• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Angels hit five homers, take down Rangers

Aug 28, 2011 - 5:20 AM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim used a home run barrage to make up ground in the American League West.

Vernon Wells, Mike Trout, Bobby Wilson, Peter Bourjos and Howie Kendrick each hit solo home runs to power the Angels to an 8-4 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Wells added an RBI triple, while Torii Hunter and Erick Aybar both singled home a run for the Angels, who closed to within two games of the division- leading Rangers.

"We have a lot of baseball left after this series. It's important to win games, and the fact that we're winning against a team we're trying to catch, that helps," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "But there's a long road ahead of us."

Pitching on three days' rest, Los Angeles starter Ervin Santana (10-9) allowed four runs on four hits over seven innings.

The Angels rebounded from an 11-7 loss in Friday's series opener, which halted their season-best winning streak at six games.

David Murphy hit a two-run homer for the Rangers, but grounded into an game- ending double play with the bases loaded. Texas starter C.J. Wilson (13-6) gave up six runs on 10 hits in five frames. The left-hander set a career-high by surrendering four home runs.

"The home run ball was working. The problem is, I was giving them up," said Wilson. "I was aiming down, and the ball was going up."

An unidentified adult male fell on a stairwell during the game and was being treated for his injuries at a nearby hospital, the Rangers said in a release issued after the game.

It came more than a month after firefighter Shannon Stone died after falling from the stands behind the left field wall on July 7.

Jordan Walden came on to protect the Angels' four-run lead in the ninth, but was relieved by Hisanori Takahashi after allowing three of the four batters he faced to reach base. Murphy, who belted a grand slam Friday, couldn't deliver again as Takahashi earned his second save of the season.

Wells began the home run parade with a one-out drive to center field in the second inning. The visitors took a 2-0 lead in the third when Bourjos scored on Hunter's broken-bat blooper to left. Bourjos was on third after reaching on a fielder's choice, stealing second base and advancing on an errant throw.

Trout and Wilson went deep back-to-back with two gone in the fourth to make it 4-0.

Texas halved its deficit in the bottom of the inning. Santana hit Ian Kinsler to begin the Rangers' half of the fourth, then walked Elvis Andrus on four pitches. Michael Young lofted a sacrifice fly after Josh Hamilton grounded out and Mike Napoli plated another run with a grounder up the middle. Napoli's single was Texas' first hit.

Bourjos led off the fifth with a blast to left field and Aybar tacked on a run-scoring single later in the frame to extend the Halos' lead to 6-2.

Murphy, though, followed a lead off single by Nelson Cruz in the bottom of the inning with a home run to right.

Texas reliever Koji Uehara gave up a lead off home run to Kendrick in the seventh. Hunter followed with a double and scored on a triple by Wells.

Game Notes

The five home runs were a season-high for the Angels and matched the most Texas allowed in a game this year...The Rangers had gone seven straight games without committing an error.