Rangers' rally a step in the right direction

Rangers manager Chris Woodward said the club has shown that it's not going to roll over and give up when it's down, by posting 13 come-from-behind victories this season.

But Texas wasn't able to complete a 14th, as the Rangers' late-game rally fell just short on Wednesday at Angel Stadium, despite home runs from three different players -- Adolis García, Nathaniel Lowe and Joey Gallo.

But the late offensive outpouring -- centered around a five-run eighth inning -- wasn’t enough to overcome a subpar pitching performance as the Rangers fell, 9-8, to the Angels.

“We got off to a slow start because we ran into a quality starter, [Griffin Canning], and the conditions in the day here are pretty tough,” Lowe said. “We kind of fell victim to not really playing our team baseball. Then when it came around, we started playing like a team. We obviously put up a good chunk of runs, so that's what I would factor that into it.”

The Rangers trailed 9-1 at the end of the fifth inning, with García’s fourth-inning solo homer -- his MLB-best 16th of the year -- as Texas’ lone run. Los Angeles notched a five-run first inning against Rangers starter Dane Dunning, and a four-run fifth against Dunning and reliever Wes Benjamin.

Dunning said he struggled with his execution early on and made adjustments too late, with the five-spot putting the Rangers in a hole early. He pointed out that he might need to make a better game plan going forward, and mix his pitches better throughout his outings.

No Rangers team has rallied back from a deficit of that size since May 8, 2004, when Texas overcame a 14-4 hole to win 16-15 against Detroit.

The Rangers' offense woke up late, but when it finally did, it did with a bang trying to make another comeback happen. Gallo’s two-run homer jump-started that five-run eighth inning, which put Texas in striking distance in the final frames, though it was unable to complete the rally.

“In that eighth inning, we finally got some luck to go our way and kept having good at-bats,” Woodward said. “These guys aren't going to quit fighting. That's baseball. I mean sometimes you get to break, sometimes you don't. We just got to keep playing every game.”

Woodward praised the Rangers' at-bat quality late in the game. He said he felt like the hitters were due for their share of luck, after knocking some hard-hit balls right at position players before the eighth inning.

The skipper wants the club to get back to what it does well, which is quality at-bats that lead to opposite-field hits or walks and line drives all over the field that can be contagious down the line.

That’s something that felt lost during the two-game series sweep by the Angels.

“We don't quit,” Lowe added. “This team hasn't quit one-through-nine, regardless of what the numbers look like as a whole or what the stats are or anything like that. Everybody steps up there and wants to go 1-for-1.

“To see guys have success like that is huge. There were a lot of knocks in the bottom of the order today and a lot of production. Great to see Joey go way back. It felt great to punch one of myself and Adolis is a machine. It's exciting to be a part of, and the team definitely doesn't quit, all the way down to the last hour.”