Final Score in Arlington: Angels 5 Rangers 4
Eleven days ago, the Angels climbed to within one game of first place. It was Monday, August 4 and Garrett Richards had just beat the Dodgers with a complete game shutout.
Tonight, Richards allowed two runs in 7.1 Innings Pitched. Than he had to watch the bullpen and the defense let the Rangers get back in the game before Joe Smith shut the door in the bottom of the eighth and Huston Street turned out the lights in the ninth. The party was over for the Arlington Also-Rans but it might be just beginning for the Halos as the Big Green Weenie up north has seen its post-Cespedes offense shrivel like a skewered shrimp on ice.
Meanwhile Kole Calhoun was a triple shy of the cycle and his big three-run home run in the fifth inning was the central highlight of this evening's contest. The 8-9-1 spots in the lineup were almost the entirety of the Halo offense and the 2-3-4 spots were so unimpactful that one might think that Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton were wearing the green and gold of the weak-swinging Athletics. Lucky for us David Freese, Chris Iannetta and Calhoun could hit hard in the 98 degree Texas night.
The Angels are now one game behind the fading Oakand A's for first place in the American League West,