Ibanez homers off Darvish in victory over Rangers
Trout collects two hits; Skaggs allows two runs over 2 1/3 innings
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Rangers ace Yu Darvish gave up two runs in three innings and 22-year-old Tyler Skaggs, vying for the fifth spot in the Angels' rotation, struggled in his third and final inning of the Angels' 7-4 win at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Tuesday.
Raul Ibanez, the 41-year-old outfielder entering his 19th season, put the Angels on the board with a homer to right field to lead off the second and catcher Chris Iannetta -- batting .500 this spring -- gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with an RBI double to deep center.
Darvish gave up three hits, walked one and didn't strike out a batter in his second Cactus League start. He has given up two runs in five innings so far this spring.
"I think it was good overall because I was able to try a few things," Darvish said through a translator. "In the home run situation, [catcher Robinson] Chirinos wanted a fastball, and I also wanted a fastball. I threw a four-seam fastball just to see if I could get a pop-up. But it was a huge pop-up."
Mike Trout went 2-for-3 to put his Cactus League batting average at .500, getting a lineout and a single against Darvish, against whom he has a 1.227 career OPS. Albert Pujols went 0-for-3 to make him 0-for-8 in the spring. The Angels eventually pulled away, getting a two-run single from Howie Kendrick in the sixth and a two-run double from Collin Cowgill and an RBI single by Grant Green in the seventh.
Skaggs retired six of his first seven batters, two via strikeout, but ran into trouble in the third, walking Luis Sardinas and Leonys Martin, giving up an RBI single to Shin-Soo Choo -- his first hit in eight Cactus League at-bats -- then walking Alex Rios two batters later before exiting.
Martin added an RBI triple in the fourth and Sardinas notched an RBI double in the sixth.
"I was just happy to get back on the mound," Skaggs said after his 50-pitch outing. "The season ended kind of sour for me last year. It felt really good to go out there and let it fly."
Up next: Jered Weaver will make his second Cactus League start when the Angels travel to Scottsdale, Ariz., to face the Giants on Wednesday, opposite co-ace Matt Cain. Weaver pitched three scoreless innings in his spring debut, giving up one hit, walking none and striking out one. The game, which starts at 12:10 p.m. PT, can be seen on MLB.TV or FOX Sports West.