Seager homers twice, drives in 5 as Rangers beat slumping Angels 7-3
Corey Seager hit two homers and drove in five runs and the AL West-leading Texas Rangers beat the slumping Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Tuesday night.
Seager had a two-run homer that just cleared the left-center wall and later pulled a no-doubt shot into the right-field seats for his 12th career multihomer game. The All-Star shortstop capped his three-hit night with a two-run single in the eighth inning.
Jordan Montgomery (8-10) struck out nine without a walk over six innings in his third start for the Rangers since they got him in a trade deadline deal from last-place St. Louis. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA for Texas.
Angels starter Lucas Giolito (7-9), one of their deadline acquisitions, allowed four runs while throwing a season-high 110 pitches over six innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked two.
Los Angeles (59-62) kept two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who can become a free agent this offseason, and made moves hoping for a playoff push. The Angels are instead 3-11 in August and now three games under .500 for the first time this season. They are eight games behind the American League's final wild-card spot, with three teams between them and that.
Seager's opposite-field shot to left-center in the third inning went 383 feet, and had already cleared the wall when leaping center fielder Jordyn Adams appeared to get his glove to the ball. When Adams landed on his feet, he reached into his glove like he might have the ball.
Seager has 73 RBIs and is hitting .350, which would lead the AL a wide margin if he qualified. He missed 40 games this season because of two stints on the injured list.
Travis Jankowski led off the Texas third with a walk before scoring on Marcus Semien's triple before Seager's first homer. Jankowski hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Seager second homer came in the seventh.
Luis Rengifo snapped an 0-for-13 slide with an RBI single in the Angels fifth, and there were still two runners on when Ohtani took an inning-ending called third strike on a 92.8 mph sinker by Montgomery. Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS
At 72-48, the Rangers have their best 120-game record in franchise history. They reached 24 games over .500 for the first time since 2016, their last winning season. ... Texas has won its last nine home games, the longest active streak in the majors and its most at Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: Three-time American League MVP Mike Trout had surgery on a fractured left hamate bone (wrist) six weeks ago Wednesday. He started taking swings against a hitting machine Friday, and could face live pitching in a simulated game after the Angels return home following this series.
Rangers: All-Star RHP Nathan Eovaldi (right forearm strain) said he felt good after throwing a second bullpen session in four days. Manager Bruce Bochy said the staff would be discussing the pitcher's next step. Eovaldi threw six scoreless innings against Tampa Bay on July 18 in his only start since the All-Star break.
UP NEXT
Rangers right-hander Jon Gray (8-5, 3.65 ERA) tries to win his third straight start in August after going nearly two months without a victory. Left-hander Reid Detmers (2-9, 5.27), 0-4 in his last six starts, is set to pitch for the Angels in the series finale.
