ANAHEIM -- After going 16 straight games of being held to four runs or fewer, the Angels finally broke out for five runs on Wednesday and carried that over into another strong showing against Rangers ace Jacob deGrom before he left due to injury on Thursday.
The Angels racked up 15 hits, their second-highest total of the season, with superstar Mike Trout recording three hits for a second straight game in a 7-0 win over Texas on Thursday night at Angel Stadium. It gave the Angels the series win after they reeled off three straight victories over Texas, and it also sealed a winning record against the Rangers this season.
It marked the first time the Angels had scored at least five runs in consecutive games since July 8-9 against Texas, while Trout hadn’t registered consecutive three-hit games since doing it in three straight from May 4-6, 2018. They also moved past the Athletics for sole possession of fourth place in the AL West for the first time since April 29, and improved to 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA since dismissing coaches Mike Maddux, Darryl Scott and Dom Chiti on Tuesday.
Right-hander Walbert Ureña was the beneficiary of the offense, and he kept up his impressive rookie season with six scoreless innings to outduel deGrom. Ureña scattered just two hits and two walks with five strikeouts to improve to 8-8 with a 2.67 ERA in 22 appearances (20 starts) this year. He has struck out 102 and walked 57 in 107 2/3 innings this season, while his ERA ranks second among qualified rookies behind Cleveland lefty Parker Messick’s 2.59 ERA.
The Angels have historically hit deGrom well, and kept that up, especially in a second inning that saw them record five hits and score two runs against the two-time Cy Young Award winner. It marked the first time deGrom had surrendered five hits in an inning since Sept. 5, 2017, and he exited after the frame with right triceps fatigue.
The Angels kept it rolling after deGrom exited, scoring four runs in the fifth off veteran lefty Jordan Montgomery. Rookie Denzer Guzman brought home the first run on an infield RBI single with the bases loaded, before Josh Lowe followed with a two-run single and Jose Siri plated a run with an RBI groundout.
Siri added an RBI single in the seventh to give the Angels an insurance run. It helped make up for him dropping a routine fly ball with two outs in the first that cost Ureña an extra nine pitches.