Thursday, July 2, 2009
Texas Rangers 9, LA Angels 7
ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers continued their unlikely dominance over their hated divisional rivals Wednesday night, defeating the LA Angels 9-7 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The win improved Texas to 42-35, a half game behind the Angels for first place in the AL West and raised Texas' record against LA to 5-1. The teams play another series next week in Los Angeles.
Photo not provided by the Texas Rangers
The Rangers had a 7-1 lead until the bullpen surrendered two three-run innings in the seventh and ninth, relying on a two-run home run by Hank Blalock in the bottom of the ninth for the win. Blalock finished the game 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored.
Several other Rangers had great days at the plate as well. Michael Young went 3-for-5 with an RBI and the game-winning run, while much-maligned Chris Davis knocked in two RBI (and his league-leading 111th strikeout) to create some early insurance runs against the Angels. Rookie call-up Julio Borbon, brought up on Monday, went 1-for-2 with his first major league hit, run and RBI.
Rangers starter Kevin Millwood pitched well enough, surrendering four runs on eight hits over six-plus innings. Thanks to a rare late-game meltdown by Frank Francisco, however, Millwood was denied the win. Francisco lucked into the win after blowing his second save of the season, allowing three runs in the top of the ninth.
Posted by Todd M.
