Mickey Moniak and Zach Neto homered and drove in three runs as the Angels ended the Texas Rangers’ season-best five-game winning streak with a 7-2 victory Wednesday night.
Neto finished a triple short of the cycle for the Angels, who had lost four in a row and eight of nine. He combined with Moniak to give the Angels five hits and three runs from the bottom two batters in the lineup.
Moniak, the No. 9 hitter, launched a three-run homer to make it 4-0 in the second inning. Neto added an RBI double in the third and a two-run homer in the eighth, his 12th of the year.
Angels starter Griffin Canning pitched well until the fifth, when he gave up a two-run homer to Leody Taveras with no outs. After getting Travis Jankowski to ground out, Canning loaded the bases on back-to-back singles and a walk before being pulled.
Right-hander Hans Crouse struck out rookie Wyatt Langford and slugger Adolis García to end the inning. Crouse (1-0) then worked a hitless sixth and earned his first major league win.
García, last year’s AL Championship Series MVP, also popped up against José Marte with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh.
Earlier in the day, García was added to the home run derby to represent the host Rangers during All-Star festivities next week. García is the only one of the eight hitters in the event who wasn’t selected to the All-Star Game.
Texas starter Michael Lorenzen (5-5) gave up five runs and five hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out three.
Before the game, Angels star Mike Trout and his wife, Jessica, announced on social media that they had a baby boy, Jordy Michael, on June 30. It’s the couple’s second child. Trout has played just 29 games this season because of a torn meniscus but is targeting the end of July for a return.
Up next
Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz makes his major league debut Thursday night against Seattle. The 6-foot-7 Kochanowicz was a third-round draft pick in 2019.