LDN - Sports

Pujols' two homers power Angels past Rangers

[July 20, 2016] ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Albert Pujols may be getting older and slower, but he can still take a punch.

The Los Angeles Angels designated hitter took a 92-mph fastball off the face in the seventh inning, went down momentarily but quickly got back up. Then he convinced Angels manager Mike Scioscia and a trainer he could stay in the game.

And while the scary moment resulting from the pitch from Texas Rangers reliever Tony Barnette left a lasting impression on those who witnessed it, it couldn't compare to the damage Pujols had already inflicted on the struggling Rangers.

Pujols went 3-for-3 with a pair of three-run homers to lift the suddenly hot Angels to an 8-6 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Though still 10 games under .500 and battling with the Oakland A's to stay out of last place in the American League West, the Angels (42-52) have won a season-best five games in a row coming out of the All-Star break.

Pujols continued his assault on the record book, his two homers Tuesday -- Nos. 18 and 19 on the season -- giving him 579 for his career and moving him within four of Mark McGwire for 10th on the all-time list.

The home runs Tuesday were also well-timed. The first one tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning, and the second gave the Angels a 7-5 lead in the fifth. Both came off Rangers starter Kyle Lohse (0-2).

Pujols had six RBIs, his top total in one game as an Angel, one short of his career high.

"We talk about Mike (Trout), we talk about Albert, but we have to be more than those guys," Scioscia said. "But when they're swinging it, particularly Albert, all throughout his career, he's doing things right now where he can put a team on his back and just keep going."

The Angels, though, got a big scare in the seventh inning when Pujols was hit in the face on an 0-2 count. Replays appeared to show the ball got just enough of the bill of his helmet to keep it from being more serious.

"I'm good," Pujols said after the game. "Obviously any time you get hit in the head it's scary, but it's part of the game. I'm just glad nothing crazy happened; it could be worse."

Barnette was apologetic, Pujols said, apologizing three times. The two also met in the tunnel between the two clubhouses after the game where Pujols reiterated "it's part of the game, it's baseball."

Jett Bandy also homered for the Angels in support of Tim Lincecum (2-3). The right-hander got the win despite giving up five runs (three earned) on nine hits and two walks in five innings.

Angels closer Huston Street pitched the ninth and got his eighth save of the season, his first since June 14.

Ian Desmond, Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus had three hits apiece for the Rangers. Robinson Chirinos hit two homers, and Desmond had a solo shot.

The Rangers out-hit the Angels 13-10, but wasted scoring opportunities early in the game. They had the bases loaded with one out in in the first but didn't score when Lincecum closed out the frame with strikeouts of Mitch Moreland and Ryan Rua.

Lincecum escaped a first-and-third, no-out situation in the third, but the Rangers still managed to take a 3-0 lead on Chirinos' homers in the second and fourth innings.

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Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols (5) looks on after hitting a three-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

"We had four strikeouts early with runners in scoring position where we could have created some separation for ourselves," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Look, we continue to swing the bats. The challenge was we left nine (on base) tonight."

The Angels got it all back in the bottom of the fourth against Lohse. Kole Calhoun led off with a walk and Trout doubled him to third. Pujols then hit Lohse's next pitch over the fence in left for a game-tying three-run homer.

The Angels didn't stop there. A walk by Andrelton Simmons followed by a run-and-hit single by Ji-Man Choi preceded a sacrifice fly by Bandy that gave Los Angeles a 4-3 lead.

The Rangers quickly regained the lead in the fifth, though, thanks to a two-out, two-base error by third baseman Yunel Escobar. He couldn't handle a grounder by Rua, allowing the left fielder to reach second base.

Nomar Mazara followed with an RBI single and Andrus an RBI double to put the Rangers up 5-4.

Pujols responded in the bottom of the fifth with his second homer of the night, erasing the Rangers' lead and knocking Lohse out of the game with a three-run homer to give Los Angeles a 7-5 lead.

"It was a challenge for Kyle in a couple innings," Banister said. "Three walks, all of them scored. The two home runs by Pujols. The three walks and the home runs were really the challenge for us."

NOTES: An MRI exam on the right elbow of Angels RHP Nick Tropeano revealed a medium- to high-grade tear of his ulnar collateral ligament. Tropeano will seek a second opinion before deciding whether or not to have Tommy John surgery or try to rehab using stem cell therapy. Tropeano went 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 starts for the Angels this season. LHP Jose Alvarez was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace Tropeano on the roster. ... Rangers 1B/DH Prince Fielder was not in the lineup. Shin-Soo Choo started at DH and Mitch Moreland at 1B. Fielder is hitting just .212 with eight homers this season, and is batting .160 (8 for 50) over his last 14 games. ... Moreland's home run Monday was the 100th of his career, making him the 10th fastest to 100 in Rangers history (708 games). ... Angels SS Andrelton Simmons, known more for his glove than bat, entered the game hitting .390 (30-for-77) in his last 20 games. He went 0-for-3 with a walk Tuesday. ... The Angels had gone 28 games without a save before RHP Huston Street got one Tuesday. It was the second-longest streak in club history. The longest was 48 games in 1972.

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