Elvis homers twice as gritty Rangers take finale over Angels

The Texas Rangers hit four home runs, including two by Elvis Andrus, and held on late for a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Park.

The Rangers moved back to .500 at 68-68 and remained in the hunt for a wild-card berth.

The Rangers open a three-game series against the Braves (60-75) in Atlanta on Monday night.

Martin Perez allowed two runs in the first inning on a two-out, two-run double by C.J. Cron. The left-hander rebounded for three scoreless frames until the fifth, when Albert Pujols’ single to left cut the Rangers’ lead to 5-3.

“We’re not going to give up. We’re never, ever going to quit,” said Andrus, who had his third career multi-homer game at home and second this season. “We’re going to keep battling here through the tough times. That’s what’s happening right now. But we’re going to keep going. We’ve got to throw everything we have, and I think that’s what we’ve been doing lately.”

The Rangers tied it at 2-2 with a run in the second and Andrus’ solo homer in the third. The Rangers added three more in the fourth on Robinson Chirinos’ two-run homer and Delino DeShields’ solo shot to take a 5-2 lead.

Andrus’ two-run homer in the sixth pushed the lead up to 7-3. Texas was then forced to rely on its beleaguered bullpen to cling to the lead over the final three innings.

“I don’t expect anything to be easy this time of year, especially [with the] landscape of the rosters, teams being able to match up, maneuver,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “Our guys continue to grind. That’s who they are; that’s their DNA. That’s why I love these guys.

“Doesn’t always look pretty at times, however, they find a way to get things done.”

Perez allowed three runs on nine hits and two walks in six innings. It was a performance Banister called Perez’s “gutsiest of the year.” He threw a season-high 117 pitches and improved to 11-10.

“He was grinding through every inning. Tremendous job,” Banister said.

Nick Gardewine and Jason Grilli each pitched an inning of scoreless relief, but Grilli came back out to start the ninth and left with no outs and runners on second and third. Tony Barnette took over and walked his first batter to load the bases.

Barnette got Pujols to pop out, but Andrelton Simmons doubled over Nomar Mazara in left to drive in two runs and cut the Texas lead to 7-5.

Barnette struck out Cron, but after intentionally walking Kole Calhoun he unintentionally walked Kaleb Cowart to pull the Angels (70-67) within 7-6.

He finally escaped the jam by getting Luis Valbuena to ground out to third to end the game.

“Going through that part of the order, you’ve got guys that can do damage throughout,” said Barnette, who earned his second save. “Walks almost came back to haunt me. At the end of the day, we got the win and that’s all that matters right now.”

This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Elvis homers twice as gritty Rangers take finale over Angels."