Angels Rally in Ninth to Win

For a manager who rarely seems to get what he wants against the Angels, this was close.

Buck Showalter’s Texas Rangers were leading by a run going into the bottom of the ninth inning. His closer, Francisco Cordero, was on the mound. And, perhaps most significantly, his least favorite Angel, Vladimir Guerrero, would come to bat only if the Angels sent seven men to the plate.

Turns out they needed only four.

Adam Kennedy’s run-scoring double and an ensuing error by Texas second baseman D’Angelo Jimenez capped a speedy two-run rally for the Angels, who pulled out a 5-4 victory Tuesday night at Angel Stadium to notch their eighth consecutive victory over the Rangers dating to last season.

“To do it off one of the best closers in baseball gives it a special feeling,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said of the comeback, which propelled the Angels to their ninth consecutive victory over their American League West rival at Angel Stadium.

Cordero got the ninth started on a sour note when he hit Darin Erstad with a pitch. Casey Kotchman then stroked a hit-and-run single through the hole on the left side of the infield vacated by shortstop Michael Young, who was scooting toward second base to cover the bag.

The Rangers caught a break when Jeff Mathis softly popped his bunt attempt back to Cordero, but Kennedy blistered Cordero’s next pitch to right to drive in Erstad with the tying run. Maicer Izturis, pinch-running for Kotchman, momentarily stopped at third base on the play before racing home after Jimenez couldn’t handle the throw from right fielder Adrian Brown.

Jimenez was in the game only because starting second baseman Ian Kinsler suffered a dislocated left thumb and had to leave in the second inning.

“We just couldn’t get those last two outs,” said Showalter, whose Rangers dropped to 7-23 in their last 30 games against the Angels despite two home runs from Hank Blalock.

With four singles in four at-bats, Guerrero lifted his career average against Texas to .453, his highest against any American League team. Guerrero has hit in all 38 games he’s played against the Rangers, the longest streak against one team since divisional play began in 1969.

But Guerrero could only watch from the dugout in the ninth, one inning after straying too far from first base and being doubled up on Garret Anderson’s line drive to right. Thus the heroics were left to the Nos. 6-9 hitters in the Angel batting order.

“The top of the lineup is not going to be able to do it every night no matter how good they are,” said Kennedy, who bats in the ninth spot. “I’ve got some hits to fall in lately. It could easily go the other way.”

Angel starter Jeff Weaver was spared the loss after receiving pick-me-up performances from relievers Brendan Donnelly and J.C. Romero, who combined for three scoreless innings.

Weaver’s pitching line was nearly identical to the one he logged in his Angel debut. The right-hander gave up four runs and nine hits in six-plus innings, the same amount of hits but one run fewer than he had given up in 6 1/3 innings April 5 against Seattle.

After surrendering homers to Blalock in the second and fourth innings, Weaver rebounded by escaping a two-on, two-out jam in the fifth and a two-on, one-out mess in the sixth.

Scioscia pulled Weaver in the seventh after Weaver had given up consecutive singles to open the inning. Donnelly minimized the damage by allowing only one of the baserunners to score, on a sacrifice fly by Young, and Romero pitched a scoreless ninth for his first victory as an Angel.