Loney sparks Rangers; Trout hits 1st spring HR

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike Trout hit his first home run of the spring, but it wasn't enough to prevent the split-squad Angels from falling to the Rangers, 7-4, on Wednesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
James Loney's two-run double off Angels starter Alex Meyer capped a three-run outburst for the Rangers in the first, though the Halos scored three times in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 3. The Rangers restored their lead on Jurickson Profar's tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the second and went ahead 5-3 on Drew Robinson's RBI double in the third.
Trout slugged a solo shot to left-center off Rangers right-hander Anthony Bass in the seventh to cut the deficit to one, but the Rangers scored twice in the eighth to build a three-run cushion.
Cameron Maybin collected an RBI by drawing a bases-loaded walk off Texas starter Allen Webster in the first, while Danny Espinosa contributed a two-run single.

Rangers pitcher Mike Hauschild continued his strong bid to win a spot on the Rangers' Opening Day roster. Pitching in relief of Webster, Hauschild did not allow a run in two innings. The only baserunner was on a walk; he struck out one and now has a 3.52 ERA in six Cactus League outings.
Hauschild is a strong candidate to make the Rangers either as the fifth starter or as a long reliever in an eight-man bullpen. He has retired 18 of 20 batters faced in his three relief appearances.
"The initial thought process is more strikes and he attacks the strike zone more out of the bullpen," manager Jeff Banister said. "He's a little more relaxed. But the stuff is still the same ... quality stuff."
Meyer allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits while walking three and striking out four over 2 1/3 innings, significantly dampening his chances of winning the fifth spot in the rotation. Meyer, who has a 7.20 ERA over 10 innings this spring, issued back-to-back walks to start the game, which helped spark the Rangers' three-run first. The 27-year-old right-hander also gave up one run in each of the subsequent innings before being lifted with one out in the third.

"The results obviously weren't what you were hoping for," said Meyer, who threw 62 pitches. "Physically, this is as good as I've felt in a while. I feel like my command was better than what the line showed."
Right-hander Cam Bedrosian, who's in position to open the season as the Angels' closer, struck out two over a spotless fifth. He has not allowed a run in five innings this spring.
Rangers Up Next:Adrián Beltré will be back in the lineup Thursday when the Rangers play the Dodgers at 6:05 p.m. CT in Surprise, live on MLB.TV. Beltre is 0-for-7 in five Cactus League games and was 1-for-15 for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.
Angels Up Next: Right-hander Ricky Nolasco, who has logged a 4.00 ERA this spring, will make his fourth Cactus League start against the Padres on Thursday at Peoria Sports Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. PT, live on MLB.TV.
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