Trout Hits 3-Run HR To Help Angels Beat Rangers 9-5
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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Mike Trout came through again with a big hit for the Los Angeles Angels.
Trout's three-run homer helped the Angels rally from four runs down and beat the Texas Rangers 9-5 on Monday night.
Andrelton Simmons had three hits and scored a run, Kole Calhoun scored three times and had an RBI to help the Angels win their fourth straight.
After winning only eight games in June, the Angels have gone 9-5 in July and scored a major league-best 95 runs.
"We're looking relaxed out there and not trying to do too much," Trout said of the offensive turnaround. "We're having fun. Every lineup that's out there every day, we're having good at-bats and putting the ball in the play."
With the score tied 5-5 in the seventh, Jett Bandy was hit by a pitch from Keone Kela (1-1) to start the bottom of the inning and moved to third on Simmons' double. One out later, Calhoun hit a fielder's choice to second, driving in Bandy with the go-ahead run, and Trout followed with his homer over the left-field fence.
Texas, which led 4-0 before Los Angeles rallied to take a 5-4 lead, came back to tie the score in the top of the seventh when Nomar Mazara and Bobby Wilson hit back-to-back doubles.
"I liked that we fought back after we lost the lead and tied the ballgame up," Rangers manager Jeff Bannister said. "But from that point on, we couldn't keep a rhythm."
J.C. Ramirez (2-3) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win, and Cam Bedrosian got the last three outs.
The Rangers took a 3-0 lead in the first when Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer, his 17th, and Adrian Beltre followed with his 13th. Mitch Moreland led off the second with his 12th.
Nick Tropeano, activated from the disabled list July 4, was removed after two innings with right elbow soreness and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday. In his shortest outing of the season, Tropeano was charged with four earned runs after giving up the three homers.
"I felt it during warmups, just this soreness throughout," Tropeano said. "It wasn't one pitch, which kind of gets my mindset a little more positive, but I just felt some soreness, some discomfort and I knew something wasn't right so I just kind of opened my mouth to say something."
The Angels already have three starting pitchers out for the season in Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney and C.J. Wilson. Left-hander Tyler Skaggs is slated to join the team later this week.
"Anytime a pitcher has some discomfort in his elbow you're naturally going to be concerned," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We're just going to hope and pray that it's nothing significant. We'll take it one step at a time. Especially with what we've been going through this year with all of our pitchers, we hope this isn't going to be a big blow for us."
Jhoulys Chacin followed with four scoreless innings in relief of Tropeano.
Albert Pujols drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth and Daniel Nava hit a sacrifice fly to pull the Angels to 4-2. Ji-Man Choi got them within one when he led off the fifth with his first major league home run.
"The reality is -- and we've talked about it before -- when you give up those freebies, they come back to haunt you," Bannister said. "The walks, the hit batters and the errors -- we've got to be able to handle the baseball when we need to."
Calhoun scored the tying run on second baseman Odor's fielding error in the sixth and the Angels took a 5-4 lead on Johnny Giovatella's RBI single later in the inning.
Texas starter A.J. Griffin, who left with two on and none out in the sixth, was charged with five runs and four hits with three walks.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: RF Shin-Soo Choo was scratched from the lineup for the fourth straight day with lower-back tightness.
Bannister gave him another day off as a precautionary measure. He came in as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning.
Angels: C Geovany Soto was placed on the 15-day disabled list with left knee soreness. Soto returned from the disabled list on July 9 after recovering from meniscus surgery and played two games before feeling soreness.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Kyle Lohse will make his second start with the Rangers since being called up from Triple-A Round Rock. In his lone major league appearance this season, the veteran took the loss while pitching through an oblique strain and has since continued treatment for the oblique strain.
Angels: RHP Tim Lincecum continues his comeback attempt with his sixth start of the season, looking for his first win since his June 18 debut. Lincecum has faced the Rangers three times, most famously in the 2012 World Series, where he went 2-0 with a 3.29 ERA.
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