The Rangers fell to the Los Angeles Angels, 7-3, on Sunday afternoon in Tempe. Texas starter Derek Holland permitted 2 runs (1 ER) in his 4.0 innings of work. Holland navigated past a pair of walks and an error in the first inning to retire 10 of the final 13 batters he faced. Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman each posted scoreless innings in relief. Yohander Mendez set down 3 of 4 batters faced and has now totaled 6.2 scoreless innings this spring. The Rangers scored all 3 of their runs via a pair of long balls. Joey Gallo homered for the 2nd time in his last 3 games, hitting a ball over the right field wall and into the Tempe Diablo Stadium parking lot off Halos starter Matt Shoemaker. In the 9th inning, pinch-hitter James Jones hit his 2nd home run of the spring. Ryan Rua scored on the Jones home run after leading off the frame with a triple. Rua has a team-high 5 extra-base hits this spring and his 15 total bases are tied with Nomar Mazara for the team lead. Mazara had a team-high 2 hits, including his first double of the spring to raise his spring average to .550 (11-20).
The Rangers will be on the road again Monday as they travel to Goodyear for a 3:05 CST contest with the Cleveland Indians. RHP A.J. Griffin (0-0, 3.00) will start for Texas opposite Cleveland’s Corey Kluber (1-0, 0.00). A free audio webcast of the game can be found at texasrangers.com, with Jared Sandler and Chris Blake calling the action.
