'I Didn't Think We Were Good At All': Rangers Fall To 2-6 in Loss to Angels

The Texas Rangers failed to put anything together in an ugly loss at home against the Los Angeles Angels.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers fell to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday by a score of 7-2, dropping their record to 2-6 to begin the season.

The Rangers failed to get much of anything going on either side of the ball. The lineup recorded six hits on the night, with just one going for extra bases—an RBI double by Marcus Semien in the third inning. The second run of the game came from the very next batter with a Corey Seager sacrifice fly after Semien stole third base.

After that two-run third inning, the Rangers mustered only one hit.

"I didn't think we were good at all, at any point in the game," said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "We did not do anything to really put any pressure on them offensively. We fell for every trap that we talked about to avoid before the game. It wasn't surprising to see the lack of production."

Noah Syndergaard, a Dallas-area native, started on the mound for the Angels. He ended up logging six innings, preserving the Los Angeles bullpen.

Marcus Semien

Taylor Hearn

Corey Seager

While the Rangers offense had a rough night, it's been the more consistent part of the team through the first eight games of the season. On the other hand, Texas' pitching has been wildly inconsistent. In addition, the bullpen has been heavily taxed early on. Part of it is due to protecting the health of the starting rotation after a truncated spring training. However, the bullpen has failed to execute as well.

Starter Taylor Hearn was unable to give the bullpen a break, going only 3 2/3 innings. After starting with two efficient innings, Hearn walked the No. 8 hitter to lead off the third and the inning snowballed on him. The Angels lineup forced Hearn to throw 34 pitches in the frame while they plated three runs.

"Physically, everything was feeling good," Hearn said about the third inning. "It was just more so getting in leverage counts and I just couldn't put them away. They were just spoiling pitches. ... That's a really good lineup. But with me walking the 8-hole, that's not acceptable."

Greg Holland and Joe Barlow both allowed home runs in relief, which now gives the Texas bullpen a total of 11 home runs surrendered in eight games. Matt Moore, who was selected from Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday, was able to cover two innings out of the bullpen.

What's Next?

The Rangers (2-6) wrap up their four-game series with the Angels (5-4) on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Field. Texas left-hander Martín Pérez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is scheduled to square off with Angels southpaw José Suarez (0-1, 4.15 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:37 p.m. CT.