C.J. Cron and Angels go to wall to beat Texas, gain in wild-card race

Shane Victorino survived a violent collision with the left-field fence while pursuing Shin-Soo Choo’s run-scoring triple in the seventh inning Friday night. Fortunately for the Angels, the scrappy left fielder was not their only wall-banger of the game.

C.J. Cron drove in all five of his team’s runs with three two-out hits, dunking a two-run single to left-center in the third, crushing an RBI triple off the center-field wall in the fifth and smashing a two-run double off the right-center-field wall in the seventh to lead the Angels to a 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

In extending their September win streak to three after going 10-19 in August, the Angels pulled to within 21/2 games of Texas for the second American League wild-card spot.

“I feel like August is over with, September has started, and everyone has turned the page,” right-hander Garrett Richards said after giving up two runs and five hits and walking five in six innings. “We feel like we have a pep in our step.”

This has been a season of stutter steps for Cron, who was demoted to triple-A twice, in late May and mid-June, but many of his biggest strides have come against the Rangers.

In 12 games against Texas, Cron is batting .460 (23 for 50) with 17 runs batted in. He’s hitting .238 with 20 RBIs against all other teams.

“I don’t know,” Cron said, when asked why he’s had so much success against Texas. “That’s a good question. I take the same approach against everyone.”

Cron was batting .204 when he was demoted in June, but he found his stroke in early July and has hit .330 (30 for 91) with four homers and 18 RBIs in his last 27 games to raise his average to .278.

“My timing is good,” Cron said. “I’m playing every day now, so I’m definitely more comfortable in the box. Maybe getting sent down was good for me. Getting 100 or so at-bats down there and coming back, I’m feeling comfortable.”

The Angels won despite walking eight and hitting a batter, and for that they can thank a defense that turned three double plays and got a nice play from Victorino, who made a lunging catch after a long run of Choo’s fifth-inning drive to the gap.

Shortstop Erick Aybar also closed the sixth with a heads-up play, cutting off Victorino’s throw on Rougned Odor’s sacrifice fly and throwing to second to nail Mitch Moreland, who was scrambling back to the bag.

“No doubt, this game could have gone the other way for us at times,” Manager Mike Scioscia said, “but we got some big outs all the way around.”