Angels beat Rangers 9-3 to give Ron Washington win in his 1st game as visiting manager in Texas
Zach Neto and Taylor Ward homered, Tyler Anderson pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Rangers 9-3 on Friday night to give Ron Washington a victory in his first game as a visiting manager in Texas.
Neto snapped a 1-all tie and put the Angels ahead to stay with his two-run homer in the fourth, a 405-foot drive to right field for his fifth of the season.
Anderson (4-4) struck out four and walked two.
Washington is the winningest manager in Rangers' history with his 664 wins from 2007-14, and took them to their first two World Series in 2010 and 2011. He is in the first season with the Angels (17-28), his first managerial job since Texas.
Jonah Heim and Marcus Semien went deep for Texas, which has lost seven of its last nine games.
At 23-23, the reigning World Series champion Rangers have a .500 record for the eighth time this year. They won each of the last seven times to avoid a losing record, something they haven't had at any point since Bruce Bochy became their manager before last season.
Left-hander Andrew Heaney (0-5), who pitched for the Angels from 2015-21, struck out five, walked two and allowed three runs (two earned) in 3 2/3 innings. That matched his shortest start of the season.
Willie Calhoun matched a career high with four hits, all singles. He drove in a run with his hit in the fifth, then scored on No. 9 batter Kyren Paris' two-run single. Ward's ninth homer was a solo shot in the sixth for a 7-1 lead.
Calhoun made his major league debut with the Rangers from 2017-22, and played only his 13th game for the Angels.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: 3B Luis Rengifo was back in the lineup after missing 10 games because of a viral infection. He doubled in his first at-bat, then had a walk and a stolen base in the third inning, before racing home from second base when Kevin Pillar got an infield single on checked swing and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe had an error on his throw to home.
Rangers: Right-handers Nathan Eovaldi (right groin strain) and Dane Dunning (right rotator cuff strain) both threw bullpen sessions. Dunning is scheduled to throw another session Sunday and could return to the rotation as early as next week's series in Philadelphia. Eovaldi is a bit further behind. ... Rookie OF Evan Carter, who had missed the previous five games with lower back stiffness, pinch-hit in the ninth.
UP NEXT
Right-hander José Ureña makes his third spot start for Texas, having gone 1-1 with a 2.31 in his first two while Nathan Eovaldi and Dane Dunning are on the injured list. Lefty Patrick Sandoval (2-6, 5.00 ERA) pitches for the Angels in the middle game of the series Saturday.