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 The middle part of the Angels' batting order provided much of the
punch. Third baseman David Freese and shortstop Erick Aybar had two
RBIs each and pinch-hitter Grant Green added two RBIs in his lone
at-bat in the top of the eighth inning.
The victory boosted the Angels' winning streak to eight, a feat they
haven't accomplished since May 2013.
Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin led off the bottom of the first
inning with a 348-foot home run that hugged the foul line before
sneaking over the wedge in the right field corner. It was Martin's
first leadoff home run of his career and seventh homer of the
season.
The Angels answered in the top of the second inning. Aybar ripped a
home run into the right-field seats, scoring second baseman Howie
Kendrick to put Los Angeles up 2-1.
Rangers starting pitcher Nick Martinez allowed two unearned runs in
the top of the third inning.
After right fielder Kole Calhoun reached on an error by Martin, left
fielder Mike Trout was hit by a pitch. Both scored on Freese's
single up the middle to extend the Angels' lead to 4-1.
"(Martinez) was pretty sharp with his fastball," said Rangers
interim-manager Tim Bogar. "The third inning he had to get an extra
out. He got two and made a mistake, hanging a slider to Freese."
Trout's run gave him an American League leading 103 on the season
and is currently on pace to become the first player in MLB history
to lead either league in runs scored in his first three MLB seasons.
"It means a lot (to make history)," said Trout. "You set goals at
the beginning of the year and as one of the first few guys in the
lineup it's my job to get on base and score runs. I'm going to keep
the same approach. It's been working and whatever I can do to help
my team win I'm going to do."
After issuing a walk to Calhoun to start the fifth inning, Martinez
plunked Trout for a second time, drawing the ire of Angels manager
Mike Scioscia.
Trout, who was hit three times in the last two games, was visibly
frustrated, lingering in the box before sauntering down the line to
first base.
"I'm sure Martinez wasn't trying to hit him," said Scioscia. "But
when you're pitching inside you can't pitch with reckless abandon.
You have to have the command to be able to do it."
"When you go up to bat you aren't thinking about getting hit," said
Trout. "It hit me in the same spot as the night before. I'll be
fine, it's just a little sore."
Bogar said the Rangers pitching staff was instructed to throw Trout
inside and that all three occasions were unintentional.
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Martinez deftly worked his way out of the jam, getting designated
hitter Albert Pujols to fly out to right and Kendrick to roll into a
double play to end the threat.
"The fifth inning, I thought it was big." Bogar said. "He hit Trout
and then got Pujols to fly out and got the big double play from
Kendrick."
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Rangers right
fielder Michael Choice roped line drive up the middle, moving left
fielder and fellow rookie Ryan Rua to second base. Facing
left-handed specialist Michael Roth, Martin drew a four-pitch walk
to load the bases, bringing up shortstop Elvis Andrus. On the first
pitch of his at-bat, Andrus stepped to the plate and promptly
grounded out to reliever Mike Morin to end the threat.
Martinez sat the Angels down in order in the sixth inning before
being pulled. He finished with four hits and four runs, including
two earned over six innings of work. It was the rookie's 19th time
in 21 starts to complete at least five innings in a start.
"I think Martinez (potential) is going straight upward," said Bogar.
"I saw nothing but positives tonight. He made a couple bad pitches
in a few big situations but for the most part he was pretty strong."
Rangers designated hitter J.P. Arencibia hit a solo homer to left in
the bottom of the seventh, his ninth of the season.
In the top of the eighth inning, pinch hitter Grant Green singled to
left in his lone at bat of the night, scoring Tony Campana and Erick
Aybar.
Second baseman Rougned Odor singled home Elvis Andrus in the bottom
of the inning to give the Rangers their third and final run of the
game.
NOTES: RHP Matt Shoemaker notched his 15th win of the season
Wednesday night, setting an Angels franchise rookie record. ...
Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre extended his on-base streak to 25
consecutive games, the longest active streak in the American League.
... The Rangers are a season-high 37 games behind the
division-leading Angels, the team's largest deficit since finishing
43 games behind Seattle in 2001.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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