12 hits and two walks over four innings.
Lewis' outing mirrored Texas' struggles in the rotation, which sustained some welts over the three-game series. The Rangers (41-42) saw their starters yield 26 hits and post an 8.33 ERA in the three losses.
"We hit some balls hard all series long that were hit right at fielders," Texas manager Jeff Banister said. "Everything they hit found the outfield grass.
"I don't get concerned. We're going to challenge our guys to get better. I'm not concerned. We have a group of players ... they'll find a way."
The Angels scored three in the first on run-scoring singles from Calhoun and Pujols plus Aybar's sacrifice fly.
Two runs in each of the second and third gave Wilson a healthy cushion.
Giavotella accounted for an RBI in each inning with a sacrifice fly and a base hit. Trout added a run-scoring single in the second, and Freese, who entered the game with hits in four of his previous eight at-bats in the series, drove in Cron with the Angels' seventh run.
The pile-on continued. Pujols drove Lewis' 3-2 pitch 378 feet into the left field seats in the fourth, and the Angels struck for four more in the fifth.
Cron's double scored left fielder Matt Joyce, and with one out, Calhoun cleared the bases with a three-run home run to center, giving Wilson a 12-1 lead.
"Pujols and Trout have obviously carried our offense all year, but Cron had a great series, Aybar had an enormous series, Calhoun swung the bat well," Wilson said.
"When the NTP offense -- the not Trout-Pujols -- are going, that's going to spread it all out. We're trending in the right direction."
NOTES: Angels OF Mike Trout was selected to start his third consecutive All-Star Game. Trout, who will be making his fourth appearance in the game, joins Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew and Vladimir Guerrero as the only Angels to earn at least three consecutive fan-elected starts. ... Texas activated OF Delino DeShields off the disabled list before the game and optioned INF Hanser Alberto to Triple-A Round Rock. DeShields hit leadoff and went 2-for-4 with two runs. ... Rangers OF Josh Hamilton did not play for a second consecutive day due to a sore groin. He is day-to-day, manager Jeff Banister said.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
LA Angels |
|
Texas |
C.J. Wilson
|
Player |
Colby Lewis
|
Win |
W/L |
Loss |
6.0 |
IP |
4.0 |
4 |
Strikeouts |
1 |
6 |
Hits |
12 |
4.50 |
ERA |
22.50 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
LA Angels
|
15 |
2 |
24 |
.385 |
19 |
2 |
12 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
Texas
|
11 |
2 |
22 |
.297 |
13 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
0 |