Darvish pitches Rangers past Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Yu Darvish struck out 10 while shutting out the Los Angeles Angels on five hits over seven innings, lifting the Texas Rangers to an 8-3 victory Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium.
The Rangers spread the wealth offensively as all but one hitter in the starting lineup had at least one of the club's 11 hits. Backup catcher Robinson Chirinos made the most of his opportunity, getting two hits, driving in three and scoring twice.
Carlos Gomez and Nomar Mazara each homered for Texas, which won two of three in the series.
Darvish mixed his pitches well and kept the Angels hitters off balance all afternoon. He struck out two batters in each of the second, third, fourth and fifth innings, and retired the side in order in the fourth and seventh innings.
The Angels' best chance to score against him came in the sixth when singles by Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons put runners on first and third with one out. But Darvish, who made 103 pitches in all, induced a 4-6-3 double-play grounder from Cameron Maybin to end the threat.
Angels starter Ricky Nolasco struggled all afternoon. He was finished after five innings, making 97 pitches and giving up five runs and eight hits. He struck out seven and walked none.
The Rangers got to Nolasco early, Gomez hitting Nolasco's second pitch of the day over the fence in center field for a leadoff homer.
In the second inning, the Rangers got a couple two-out RBI hits -- a double by Chirinos and a single by Jurickson Profar, giving Darvish and the Rangers a 3-0 lead.
Mazara's two-run homer in the third inning, his third of the season, widened the Rangers' lead to 5-0.
The Rangers made it 8-0 in the sixth with three more runs, getting a two-run single from Chirinos and an RBI single from Shin-Soo Choo off Angels reliever Daniel Wright.
Danny Espinosa's two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning accounted for two of the Angels' three runs.
NOTES: Angels LHP J.C. Ramirez will start Friday against Kansas City, taking the spot in the rotation from injured RHP Garrett Richards (strained biceps muscle). Ramirez, in his fourth major league season, has pitched in 111 career games, but none as a starter. ... Because of off-days, the Rangers had not needed a fifth starter until this Saturday's game against the Mariners. RHP Andrew Cashner is the "frontrunner" to make the start, according to Rangers manager Jeff Banister. RHP Nick Martinez is another option.