It may be cliche, but it is the ultimate truth in the game of baseball. That truth is that you never know what will happen at any given time. The events of this week saw the Texas Rangers take their series against the Los Angeles Angels. This is a series that many Rangers fans go into with caution every season. The Angels have had the Rangers’ number in years past, and up until the late innings of Wednesday’s series finale, it looked like more of the same. The Rangers, however, had other ideas as they mounted a comeback in the eighth inning. That comeback allowed them to take two games out of three against the Halos.
Trouble With Trout
It is a safe bet that a small shiver goes up the back of Rangers’ manager Chris Woodward every time he sees Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout step up to the plate. He seems to feast on Rangers pitching every time they meet. Trout hit a pair of home runs in this series, bringing his total to six on the year. He hit the first one in the second game of the series off righty Jordan Lyles in the sixth inning. The second bomb was given up in Wednesday’s finale by fellow right-hander Mike Foltynewicz in the first inning. Fortunately the Rangers managed to win the series despite dealing with Trout.
Comeback Win
The Rangers were able to take the series from the Angels on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, California. They couldn’t have done this without some late offense from the bats of first baseman Nate Lowe, and designated hitter Adolis Garcia. In the eighth inning, Garcia belted his third home run of the year off Angels righty Mike Mayers. Mayers would end up receiving the losing decision in this contest. Lowe’s moment of glory came as soon as he stepped out of the on deck circle to follow Garcia. Lowe made it back-to-back jacks to help the Rangers secure a 7-4 victory. These round-trippers also brought the promise of a happy flight to Chicago, Illinois, where the Rangers will begin a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox on Thurs day evening at 7:10 PM CT.
Pitching Notes
Fans were happy to see their Rangers take the series from the Angels. Their starting pitching did well in this three-game stretch. On Monday evening, right-hander Kohei Arihara found a decent groove as he pitched five and two-third innings. He surrendered two runs, both of them earned on two hits. He also walked two and struck out six as he was able to get one of the two wins that the Rangers needed to take the series. That winning decision brings him to 2-1 on the year. Wednesday’s series finale saw the aforementioned Mike Foltynewicz get out to a strong start, but it was John King who got the win in this one, brining his record on the season to 2-0. As for Thursday’s series opener against the White Sox, Chicago’s starter is to be determined, and Texas is sending righty Dane Dunning to the mound.
Players mentioned: Chris Woodward, Mike Trout, Jordan Lyles, Mike Foltynewicz, Nate Lowe, Adolis Garcia, Mike Mayers, Kohei Arihara, John King, Dane Dunning
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
