Trout HR 4th game in row; Angels top Texas after bee delay
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Texas Rangers relievers found themselves dealing with the wrong kind of buzz Sunday, first from bees in the bullpen and then from the crowd's reaction to another mammoth home run by Mike Trout.
The star slugger went deep for the fourth straight game and the Los Angeles Angels, after waiting out a five-minute delay caused by a swarm of bees, beat the Rangers 7-2.
Trout hit five home runs in the four-game series and became the fourth Angels player to connect five times in one set. The two-time AL MVP went 6 for 11 with nine RBIs in the series. He hit a two-run drive off Kyle Bird in the sixth inning Sunday for a 6-2 lead.
"I've got to keep that same approach and just keep doing my job," Trout said.
Play was stopped in the fifth when bees began flying around the bullpens in left-center field at Angel Stadium. Bird was warming up and kept throwing while swatting away the insects, but his teammates hopped the wall to get away. They ended up standing under what would be the trajectory of Trout's 422-foot shot two innings later.
Many fans cleared out of the area until the bees eventually left.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward didn't realize there was an issue until he looked out to make sure Bird was getting loose, "and there was nobody down there," he said.
Bird might have preferred staying in the bullpen with the bees after leaving a fastball over the middle of the plate to Trout, who became the first player in American League history with five homers in the first four home games of a season.
"He's not missing anything," Woodward said. "Typically, you look at a game and most hitters don't get a lot of pitches. He's getting one or two and he seems to be hitting them out. Hopefully next time we face him it will be a different result."
Brian Goodwin also homered for the Angels, who have won three in a row following a five-game losing streak. Justin Anderson (2-0) threw a scoreless inning in relief.
Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer for the Rangers. Shelby Miller (0-1) gave up four runs on four hits and three walks and hit one batter in two innings.
The Angels scored four times in the second. Jonathan Lucroy had an RBI single, and Zack Cozart was hit by a pitch to tie it at 2. David Fletcher singled home a run and another scored on Tommy La Stella's groundout.
Angels manager Brad Ausmus was pleased his offense was able to get those four runs across without any help from Trout.
"Although I say at times that Trout is going to be the bulk of our offense, on any given day we need six or seven guys in the lineup to contribute to consistently score runs," Ausmus said.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the second when Gallo launched a changeup 441 feet into the stands in right field. It was his fourth home run of the season.
WELCOME ADDITION
Goodwin, who had a solo shot in the seventh, went 2 for 3 with a walk. After being claimed off waivers March 27 from Kansas City, Goodwin leads the team with a .400 batting average (8 for 20) and is "setting the tone for all of us," Trout said.
"Other than Trouty, he's probably swinging the bat the best on the team. And he's a guy we didn't have 10 days ago, so he's been a nice addition offensively, for sure," Ausmus said.
MOVING ON UP
Albert Pujols passed Ichiro Suzuki for 22nd place in career hits with a single in the third inning. Pujols has 3,090 hits in 2,702 games.
"Ichiro had an unbelievable amount of hits, and it seems like every day Albert is passing somebody," Trout said.
CAUGHT BY SURPRISE
Angels OF Justin Upton figured he might miss a couple of weeks at most after injuring the big toe on his left foot when he banged into the outfield wall in an exhibition game, so he couldn't believe it when told the diagnosis of turf toe would keep him out for up to three months.
"I wasn't happy about it, obviously," Upton said. "But nothing I can really do about it at this point except take it and try to get better while I'm down."
Upton, limited to range-of-motion exercises while he remains in a walking boot for the next two to three weeks, joked he had not been in contact with any offensive linemen for rehabilitation tips after sustaining an injury associated more with football than baseball.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: 1B Ronald Guzman was placed on the 10-day injured list after sustaining a right hamstring strain Saturday. "I've never had problems with the right leg. It's very rare," Guzman said. Patrick Wisdom was recalled from Triple-A Nashville and is expected to split time at first base with Logan Forsythe, who started Sunday.
Angels: X-rays taken of Cozart's left arm did not reveal any broken bones. ... DH Shohei Ohtani (elbow) will remain in California to continue his rehabilitation. Ausmus did not update a timetable for when Ohtani could make his season debut. ... RHP Nick Tropeano (shoulder) will begin throwing simulated games at the Angels' spring training complex in Arizona.
UP NEXT
Rangers: LHP Mike Minor (1-1, 4.63 ERA) will make his first road start Tuesday against Arizona. Minor threw seven sharp innings in a 4-0 win against Houston on Wednesday.
Angels: RHP Trevor Cahill (0-1, 3.75) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series against Milwaukee. Cahill will make his home debut for the Angels after allowing one run over six innings in a no-decision at Seattle on Tuesday.
