Rangers rookie handles Angels

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Joe Saunders lounged on a couch in the Angels clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, stocking feet resting on a coffee table as he clicked the TV remote control between stations.

He hardly looked like a guy who was about to go out and pitch against the most offensive team in baseball, much less a guy who was going to do that while his wife, two time zones away, was about to give birth for the first time.

“If there were any butterflies I was more worried about the team on the other side,” Saunders said. “Once the game started, I was locked into the game. That’s the way it’s got to be.”

Unfortunately for Saunders, that wasn’t good enough to deliver a win, even with the expectant father throwing his first career complete game. That’s because the Texas Rangers countered with 22-year-old rookie left-hander Matt Harrison who, in his first game of any kind at the big league level, was even better, scattering five hits over seven innings before watching two relievers hold on for a 3-2 victory.

“Obviously, he handled himself well out there. He kept his composure,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He pitched a good ballgame.”

He was speaking of Harrison, but the same could be said for Saunders, whose wife Shanel had Angels traveling secretary Tom Taylor on her speed dial with instructions to call if she went into labor.

“They always say the first time is the longest,” Saunders said. “So I was hoping even if she did have it during the game that I’d catch the second half.”

Said pitching coach Mike Butcher: “I know he’s got his pager and his phone and everybody else is on call.”

Which may explain why Saunders started off like a man whose mind was elsewhere, giving up a one-out triple to Michael Young and a hard-hit sacrifice fly to Josh Hamilton to fall behind, 1-0, three batters into the game.

But he settled down after that, allowing the Angels to go in front, 2-1, on Garret Anderson’s two-run single in the fifth inning. The lead was short-lived, though, with Chris Davis hitting a two-out, two-strike home run in the bottom of the inning to pull Texas even before the Rangers went ahead to stay in the sixth on a leadoff double by Ian Kinsler and Hamilton’s one-out run-scoring single to center field.

The double extended Kinsler’s hitting streak to a career-best 20 games and the run gave him at least one in 11 consecutive games, tying a club record.

That was all Saunders (12-5) would give up and the Angels almost rewarded him when they rallied in the ninth, loading the bases on a single and two walks. But closer C.J. Wilson got pinch-hitter Juan Rivera on a hard-hit ball to second base to preserve the win.

“I really can’t explain how happy I am to be here,” Harrison said.

Saunders, meanwhile, is leaving here, heading to Southern California this morning.

“I’m hoping to get lucky and . . . she’ll have it tomorrow or tomorrow night maybe,” he said.

Whatever happens, Saunders said he’ll be back on the mound Sunday in Oakland, where the Angels close out the first half of the season. And if Tuesday was any indication, focus won’t be a problem then either.

“We wouldn’t expect anything different from Joe,” Scioscia said. “Obviously, there are things that are more important than baseball happening in his life right now, but when he gets between the lines, this game has a way of just sucking you in and taking distractions out of the way.”

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com