ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Texas Rangers had a lead through five innings Wednesday night. By the end of the sixth, it was gone. The Los Angeles Angels scored three times against the Texas bullpen in the sixth and added another run in the seventh for a 5-2 win at Angel Stadium.
The Rangers fell to 60-61 and finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Texas scored its two runs in the second and third innings. Corey Seager had three of the Rangers’ seven hits, including a home run and a double, while Cal Quantrill allowed one run in five innings after moving back into the rotation.
Corey Seager Gives Texas an Early Lead
With two outs in the second, Evan Carter and Elias DÃaz singled before Nicky Lopez was hit by a pitch. Joc Pederson then drew a walk on a full count to score Carter.
The bases were still loaded for Brandon Nimmo, who grounded out on the first pitch.
Seager homered to right in the third. The solo shot put Texas ahead 2-0, and he later doubled as part of a 3-for-4 night.
In the bottom of the inning, Denzer Guzman reached on a single and moved to second on Quantrill’s wild pitch. Mike Trout singled him home.
That was all the Angels got against Quantrill. He finished with six strikeouts, three walks and four hits allowed over five innings.
Nathan Eovaldi went on the 15-day injured list this week with right posterior elbow inflammation. Quantrill had been working out of the bullpen before getting Wednesday’s start.
For Los Angeles, rookie George Klassen worked six innings despite entering with a 7.27 ERA. Texas got five hits and two runs against him, with Klassen striking out five and walking one.
In his fourth major league start, Klassen picked up his first win.
Angels Score Three in the Sixth
Texas turned the 2-1 lead over to Robby Ahlstrom for the sixth.
Moisés Ballesteros led off with a single, although he was erased when Vaughn Grissom grounded into a fielder’s choice. Pinch-hitter Jose Siri followed with a double into left-center, scoring Grissom from first and tying the game.
Siri stole third without a throw. Oswald Peraza was hit by a pitch, and Guzman put down a safety squeeze with one out. Siri slid in ahead of Peyton Gray‘s flip home.
Trout’s second RBI single of the night pushed the lead to 4-2. He had three hits in five at-bats.
Ahlstrom got only one out in the inning. The three runs went on his line, and his record dropped to 3-1.
The Angels picked up another run off Ben Peoples in the seventh. Zach Neto opened with a walk, and Adam Frazier later bounced an RBI single off the first-base bag.
Texas had not scored since Seager’s homer four innings earlier.
Rangers Go 1-for-12 With Runners in Scoring Position
Texas went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position Wednesday. A night earlier, the Rangers went 1-for-8 in a 3-2 loss.
The two-game total is 1-for-12.
Wednesday’s first chance came in the second, when the Rangers loaded the bases with two outs. Pederson’s walk brought in one run before Nimmo grounded out.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the recent trouble has not been limited to hitters going through slumps.
“It’s not just one guy or whatever it is,” Schumaker said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “We’ve had multiple guys [struggle with runners in scoring position]. Even guys who are feeling really good at the time as well. It’s not like it’s a guy who’s always in a funk that is up there with runners in scoring position. It’s guys that hit the ball really hard throughout the night or that week or whatever.”
Texas won Monday’s series opener 4-1 in 10 innings. Los Angeles has won the two games since.
Schumaker said one run after loading the bases was not enough to give the pitching staff much room.
“We just didn’t get any breathing room for our pitchers,” Schumaker said. “If they give up a run or two, you’re hoping it was going to be okay because we had a little bit of a lead, but unfortunately we had the bases loaded and only got that one run. We had guys in scoring position it felt like almost every other inning and just couldn’t get a run across.”
The Angels are 6-3 against Texas this season and have won five of six meetings at Angel Stadium. Their record is 47-74.
Texas is 60-61, tied with the Detroit Tigers. The Rangers are 1 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West.
The series ends Thursday night in Anaheim. Jacob deGrom starts for Texas against Walbert Ureña at 9:07 p.m. CT.
