ANAHEIM, Calif. — The race for the American League West title will get interesting enough without Texas helping the Los Angeles Angels.
The Rangers didn't see it that way Friday night.
An Ian Kinsler fielding error kept alive a troublesome seventh inning, and Mike Trout's two-run single followed as the Angels rallied for a 4-2 victory over the Rangers.
Texas has lost three-consecutive games and its lead in the West is down to 4.5 games over Los Angeles. It's the closest the Angels, who have won nine out of 10 games, have been to the Rangers since April 16.
"I don't get frustrated but we've got to put those guys away," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I thought Colby (Lewis) did one heck of a job, kept us in the ballgame. We got the ground ball we wanted. We just didn't pick it up. It was hit to one of the surest hands in second base in the game. He just didn't pick the ball up. Trout got a base hit."
Lewis ran into trouble with two outs in the seventh inning and the game tied at 2-2. Howie Kendrick singled and then Erick Aybar was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second and ending the night for Lewis. Lewis had two strikes on both hitters, but couldn't put either away.
"On 0-2 (to Kendrick) I made a good pitch and he just kind of squeezed the ball up the midde," Lewis said. "Then I jerked a fastball (to Aybar). That was just about it. I was just trying to get him out, regardless of setting him up. I was trying to come inside, jerked it and hit him in the butt."
Alexi Ogando relieved Lewis and appeared to have job done as Maicer Izturis hit a grounder to Kinsler. But Kinsler bobbled and then dropped the ball and the bases were loaded for Trout.
Trout, who got the Angels going an inning earlier, lashed a two-run single to right-center to give the Angels their first lead of the game.
Kinsler made no excuses after his sixth error of the season.
"I misplayed it and dropped the ball," Kinsler said. "There's nothing else to it. It's part of baseball. I kind of played myself into that hop. A lot of times out of a lot of times I catch that ball. It didn't bounce our way tonight."
Everything was going good for Lewis early. He didn't allow a hit until Albert Callaspo singled with one out in the fourth and the Rangers were up 2-0.
That lead lasted until the sixth inning when Lewis (4-4) was touched for two runs. No. 9 hitter John Hester opened the inning with a double and Trout followed with a triple to right that Nelson Cruz misjudged. An Albert Pujols sacrifice fly tied the game.
"I fell behind Hester there and I wasn't going to walk him and made him earn it," Lewis said. "He did his job and doubled. I jerked a two-seamer to Trout there, and he did his job."
The Rangers did the job early against Jerome Williams. Texas got a run in the first on Adrian Beltre's RBI single. It added another in the fourth on an RBI single from Mike Napoli.
That would be it for Texas though as the Rangers had three innings end on double play. Texas also had a chance of its own to break the 2-2 tie in the top of the seventh after an error and a double put runners on second and third for Elvis Andrus. Andrus hit a deep line drive to center, but Trout was able to run it down.
Texas had Williams in trouble in each of the first four innings but stranded runners in scoring position on three of those occasions. Now the Rangers, who had one the last eight series-opening games against Los Angeles, look to rebound Saturday.
"We're still 4 ½ games up," Washington said. "There's no panic here. We'll come out tomorrow and play just as hard tomorrow as we did tonight."
