ARLINGTON, Texas _ When Mike Trout caught the final out of Saturday's ninth inning at Globe Life Park, he hurled it in to shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who quickly fired it back to him. Jogging in from center, Trout threw it back to Simmons, who then involved second baseman Brandon Phillips, who soon reincorporated a grinning Trout.
Their tied ballgame was headed into extra innings, and they were feeling good. Two minutes later, loose and relaxed, the Angels completed their comeback in a 7-4 victory over Texas. Trout, Justin Upton and Albert Pujols all drew walks, waiting out a wild Rangers reliever.
When a new one entered, Kole Calhoun delivered a two-run single. The Angels added another run on a sacrifice fly, creating a lead more than sufficient for Blake Parker to protect in the bottom of the 10th.
The Angels (70-66) had been down to their last strike an inning earlier. After two quick outs, Luis Valbuena fell behind 0-and-2, then punched a double to right. C.J. Cron launched a home run inches over the tall left-field wall here to tie it. Like the 10th-inning rally, both hits benefitted from lackluster pitching. Rangers rookie right-hander Ricardo Rodriguez, thrust into the closer role 19 days after debuting, threw a bevy of down-the-middle fastballs.
Two games into the Angels' 28-game dash to the finish with notable einforcements, results have not been idyllic. There was no disputing both Justin Upton and Phillips would add offense to the Angels' lineup, but both men also represent defensive downgrades over the team's previous choices at left field and second base.
That has presented itself in the first two games they've played, in which they've been charged with two of the team's five errors.
Beginning the game, Angels starter Ricky Nolasco walked Delino DeShields and allowed a double to Shin-Soo Choo. A tapper from Elvis Andrus scored DeShields, though Simmons alertly threw ahead to third to get out Choo.
Soon, Simmons made another splendid play, salvaging a poor throw to tag out Andrus at second on a steal attempt. He later made a rare error on an oddly-hopped grounder to him in the third inning. Before that, Carlos Gomez launched a second-inning solo shot. The score stayed that way, 2-0, until the fourth inning.
The Angels did not notch their first hit against Rangers right-hander A.J. Griffin until then, when Trout lashed a one-out double into the left-field corner. After Upton popped out, Pujols followed with a run-scoring single into left.
Texas responded with a run in the bottom of the inning, as Gomez doubled and Gallo singled to score him. Nolasco survived that inning and most of the sixth, giving way to Jesse Chavez with one more out left to obtain. Chavez recorded it.
The Angels repeated their fourth inning in the sixth, as Trout ripped another one-out double and Pujols snuck another two-out single into the outfield.
In the seventh, Chavez's run of dominance in the Angels' bullpen slowed, as he surrendered two walks and a bunt single to let in a run. Down 4-2 in the eighth, the Angels sent up the heart of their order: Trout, Upton and Pujols.
Trout grounded out and Upton singled into center. Pujols rapped a grounder headed toward center until Andrus speared it at shortstop and flipped it from his glove to Rougned Odor's bare hand at second base. Odor threw easily to first base, a second ahead of the leaden-footed Pujols, and the Rangers had an inning-ending double play.
Yusmeiro Petit pitched a perfect ninth to allow extra innings.
