LA Angels 5, Texas Rangers 2

by PegNews wire

ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers continued to slide down the standings Monday night, losing 5-2 to their hated rival LA Angels at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The loss was the third straight for Texas and eighth in their last eleven games, dropping the Rangers to 40-35, two and a half games behind the Angels for first place in the AL West.

Texas has posted a sub-par 10-15 record in June, including ten games in which they have scored two or fewer runs.

Rangers starter Vicente Padilla didn't help matters with a poor outing, surrendering five runs on ten hits over five innings of work. The loss dropped the streaky starter to 6-4 on the season with a 4.75 ERA.

Both of Texas' runs came from solo home runs, with David Murphy hitting a solo shot with two outs in the third, followed back-to-back by a home run from Marlon Byrd. Byrd, who finished 3-for-4 with a double and the home run, seemed at times to be the only Ranger even trying, as the team as a whole finished the game with a paltry eight hits and two walks.

Posted by Todd M.