Rangers Pitching Overpowers Angels

Spencer Howard had his best outing this season for Texas, while a pair of Rangers hitters provided enough offense.

Spencer Howard and the Texas bullpen got the better of Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels as the Texas Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory on Thursday night.

The Rangers (44-54) still had trouble getting runs across the plate. But between Nathaniel Lowe and Corey Seager, Texas did just enough to support Howard (2-2) and the Rangers bullpen, which protected the young starter’s lead.

The Angels (42-57), who are still without star outfielder Mike Trout, managed just five hits.

Howard put together his best outing with Texas, even though he only went five innings. Howard didn’t give up a run, while allowing three hits and no walks. He struck out five.

Howard went five innings for the third time in his last four starts, dating back to July 11. But this was the first time that Howard threw five innings and didn’t give up a run. It also happened to be Howard’s 26th birthday.

Howard handed the ball to Brock Burke, Matt Bush and Matt Moore, who combined for four scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Moore claimed his second career save.

Meanwhile, Ohtani (9-6) had a deceptively effective outing and the first inning set the tone. Ohtani allowed three straight hits to Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Jonah Heim to load the bases for Nathaniel Lowe. But Ohtani then struck out Lowe, Adolis García and Leody Taveras to get out of the jam.

Ohtani ended up working six innings, giving up eight hits and striking out 11.

Lowe, however, got his revenge after his first at-bat. His solo home run off Ohtani in the fourth inning gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. He later tripled, the result of an odd carom off the ball in left field on what should have been an opposite-field double.

Seager went 3-for-3 before a lower left leg contusion took him out of the game after his third at-bat in the fifth inning. He fouled a pitch off the leg and then doubled, driving in Josh Smith to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. The Rangers removed Seager as a precaution. His 3-for-3 night snapped an 0-for-11 streak at the plate and a 2-for-20 clip on the road trip.

The Rangers announced on Thursday that they signed four more draft picks, putting 12 of their 18 draft picks under contract. The Rangers have until Aug. 1 to sign the other six.

Thursday also marked the anniversary of left-hander Kenny Rogers’ perfect game, which happened in 1994 and just happened to come against the Angels, though that game was played at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Texas continues its four-game series with the Angels on Friday. Martín Pérez is set to start on Friday, followed by Glenn Otto on Saturday and Dane Dunning on Sunday.

The Rangers finally return home for a seven-game homestand on Monday, beginning with a three-game set with the Orioles, where Jon Gray will be the expected starter.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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