Angels 3, Rangers 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Right-hander Jered Weaver won his first start of the season as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Texas Rangers 3-1 on Sunday in front of 35,097 at Angel Stadium.
Weaver (1-0) allowed six hits, one run, one walk and one hit batter in six innings while striking out four and throwing 84 pitches. With the win, the right-hander surpasses Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan to take over second place in career victories for the club with 139.
Three relievers held the Rangers to one baserunner on a hit in the final three innings. Right-hander Huston Street struck out two in a perfect ninth inning for his first save.
Rangers right fielder Nomar Mazara got three hits in his first three major-league at-bats and hit his first home run after being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock earlier in the day. The 20-year-old Mazara, the youngest player on a major-league roster, finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
But left-hander Martin Perez took the loss despite inducing 17 groundouts, including three double plays, in 6 1/3 innings. Perez (0-1) permitted three runs, seven hits, five walks and a hit batter while failing to generate a strikeout.
Weaver defused a potential rally in the top of the first inning. Mazara hit a one-out single up the middle in his first plate appearance before moving to second base when Prince Fielder walked.
But the right-hander induced Adrian Beltre to fly out, then caught Mitch Moreland looking at an 81 mph fastball on the inside corner for a called third strike.
Weaver escaped a similar situation in the top of third, when Magara and Fielder hit successive singles with two out. But Beltre ran into his own batted ball he hit it in front of the plate to end the inning.
The Angels repaid Weaver by taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third against Perez. Johnny Giavotella and Yunel Escobar began the inning with singles, then moved into scoring position on Craig Gentry's sacrifice. Mike Trout grounded out to bring Giavotella home, then Albert Pujols singled to left to score Escobar.
Pujols' hit gave him his 1,701st career RBI and drew him within one of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson for 23rd place all-time.
Texas responded in the fourth by putting the potential tying runs in scoring position after Moreland and Ian Desmond hit back-to-back singles. Moreland took third when Elvis Andrus flied out, then Desmond stole second with two out. But Weaver struck out Bryan Holaday on a 73 mph breaking pitch to quell the threat.
However, Mazara ended the shutout in the fifth with his first major-league home run. The 20-year-old Dominican hit Weaver's first pitch, a 79 mph fastball, onto the batters' eye in center field. Mazara thus became the eighth player in club history to hit a home run in his major-league debut.
Los Angeles regained a two-run lead on Trout's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the seventh. The plate appearance was Trout's first with the bases loaded this season.
NOTES: Both teams entered Sunday's game with the American League's lowest batting averages. The Rangers were hitting .201 while the Angels were batting .189, the second-worst average in the major leagues. ... Rangers C Robinson Chirinos went on the 60-day disabled list after breaking his right forearm in the fifth inning on Saturday night. Los Angeles Angels RHP Garrett Richards hit Chirinos on the arm with a fastball at which Chirinos swung and missed. ... Texas OF Shin-Soo Choo went on the disabled list with a Grade 2 strain in his right calf, and is expected to miss four to six weeks. OF Nomar Mazara, one of the Rangers' best prospects, was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock and made his major-league debut in right field. ... Angels CF Mike Trout needs three stolen bases to tie Chad Curtis for 10th place on the team's all-time list. Trout has 113 career steals.