Goodwin clutch in 9th, but Halos lose in 11 again

August 21st, 2019

ARLINGTON -- Another grueling day ended with another abrupt disappointment for the Angels on Tuesday night, as they watched the Rangers walk off in the 11th inning for the second night in a row. Despite tying the game in the top of the ninth, the Halos fell 3-2 after winning the first game of the split doubleheader at Globe Life Park.

At the moment Rangers rookie Nick Solak’s grounder glanced off first baseman Albert Pujols’ glove for the game-losing error in the nightcap, the Angels and Rangers had played a total of 10 hours and 59 minutes over two days.

“It definitely wasn’t easy,” Angels right fielder said. “It was just a tough day, man. They had to do the same thing, same conditions for them. I don’t think it was easy for anybody.”

Andrew Heaney’s dominant pitching performance in the doubleheader’s first game eased the sting of Monday’s 11-inning loss, but the Angels got burned again Tuesday. After reliever Ty Buttrey allowed a single and a walk, Rangers rookie Solak hit a ball that eluded Pujols and squirted into right field to allow the speedy Delino DeShields to score from second.

“Our guys keep fighting,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “We may be down offensively and not as productive as we’d like, but with a lot of younger guys, we have a lot of energy.”

Solak made his Major League debut in the first game Tuesday and hit his first big league homer in the fifth inning of the second game off Angels starter Jaime Barria.

Before Shohei Ohtani’s RBI double in the eighth and Goodwin’s solo homer in the ninth, the Angels’ offense was held scoreless for six innings by Rangers rookie Brock Burke, who dazzled in his MLB debut.

“He’s got good stuff,” Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. “For one, he’s got kind of a tough angle for the hitters, in terms of picking up the ball. I thought he was actually pretty impressive for a young pitcher. He looks like he’s got a chance to be pretty good.”

But the Angels broke through against Rangers righty Shawn Kelley in the eighth. David Fletcher greeted the reliever with a single and Ohtani drove in Fletcher two batters later. The Halos then denied closer Jose Leclerc’s bid for the save when Goodwin hit a rope 389 feet out to right field.

Goodwin is hitting .297 (25-of-84) with five homers and 10 RBIs since July 16. He is slashing .282/.339/.489 with 12 homers for the season.

“He’s been tremendous,” Ausmus said. “We’re talking about a guy we picked up during the Freeway Series [at the end of March]. He showed up in Oakland [for Opening Day], no one knew him, hadn’t spent Spring Training with him and he got a lot of playing time initially because [Justin] Upton was out. He performed extremely well. Now he’s in a role where he’s not playing quite as much, and he continues to perform well. It’s been huge.”

Goodwin’s homer capped a comeback that erased Burke’s chance to get a victory in his debut, as the lefty scattered four hits and walked two, while striking out four. The rookie southpaw outdueled nearly every Angels hitter with the exceptions of Pujols, who singled and doubled, and Ohtani, who singled twice off Burke.

Pujols tied Nap Lajoie for seventh in doubles (654) on the Elias all-time list with his fourth-inning liner to left, but he was only one of two Angels to reach scoring position against the Rangers starter.

Angels right-hander Jaime Barria, who was recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Salt Lake to make the spot start, allowed two earned runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out four. Newly acquired lefty Miguel Del Pozo made his MLB debut when he relieved Barria to start the sixth. Del Pozo, whom the Angels acquired in a cash trade with the Rangers on Aug. 9, retired both batters he faced and earned his first strikeout on Rougned Odor.