Marcus Semien, Corey Seager Power Texas Rangers Rally Against Angels
Marcus Semien and Corey Seager hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday at Globe Life Field.
The Rangers (42-25) snapped a three-game slide and avoided matching their season-worst four-game losing streak, which came April 24-28 against the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees.
The Angels (38-32) were seeking a series victory with a win. The four-game series concludes Thursday.
The home run was notable for Semien, who had been in a slump after his 25-game hit streak ended on June 6. He was 3-for-28 since and was hitless in his previous 15 at-bats before his sixth-inning single.
He was stranded at third, however, after consecutive bases-loaded strikeouts by Josh Jung and Jonah Heim ended the inning.
He handled it himself in the seventh. After Robbie Grossman's one-out single, Semien drilled Jimmy Herget’s 1-1 changeup off the left-field foul pole for his 10th home run. He went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run.
Seager stretched the lead to 4-1 with a homer to right field on the first pitch he saw from Herget. Seager has a hit in each of his past five games and has three homers in that span.
The Rangers added two more runs in the eighth, but the Angels made it interesting in the ninth against closer Will Smith. Shohei Ohtani hit his 21st homer to cut the lead to 6-3 before Smith retired the next two hitters.
The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the third on Anthony Rendon's hit a fly ball down the right-field line that landed just fair. It turned into a run-scoring double and Rangers right fielder Adolis García threw wide of home plate as Mike Trout scored from first base.
Leody Taveras answered for the Rangers in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer to right, his sixth of the season.
Starter Andrew Heaney left with two out and the bases loaded in the fourth after struggling with control and throwing 95 pitches. He allowed just one run, however, on five gits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five.
Heaney escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third and then reliever Grant Anderson saved him in the fourth. Both times Ezequiel Duran — making his first MLB start at first base — caught pop-ups in foul territory to end the inning.
Anderson, Josh Sborz (3-2), and Smith combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Sborz earned the win.
Herget (1-3) took the loss in relief of Reid Detmers, who allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out eight.
Team wins leader Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 2.49) faces Ohtani (5-2, 3.32) in the series finale at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.
The Rangers open a three-game home series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.
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