Pujols delivers as Angels sink Rangers with walk-off win

Albert Pujols singled off Shawn Tolleson with two outs in the ninth inning, and Yunel Escobar homered and drove in two runs against Derek Holland as the Los Angeles Angels handed the Texas Rangers their third consecutive loss, 4-3.

The bullpen has been tagged with the loss in all three defeats, with Sam Dyson the latest to falter despite not pitching poorly. Tolleson faced only one batter, and Pujols drilled the game-winner to left-center field.　

Hitting: For the second time this season, the Rangers took a 1-0 lead despite not having a hit. They did it in the first, turning a walk, an error, a balk and a Prince Fielder sacrifice fly into a run. ... Their first hit came on the first pitch of the third, when Robinson Chirinos drilled his first homer of the season. ... The Rangers collected singles by Ian Desmond and Mitch Moreland to start the seventh, and Elvis Andrus’ sacrifice fly made it 3-3.

Pitching: The only run Holland allowed through four innings was on a homer by Yunel Escobar with two outs in the third. ... Holland had a 22-pitch first inning but was at a manageable 61 to begin the fifth, but the Angels took advantage of two walks to score twice with two outs. Escobar had an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2, and Craig Gentry drove in another with a double. Holland struck out Mike Trout for a second time to allow only three runs in five innings. ... Tom Wilhelmsen pitched around two two-out hits in the sixth for a scoreless inning after allowing five runs and not retiring a batter Tuesday in his debut. ...

Keone Kela tossed a perfect seventh but allowed a single to Trout to start the eighth. Sam Dyson entered and allowed back-to-back infield singles to load the bases. Dyson, though, struck out Kole Calhoun and got Andrelton Simmons to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play. Back for the ninth, Dyson allowed a single and a walk with one out before being replaced by Andrew Faulkner, who got Carlos Perez to ground to third. Faulkner then walked Trout and was replaced by Tolleson, who saw his second pitch one-hop the left-field wall.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 12:21 AM with the headline "Pujols delivers as Angels sink Rangers with walk-off win."