Rangers 5, Angels 2
ARLINGTON, Texas, September 28 — The Texas Rangers are in their final week of the 2021 regular season. They started that week on a good note on Tuesday as they won their series opener against the Los Angeles Angels by a final score of 5–2. Now that the remaining games can be counted on one hand, the Rangers are looking forward to winning as many of them as they can. After their series against the Angels, the Cleveland Indians come to town to finish the season. That series will start on Friday at Globe Life Field. For now, however, here is a recap of Tuesday night’s game.
Shhh-ohei
One of the most notable things about Tuesday’s contest was the silent bat of Angels’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani. On paper, Ohtani is definitely the one to watch in this series. Just the mention of his 45 home runs in 2021 has been known to draw crowds of thousands of fans. Tuesday night, however, was a different story. The Rangers were able to keep Ohtani at bay. He went 0-for-4 on the night with one strikeout. He did have one walk to his credit, so the night wasn’t a total loss for him.
The Angels scored both of their runs in the top of the second inning. They came courtesy of Max Stassi. Stassi hit a two-run shot to left-center field that also scored Jose Rojas. Texas Rangers right-hander A.J. Alexy was the one that gave up that home run. Despite the blemish, Alexy managed to get the win, bringing his 2021 record to 3–1. Joe Barlow got the save for Texas. It was his tenth of the year. Angels’ righty Packy Naughton took the loss. He went two innings and gave up four earned runs on four hits. He didn’t strike out anyone and walked four. Naughton is now 0–4 on the year.
Take Five
The Rangers got their evening started in the bottom of the second inning. Charlie Culberson managed to score on a double by Jonah Heim. At the time, this made the score 2–1. Then Andy Ibanez drove in Heim and Leody Taveras with a single later in the inning. The next run was driven in by Adolis Garcia on a force out that scored Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Finally, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Garcia drove home Ibanez with a single. With that last RBI, Garcia now has 88 on the season. That ties him with Pete Incaviglia for most RBI in a single season by a Texas Rangers rookie. Incaviglia set that record in 1986.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Shohei Ohtani, Max Stassi, Jose Rojas, A.J. Alexy, Joe Barlow, Packy Naughton, Charlie Culberson, Jonah Heim, Andy Ibanez, Leody Taveras, Adolis Garcia, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Pete Incaviglia
