Angels’ late fielding errors allow Rangers to rally in 10-5 loss
Corey Seager, Kole Calhoun and the Texas Rangers chased Reid Detmers early with homers in the left-hander’s first start since throwing a no-hitter for the Angels.
They won it late with bloops, walks and LA errors.
Seager triggered a seven-run eighth inning with a pop-up double long after his first-inning homer off Detmers, and the Rangers rallied to beat the Angels 10-5 on Tuesday night.
Mike Trout put the Angels ahead 4-3 with a leadoff homer in the seventh before the wild eighth that started with Seager and Adolis Garcia both beating the shift.
“There’s all kind of nuance to that inning,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “It just started out badly and kept getting worse. It was just a really awkward, unfortunate inning.”
The former New York Mets star also admitted in February during a federal trial in Texas stemming from Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ death that he used cocaine while in New York and California.
Seager’s blooper down the left-field line eluded Anthony Rendon, the third baseman who had to sprint all the way from near second base. Garcia’s infield single brought Seager home from third when second baseman Luis Rengifo ran down the grounder but made an ill-advised throw to first.
The fielding adventures were just getting started for the Angels after first baseman Matt Duffy had to leave after Rengifo’s throw ended up hitting him in the face as he collided with Garcia.
Ryan Tepera (1-1) set up the meltdown with back-to-back walks to Jonah Heim and Calhoun to load the bases before Nathaniel Lowe’s single for a 5-4 Texas lead.
After Sam Huff’s bloop two-run double to right for his third hit, leadoff hitter Eli White, who struck out his first four times, circled the bases when left fielder Brandon Marsh let a sharp single slip by his glove and roll to the wall. Three runs scored for a 10-4 lead.
Tepera (1-1) didn’t get an out while allowing five runs — all earned despite the fielding adventures behind him. He had been replaced by Cesar Valdez, called up from triple A earlier in the day, before White’s sprint around the bases.
Texas won when trailing after seven innings for the first time after coming in 0-10 in such games. The Rangers also clinched the series with the Angels after answering LA’s three-run first in the series opener with six in the bottom of the inning in a 7-4 victory.
“Really cool to see everything click in that one inning. It won us the ballgame,” Calhoun said. “That’s what this team can do. It showed up in the first inning yesterday and it popped up in the eighth inning tonight.”
Calhoun chased Detmers with a tying two-run homer with two outs in the fourth after Seager went the opposite way to left in the first against the 22-year-old left-hander, who was the youngest to throw a no-hitter in 16 years in a 12-0 win over Tampa Bay.
“You have success one day and then the next day you don’t,” Detmers said. “That’s just how it is. You’ve got learn from it. It’s just baseball.”
Todd Ament, former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce chief, is charged with lying to a home lender in growing Orange County political corruption scandal.
Trout’s homer was his 10th this season and 42nd against the Rangers, one behind Reggie Jackson for the most by an opponent since the franchise moved to Texas 50 years ago.
Taylor Ward homered leading off the third before Rendon put the Angels up 3-1 with a two-run shot with one out off Texas starter Taylor Hearn.
Dennis Santana (1-1) struck out two in a scoreless eighth before the Texas rally.
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