Angels rout Rangers en route to crushing sweep

The good news for the Texas Rangers is that they can’t lose another home game Monday.

Of course, they don’t play Monday, but they’ll take any break they can get right now when in the general vicinity of Globe Life Park.

The Rangers sure aren’t getting any good luck when inside the Globe. That nasty scoreboard trend and a woeful record within the division are conspiring to keep them from contending for the postseason.

Those in uniform are quick to remind that it’s still early — with 79 games remaining this season. Forty-four of them are at home. Forty-two are against American League West rivals.

The law of averages says things will get better. It would be difficult for them not to improve after a dismal weekend against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Angels plowed over the Rangers 12-6 Sunday night, scoring 10 times against Colby Lewis and stretching out to a 12-1 lead before coasting to a three-game sweep.

No game was close, and there is little consolation in the very few things that went right.

The Rangers got whipped over three games.

“That’s one that you chalk up as it didn’t go your way in any part of the game,” first baseman Mitch Moreland said. “We know it’s a long year. It’s a 162-game season. How you lose them and how you win them doesn’t really matter. The end result is just the win or the loss.”

To list all the things that went wrong against the Angels might draw a fine from the FCC for obscenity, so here’s a small sample:

▪ The three Rangers starters — Chi Chi Gonzalez, Wandy Rodriguez and Lewis — pitched to an ERA of 17.71. The Angels hit .571 (12 for 21) against Lewis in four-plus innings.

▪ Rangers pitchers allowed 47 hits in the series, 20 with runners in scoring position to a team that entered the series in an 0-for-27 slump in those situations.

▪ The offense hit .156 and scored just two runs in the first two games before waking up way too late in the finale. Prince Fielder homered in the first off C.J. Wilson, and Rougned Odor’s two-run homer in the seventh was one of the Rangers’ 11 hits. Nine of those, though, came after the Angels had taken an 11-run lead.

Sure, the Rangers played decent defense, hit some balls hard and got some quality work from their long relievers, but those rate as a drop in the bucket when the final tally after three games is Angels 33, Rangers 8.

“There’s an element to being able to flush games like this out,” manager Jeff Banister said. “There’s also an element that I think you allow these types of games to sting. I think at times like this, you tighten your ranks, too. They’re gut-check times.

“But these are all professional baseball players in that clubhouse. They’ve been in situations like this before. You find a way to regroup and continue to play, and continue to play for each other and challenge each other to get better every day.”

The Rangers have lost six straight at home to fall to 15-22 at the Globe. The 15 wins are tied for the fewest in the majors with Cleveland and Milwaukee.

“It really hasn’t happened for us at home,” shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “It’s kind of weird how to explain that.”

The Rangers have the worst division record in the majors. The Phillies, the worst team in baseball, have one more division win (12) than the Rangers, who have lost their past eight intra-division games.

“We treat every game, whether we’re home or away or whoever we’re playing, we’re trying to go out and beat the team on the other side of the lines,” Moreland said. “We know some days it’s not going to be our day.

“We had the last three days that didn’t go our way, but we’re not going to do anything. We’re going to keep going out there, grinding it out and give it everything we’ve got.”

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Angels rout Rangers en route to crushing sweep."