ARLINGTON, Texas _ Either Ricky Nolasco's previous two starts were a brief interruption to a horrible season or this start was a brief interruption to the turnaround.
The Angels hope it's the latter.
Nolasco was blasted for eight runs, while recording just five outs, in the Angels' 10-0 loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
It was the worst start in a bad season that just started to shown signs of an improvement. Nolasco didn't give up a run in either of his two previous starts, one against the sizzling Dodgers and the other a complete game against the Seattle Mariners.
Those two games sliced his ERA from 5.23 to 4.42, which is more in line with the type of pitcher he's been throughout his career.
Just when Nolasco was giving the Angels and their fans hope, this happened.
Nolasco retired the first two hitters of the game, and then he walked Nomar Mazara. Adrian Beltre then lined a single into left, followed by Rougned Odor's run-scoring single into right.
Jonathan Lucroy then yanked a line drive off the base of the left-field fence, for a two-run double to make it 3-0.
In the second inning, Jurickson Profar led off with a single. After the Rangers gave Nolasco an out on a sacrifice, Nolasco walked Shin-Soo Choo. He struck out Carlos Gomez for the second out.
He never got the third.
Mazara singled, Beltre blasted a three-run homer to left and Odor followed with a homer to right, ending Nolasco's night.
It was just the fifth time in Nolasco's 297-start career that he didn't finish the second inning, and one of those was because of an injury. The last time his performance knocked him out of a game so quickly was Sept. 14, 2013. It was the 12th time he'd allowed at least eight runs, the first since Aug. 31, 2014.
The Angels didn't waste any offense on a hopeless night.
Cole Hamels blanked them over 72/3 innings. The Angels didn't even get a runner into scoring position against Hamels. Three of their four baserunners were erased on double plays.
