Angels Finally Catch Breaks

This wasn’t so much a momentum builder as it was a sanity saver. The Angels ended a losing streak at six games with a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Texas Rangers in Ameriquest Field on Tuesday night, but it produced more of a sense of relief than elation.

The Angels blew a three-run third-inning lead and a one-run sixth inning lead, and if not for a quirky two-run rally off Rangers reliever Francisco Cordero in the eighth, what Angels Manager Mike Scioscia called “probably the toughest stretch we’ve had since we’ve been here” would have continued with another gut-wrenching loss.

Instead, there was actually music blaring in the Angels clubhouse for the first time in a week, the Angels celebrating a hard-fought win and a memorable big league debut by Cuban first baseman Kendry Morales, who hit a two-run home run and two singles and made a key defensive play in the eighth.

“This was huge,” said second baseman Adam Kennedy, who had four hits and scored the winning run. “Coming here, playing a real good team, to get a win when we’re not playing real well ... hopefully it will be uplifting for us.”

The win included some stout hitting by Morales, Kennedy and Vladimir Guerrero, whose first-inning home run extended his hitting streak against the Rangers to 41 games, and some awful hitting -- the Angels went one for 11 with runners in scoring position.

There was some superb defense, such as center fielder Tommy Murphy’s leaping catch of Mark Teixeira’s drive to the wall to open the ninth and Morales’ daring throw to second for a forceout on an eighth-inning bunt, and some shoddy defense -- Kennedy’s third-inning error led to three unearned runs.

The pitching ranged from good to bad -- starter John Lackey gave up one earned run in six innings, and reliever Brendan Donnelly blew a lead by allowing a triple to Gary Matthews and a home run to Michael Young to open the seventh.

But some key calls and some aggressive baserunning helped tip the scales in the Angels’ favor. Chone Figgins beat out a leadoff grounder to first in the first inning (though replays showed he was out) and scored on Orlando Cabrera’s double.

The Angels scored the go-ahead run in the sixth when, with runners on first and third, one out, and a 2-and-2 count on Cabrera, Scioscia sent Kennedy from first.

Cabrera grounded out to short but stayed out of a double play, enabling Mike Napoli to score for a 5-4 lead.

In the eighth, after Napoli led off with a walk, Kennedy singled, Figgins walked to load the bases and Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score, Guerrero hit what appeared to be a double-play grounder to third.

But second-base umpire Tim Tschida ruled -- correctly -- that Rangers second baseman Mark DeRosa came off the bag too early before throwing to first to retire Guerrero, and Figgins was ruled safe at second.

Kennedy scored on the play, giving the Angels a 7-6 lead, relievers Scot Shields (scoreless eighth) and Francisco Rodriguez (11th save) closed out the win, and Morales’ debut was not spoiled.

“Nowhere in my mind did I think I’d get three hits -- it’s something I’ll never forget,” Morales said through an interpreter. “And the home run, there’s no way to describe it.”

Morales, called up from triple-A Salt Lake on Monday night, flared a single to left on the first pitch he saw from Vicente Padilla in the first, lined a two-run homer to right in the third and hit a laser of a single to right in the fifth.

“He took some aggressive hacks up there -- he definitely didn’t look tentative,” Lackey said. “He squared some balls up. We could definitely use some of that.”

Morales also kept Shields out of harm’s way in the eighth, fielding No. 9 hitter Rod Barajas’ bunt, spinning and firing to second in time to force Jason Botts, who had walked to open the inning.

“That was a huge play, because we know who was lurking in that lineup,” Shields said. “He threw to second so quick. That was the biggest play of the game ... not to mention his other three hits.”