LA Angels Winning Streak Comes to Halt Against Rangers

The LA Angels have been riding good offense and even better pitching to a five game winning streak this past week. However, the fun came to a sudden end when they fell to the Texas Rangers by a score of 6-3.

The LA Angels were simply outperformed in every asset of the game on Saturday night. The pitching matchup featured Jesse Chavez going against Rangers’ ace Yu Darvish. Chavez was pitching very effectively through four innings, and had a 2-0 lead going into the fifth. These runs came courtesy of Mike Trout RBI double and an Albert Pujols sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.

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Chavez had two outs when he gave up a double, single, triple, and then home run to round out the single-inning cycle. It was not the only cycle of the game, as the Rangers’ Carlos Gomez hit his second career cycle, securing the achievement with a seventh inning big fly. Chavez was able to pitch through the sixth inning without allowing any more damage. He finished with a line of four earned runs on eight hits. He walked two batters while striking out three.

Darvish on the other hand, was absolutely dominant. He had a hiccup in the sixth however, as he loaded the bases on three walks. With a high pitch count, Texas manager Jeff Banister decided to leave his ace in the game. This proved to be the right decision as Darvish easily retired the next two batters.

The Angels teased fans with a comeback in the ninth. Ben Revere reached on an infield single and advanced to second on an error. Cliff Pennington came in as a pinch hitter and popped out to left. However, Delino DeShields fumbled the catch, allowing Revere to score. Pennington lacked hustle on the play, and stopped at first base on a play tha could have easily been stretched to second. He did steal second during the next at-bat however.

With two outs, Kole Calhoun came up with Pennington on third. Home plate umpire Adam Hamari rung up Calhoun on two pitches in the lower part of the strike zone. An argument could be made for both pitches, but the game-ending pitch seemed well out. Calhoun engaged in a heated argument.

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Tempers also flared when Darvish threw inside to Pujols on two separate occasions. The first came on an inside curveball. However, the second was a mid-90’s fastball that came in high and inside. Pujols stared and pointed at the Rangers dugout following this pitch.

Next: Injuries Continue to Mount for LA Angels

The Angels finish up this road series against the Rangers on Sunday. JC Ramirez will get the call for the Angels while left-handed pitcher Martin Perez hopes to contain the Halos offense.