Rougned Odor leads Rangers to win over Angels
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Rougned Odor was double the fun for the Texas Rangers, who benefited from another replay challenge against the AL West rival Los Angeles Angels.
Odor matched a club record with three doubles, one initially ruled a foul ball in a six-run inning, and Mitch Moreland hit a three-run homer in the Rangers' 7-2 victory on Saturday night.
"He's a sparkplug, he's that type player, he makes a lot of stuff happen on the field," Moreland said of the second baseman.
Odor's second double was in that big third inning. After initially ruled a foul ball, Rangers manager Jeff Banister challenged the call. After a delay of about 3 1/2 minutes the replay showed the ball kicked up a small bit of chalk and Odor was awarded a double and Delino DeShields advanced from first to third.
"It's a different situation, but the ball was fair. It's not like we lost anything," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
Nomar Mazara followed with a sacrifice fly off Matt Shoemaker (1-4) before the next six Rangers had hits, including Moreland's third homer of the season for a 7-0 lead.
Banister said his replay coordinators saw the chalk, leading to the challenge.
"It was a big play for us," he said.
Derek Holland (3-1) pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits with one strikeout and no walks.
The Angels were scoreless until Albert Pujols' sixth homer of the season, a solo shot with one out in the ninth.
Texas won the series opener 4-2 on Friday night, when a potential Angels rally was thwarted in the sixth after a successful Rangers challenge showed Pujols briefly lost contact with the bag while second baseman Odor applied a tag. Instead of runners at first and second with no outs, there was an out and the Angels failed to score before Texas got three runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Rangers, who have won four straight since a four-game losing streak, led for good Saturday after Odor led off the first with a double and scored on a two-out double by Prince Fielder.
Odor doubled in the sixth, and made it safely to third with a nifty slide even though the throw beat him there after Mazara flied out to left. While diving headfirst with the ball in third baseman Yunel Escobar's glove, Odor pulled back his right hand to avoid the tag while reaching around with his left hand to grab the bag.
"Incredible body control ... a swim move I guess you can call it," Banister said. "When you're in complete control of your body and what you do, and have the awareness and vision, it's just a testament to his athleticism."
FOUL BALL HITS FAN
A woman sitting about 15 rows behind the Rangers dugout was struck in the left side of the face by a foul ball hit by Angels DH C.J. Cron in the fifth. Medical officials immediately tended to the woman in her seat, where she remained for the rest of the half inning before being helped in leaving the seating area. Rangers officials said the woman was conscious and talking when taken to a hospital for observation.
RANGERS ROUGH ON SHOE
Shoemaker allowed seven runs in 2 1-3 innings with one strikeout. The right-hander has allowed 13 runs in 5 1-3 innings in two starts this year against the Rangers.
TEXAS TIDBITS
After going 7-14 last April, the Rangers finished the first month this season 14-10. ... The Texas starter has gone at least five innings in all 24 games this season, a club record to start a season. The Cubs (22 games) are the only other MLB team this season with starters going at least five innings in every game.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: OF Craig Gentry was unavailable because of back stiffness. ... OF Daniel Nava (left patella tendinitis), eligible to come off the 15-day DL on Sunday, could start getting some at-bats in minor league rehab games next week.
Rangers: C Robinson Chirinos (broken right forearm) will have more scans Tuesday to determine if he's healed enough to start other baseball activities and rehab games. He is catching balls off a machine in the batting cage and running. ... OF Shin-Soo Choo (right calf strain) feels good, but is still another week to 10 days from rehab games.
UP NEXT
Angels: RHP Garrett Richards (1-3, 2.35 ERA) starts the series finale.
Rangers: LHP Cole Hamels (3-0, 2.52) makes his first start in 11 days, having been skipped in his scheduled rotation spot last Monday because of left groin soreness. Hamels has a career-best 10-game winning streak dating to last year and the Rangers have won his last 14 regular-season starts. The only time Texas has won more consecutive starts by one pitcher was 15 straight by Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins from 1978-79.