Recap: LA Angels vs. Texas
Sports Network | September 28, 2008
Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Nelson Cruz launched a two-run homer to lead the Texas Rangers to an 8-4 victory over the LA Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium.
Joaquin Arias went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI while Chris Davis also homered for the Rangers, who have won four straight.
Hank Blalock hit an RBI double in the third, giving the Rangers the most doubles in a single season in major league history. Texas came into the game with 373 doubles -- tied with three other teams, including the 2004 Boston Red Sox -- and tallied two on Saturday to set the record at 375 with one game remaining.
Scott Feldman (6-8) allowed two runs -- one earned -- on five hits in six innings, with two strikeouts, to earn the win for Texas.
Ervin Santana (16-7) struggled in his final start for the Angels before the playoffs, surrendering eight runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, with a walk and five strikeouts.
Juan Rivera went 2-for-4 and scored twice, and Erick Aybar finished 2-for-3 for the Angels, who have clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and will face the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the postseason.
Texas scored three runs in the second to erase a 1-0 deficit. Marlon Byrd started with a single, and one out later Cruz and Davis launched back-to-back home runs off Santana.
Blalock gave the Rangers a 4-1 advantage when he hit an RBI double in the third, bringing home Byrd, who had singled.
Davis stroked a one-out double in the Rangers' sixth and scored on Arias' triple to center. After Frank Catalanotto was hit by a pitch, Michael Young added an RBI single. Josh Hamilton broke the game open with another single to plate two more runs, giving Texas an 8-1 lead.
Kendry Morales pulled the Angels within six on an RBI groundout in the sixth, and Matthew Brown added another RBI groundout in the seventh to make it an 8-3 game. In the ninth, Bobby Wilson also hit an RBI groundout to cap the scoring.
The Angels were able to manufacture a run in the first. Chone Figgins led off with an infield single and took third after catcher Taylor Teagarden threw the ball away on Figgins' steal attempt. Two batters later Mark Teixeira lofted a sac fly to give LA an early 1-0 lead.
Despite the loss, the Angels lead the season series 11-7 and have won the series between the clubs for four straight seasons...Blalock's five-game home run streak came to an end.
