Rangers Impress Washburn, Scioscia

The Texas Rangers were a consensus pick to finish last in the American League West, but after winning three of four games against the Angels -- two of them in convincing fashion -- they made believers of the team many picked to win the division.

“If Texas gets the pitching, they’re not a pushover by any means,” Angel left-hander Jarrod Washburn said after giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings of Monday night’s 7-6 loss. “That lineup is as good as anyone’s. You don’t come into town licking your chops as a pitcher, that’s for sure.”

The Rangers traded shortstop Alex Rodriguez, considered baseball’s best all-around player, to the New York Yankees and let sluggers Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez go as free agents.

But their young and aggressive lineup, featuring the likes of Hank Blalock, Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira and Michael Young, scored 33 runs and had 55 hits in four games against the Angels.

“The expectations of the media and the fans are irrelevant -- we know they’re a good club,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “You’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game every night if you’re going to beat them. They had their offense locked in.”

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Despite a four-run deficit, the Angels nearly rallied for a victory Monday night when Tim Salmon doubled and scored on Shane Halter’s eighth-inning single, and they scored two runs against closer Francisco Cordero in the ninth.

Cordero struggled with his control, unable to throw his breaking pitch for strikes, and walked two batters in the ninth. With runners on first and third and one out, the right-hander fell behind Salmon when he threw two breaking balls in the dirt.

Scioscia gave Salmon the green light on 2-and-0, but Salmon flied out to right, and Garret Anderson tagged from third to score the second run of the inning. Adam Kennedy then flied to center to end the game.

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Third baseman Troy Glaus, who was pulled from Sunday’s game in the eighth inning because of tightness in his left hamstring, was still feeling a little discomfort after taking early batting practice Monday, so he was held out of the starting lineup.

“If it was a must-play scenario, he could play, but there’s no sense taking chances this early in the season,” Scioscia said. “He should be back in there [tonight].”

Catcher Bengie Molina, sidelined because of a slight strain of his left hamstring, took batting practice, ran the bases aggressively and was also put through some situational base-running drills before the game. Scioscia said as long as Molina recovered from the workout sufficiently, he would start tonight.

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Reliever Brendan Donnelly is still in Arizona, recovering from complications stemming from a broken nose, so closer Troy Percival will accept the mlb.com set-up man-of-the-year award on Donnelly’s behalf tonight.... Vladimir Guerrero has bought 127 tickets a game in the right-field pavilion, Salmon 100 tickets a game in right field and Jose Guillen 50 tickets a game in the left-field pavilion, to be donated to charitable organizations.