Rangers fall to Angels in soggy slugfest

ARLINGTON --The Rangers found themselves in a late-night slugfest on Saturday night and Angels manager Mike Scioscia found the decisive blow on his bench.
Shohei Ohtani's three-run pinch-hit home run in the top of the seventh allowed the Angels to break open the game with a five-run rally against reliever Eddie Butler and they went on to an 11-7 victory over the Rangers at Globe Life Park.
The game was delayed at the start by rain for two hours and 26 minutes and didn't end until well after midnight.

Rangers starter Martín Pérez allowed six runs in six innings and is still looking for his first win in seven starts since coming back from the disabled list on July 14. He trailed 6-2 midway through the fourth, but the Rangers' four-run rally in the bottom of the inning kept him from taking the loss. His night ended with two scoreless innings.
"A lot of pitches, mid-across [the strike zone], that's where most of the damage was done," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "That's the greatest challenge for Martin, he shows you flashes in innings and then it's the inconsistency in other innings that make it a bit of a challenge for him. We have to find a way to shore them up and get him back on track."

Perez has a 5.44 ERA and opponents are hitting .341 off him in seven starts since his return. His last win came on April 22.
"I was able to finish strong and give the guys a chance … try to stay in the game," Perez said. "I'm not worried about it. I just want to pitch as many innings as I can, stay healthy and help the team. I don't get frustrated. Do your job and make quality starts and you have a chance to win."

Butler, with the score still tied, took over for Perez in the seventh and gave up three straight singles to David Fletcher, Justin Upton and Albert Pujols give the Angels a 7-6 lead. Butler then retired Andrelton Simmons on a fly to center, bringing up catcher René Rivera.
That's when Scioscia summoned Ohtani, a left-handed hitter who didn't start with Perez on the mound for the Rangers. Ohtani is a .169 hitter against left-handed hitters this season but had a .299 average and a .605 slugging percentage against right-handers coming into the game.
Ohtani jumped on a 2-1 fastball and drove it out to deep center to give the Angels a four-run lead.

"Shohei coming off the bench, that's a huge hit at the time," Scioscia said. "I think we had some spots, we wanted to look for the best situation for Shohei and it just happened to come up when Rene was going to hit. But there were some things that we were looking at. It was a good spot for him."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Perez, holding a 2-1 lead, elected to pitch to Pujols with runners on second and third with two out in the third. Pujols had homered off Perez the inning before. Perez fell behind 2-0 in the count and then threw a slider that Pujols grounded into center field for a two-run single to put the Angels ahead.

SOUND SMART
Elvis Andrus was 3-for-5 and has reached base in 44 consecutive home games going back to last season. He has reached base in 37 straight home games this season, tying Michael Young and Rafael Palmeiro for the longest single-season on-base streak since Globe Life Park opened in 1994.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Adrian Beltré, despite a strained left hamstring, started at designated hitter and came up with runners at the corners with two outs in the fourth. The Rangers trailed 6-4 at the time and Beltre hit a high pop down the right-field line. It fell in for a single and two runs scored.

UP NEXT
Right-hander Yovani Gallardo will pitch for the Rangers against the Angels at 2:05 p.m. CT Sunday. It was Bartolo Colon's turn to pitch, but he has been scratched because of some stiffness in his back. Gallardo had a four-game winning streak snapped in his last start when he allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings in a 6-4 loss to the D-backs. Left-hander Jaime Barría will start for the Angels.