Rangers Surge Late To Claim Win Over Angels
The Texas Rangers rode a strong performance by starting pitcher Dane Dunning to a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field.
The Rangers (64-84) snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory. The Angels (65-84) won the first game of the series on Tuesday night, 5-2. Texas scored seven runs on 10 hits, but four of those runs came in the seventh and eighth innings to put the contest away.
Dunning (4-6) won his first game since Aug. 18 against Oakland after throwing five strong innings for the Rangers and leaving the game with a 3-2 lead. Dunning tends to find comfort at home. He has claimed all four of his wins at home this season and has an ERA at home that is two points lower than his road ERA.
The Angels’ only significant offense came in the top of the first as right fielder Taylor Ward homered to left-center field off Dunning, which scored Shohei Ohtani.
“Dane got us through five good innings,” Rangers interim manager Tony Beasley said. “The two-run home run was the same scenario from last night but we answered. He did a good job to give us five quality innings. He wanted to go back out but I didn’t let him. I wanted him to have a chance to factor into the win and we had a bullpen ready.”
Dunning allowed three hits, one walk and tied his season high with eight strikeouts. From there, the Rangers’ bullpen took over, as they used left-handers Brock Burke and Matt Moore for three scoreless innings, while José Leclerc threw the ninth inning. Combined, the staff gave up just five hits.
Texas scored a run in each of the first three innings of the game to take the lead. Right fielder Adolis García’s sacrifice fly to Ward in the bottom of the first scored shortstop Corey Seager. In the second, a Josh Smith fielder’s choice to Angels shortstop Livan Soto allowed Leody Taveras to score from third. In the third, the Rangers took the lead as García struck again, this time with an RBI double to right that brought home Nathaniel Lowe.
Smith added an insurance run with his second home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh. Smith’s first home run this season was an inside-the-park home run against Oakland.
"That one feels like the first real one," Smith said after the game. "It’s been a while. You never know how many you’ll get."
Then, in the eighth, the Rangers put the game away with a bases-loaded, one-out single by Taveras. Seager and Lowe scored, while García scored later in the play on an error.
García, Lowe, Seager and Taveras all had two hits for the Rangers.
The Rangers conclude the series on Thursday which will feature the Rangers’ Martín Pérez and the Angels’ Michael Lorenzen on the mound.
The Rangers then host Cleveland starting Friday, with Sunday serving as a day to honor Tom Grieve, the Rangers Hall of Famer who is ending his 55-year career with the organization as a player, team executive and television analyst this season.
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