Angels @ Rangers (July 7th-10th)

[Molina00]

The Rangers struggled in yesterday's game with awful starting pitching and committing three errors on defense, although no runs scored as a result. Luis Mendoza was hammered for eight runs through 1.1 innings while Angels starter Ervin Santana gave up just one run through the first four innings of the game. The Rangers broke through against Santana in the 5th scoring five runs to make it an 8-6 ballgame in favor of the Angels, but could not score anymore after that. The Angels went on to win 9-6 and Francisco Rodriguez notched his 35th save of the season.

Game Notes:
Dustin Nippert gave up just one run on four hits over 7 innings in relief of Mendoza.
Ian Kinsler went 4 for 5 with a pair of doubles giving him 30 on the year and raising his batting average to .338.

[Molina00]

The Rangers came into the series three games over .500 with a chance to gain some major ground on the division leading Angels. What do they do? They split the series and gain nothing.

They made it close every time though. In the end the Angels only outscored Texas by two runs, and three of the four games were decided by one run.

In last night's series finale, the Rangers outhit the angels 20-12 but ended up losting 11-10 in 11 innings. There would be no walk-off against K-Rod to save the day this time. Scott Feldman made the start for Texas and only lasted 3.2 innings giving up eight runs. The bullpen kept the Rangers in the game giving up just 3 runs over 7.1 innings. The Rangers peppered Angels ace John Lackey for six runs on 15 hits over 5.2 innings, and scored four more runs against the bullpen, but fell short in the end. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless 11th to notch his 36th save of the season.

Game Notes: Every Ranger who had an at bat got a hit except Milton Bradley who went 0 for 1. Michael Young went 4 for 7 raising his BA above the .300 mark. Josh Hamilton had two hits, one his 21st double of the year and the 2nd was his 21st homerun.