Angels beat Rangers 9-3 to give Ron Washington win in his 1st game as visiting manager in Texas

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Baseball Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Zach Neto and Taylor Ward homered, Tyler Anderson pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Rangers 9-3 on Friday night to give Ron Washington a victory in his first game as a visiting manager in Texas.

Neto snapped a 1-all tie and put the Angels ahead to stay with his two-run homer in the fourth, a 405-foot drive to right field for his fifth of the season. They have won consecutive games for the first time since a four-game winning streak the first week of the season.

Anderson (4-4) struck out four and walked two.

“It all starts with the pitching. (Anderson) went out there tonight and really controlled the strike zone and controlled some pretty good at-bats over there,” Washington said. “And the guys are starting to swing the bat. And I just hope that each night we don’t have to put up nine (runs), but at least give ourself an opportunity by swinging those bats.”

Washington is the winningest manager in Rangers’ history with his 664 wins from 2007-14, and took them to their first two World Series in 2010 and 2011. He is in the first season with the Angels (17-28), his first managerial job since Texas.

Jonah Heim and Marcus Semien went deep for Texas, which lost for the seventh time in nine games and had a season-high three errors.

At 23-23, the reigning World Series champion Rangers have a .500 record for the eighth time this year. They won each of the last seven times to avoid a losing record, something they haven’t had at any point since Bruce Bochy became their manager before last season.

Left-hander Andrew Heaney (0-5), who pitched for the Angels from 2015-21, struck out five, walked two and allowed three runs (two earned) while throwing 83 pitches in 3 2/3 innings. That matched his shortest start of the season.

“Pitches caught up with him more than anything,. I didn’t want to push him too much here,” Bochy said. “Had some bad luck. … Stuff was pretty good, but just got away from it as the game went.”

Angels DH Willie Calhoun matched a career high with four hits, all singles. He drove in a run with his hit in the fifth, then scored on No. 9 batter Kyren Paris’ two-run single. Ward’s ninth homer was a solo shot in the sixth for a 7-1 lead.

“Willie Calhoun, when he was a youngster, he was a pretty good hitter. And for some reason along the way he lost his way,” Washington said. “Hopefully we found the Willie Calhoun that everyone thought he would be.”

Calhoun made his major league debut with the Rangers from 2017-22, and played only his 13th game for the Angels after going to spring training on a minor league deal and getting called up earlier this month.

“A four-hit game just in general feels good, no matter who it’s against,” Calhoun said. “But spent five years with that organization. I felt like I kind of grew up there. I went through a lot of ups and downs there.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: 3B Luis Rengifo was back in the lineup after missing 10 games because of a viral infection. He doubled in his first at-bat, then had a walk and a stolen base in the third inning, before racing home from second base when Kevin Pillar got an infield single on checked swing and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe had an error on his throw to home.

Rangers: Right-handers Nathan Eovaldi (right groin strain) and Dane Dunning (right rotator cuff strain) both threw bullpen sessions. Dunning could return to the rotation as early as next week. Eovaldi is a bit further behind. … Rookie OF Evan Carter, who had missed the previous five games with lower back stiffness, pinch-hit in the ninth.

UP NEXT

Right-hander José Ureña is 1-1 with a 2.31 in his first two spot starts for Texas. Lefty Patrick Sandoval (2-6, 5.00 ERA) pitches for the Angels on Saturday.

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