Angels can’t handle Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe in loss to Rangers
Corey Seager extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a 457-foot, two-run homer, Nathaniel Lowe had three hits and the Texas Rangers’ offense remained hot in a 9-4 victory over the Angels on Monday night at Angel Stadium.
Wyatt Langford also went deep as the Rangers had 12 hits to extend their winning streak to four games. The defending World Series champions tied a season high Sunday with 19 hits in a 13-2 victory over Tampa Bay.
“I think it’s a matter of time with this offense,” Lowe said. “We’re poised to make some things happen, so nobody in here is going to be surprised if we bust out a bunch of wins in a row or score a lot of runs. That’s kind of been our identity. We’ve gotten away from it.”
Texas trailed 3-2 before breaking it open with a five-run fourth inning, including an RBI single by Lowe that gave the Rangers the lead.
Anthony Rendon had an RBI single in the seventh after being activated off the injured list before the game for the Angels, who have dropped seven of eight. The oft-injured third baseman sat out 68 games because of a left hamstring strain.
After missing 68 games with a hamstring strain, Anthony Rendon returns to bat leadoff Monday night against the Texas Rangers.
Texas right-hander Jon Gray (4-4) gave up three runs in five-plus innings for his first road win this season.
After Marcus Semien led off the game with a base hit to left, Seager drove a fastball near the top of the strike zone over the center-field shrubs and onto the berm.
The 457-foot homer was the second-longest of Seager’s career, surpassed only by a 464-foot shot he hit for the Dodgers against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021.
It also marked the first time since 2021 and seventh since MLB Statcast started in 2015 that an opposing hitter had a homer of at least 455 feet at Angel Stadium.
“Corey is such a good hitter you kind of get accustomed to him hitting balls like that,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.
The Angels took a 3-2 lead in the second with four straight hits, including Mickey Moniak’s two-run triple down the right-field line and an RBI single by Jo Adell.
Texas regained the lead in the fourth, which included a two-run single by Semien that ended the night for Angels starter Davis Daniel. Before Semien’s hit, Langford scored on a balk and Lowe and Leody Taveras had RBI base hits.
Daniel’s two outings since throwing eight shutout innings in his first big league start on June 27 against Detroit have not gone well.
The right-hander gave up seven runs and eight hits in 3⅔ innings. He gave up five runs (four earned) in 5⅓ innings at Oakland last Wednesday.
“He got two strikes and couldn’t put them away. He left his changeup up, couldn’t land his breaking ball, made a few good pitches with his fastball inside. But when he got it out over the plate, they’ve got some professional hitters over there,” Angels manager Ron Washington said.
Langford, who had four hits Sunday, extended Texas’ lead to 9-3 with a two-run homer in the seventh.
Injury update: Angels star Mike Trout (left knee) did some jogging and took swings off a tee before the game. ... Outfielder Taylor Ward (knee) is expected back in the lineup Tuesday after he made a hard slide into the wall trying to run down a foul ball Sunday at Chicago.
Up next: Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer (1-2, 2.70 ERA) has won his last three starts against the Angels. Right-hander Roansy Contreras (1-1, 4.04) takes the mound for the Angels.
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