Angels hit 4 home runs, but bullpen blows late lead to Rangers

The Angels hit a season-high four home runs on Wednesday afternoon, but all were solo shots, and the Rangers hit two home runs of their own in the eighth inning, part of a bullpen meltdown to beat the Halos 7-4 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

Angels relievers have been a strength in the early going, but Mike Mayers struggled on Wednesday, after he recorded five outs on Tuesday. A pair of one-out walks in the eighth inning were followed by back-to-back home runs by Adolis Garcia and Nate Lowe, turning a 3-1 Angels lead into a 5-3 deficit.

Mayers allowed multiple runs for just the second time in his last 33 appearances, and allowed two home runs for the first time since his major league debut, a start back on July 24, 2016 with the Cardinals. All 109 of Mayers’ appearances in between were in relief.

Three walks, a single, and a balk by Junior Guerra in the ninth inning gave Texas a pair of insurance runs.

Among the Angels to homer were the usual suspects, with Mike Trout homering for a second straight day and Shohei Ohtani hitting a home run the day after he pitched. How rare is that?

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Mike Trout (6), Shohei Ohtani (5), Justin Upton (4), Jose Iglesias (1); Adolis Garcia (3), Nate Lowe (5)

WP — John King (2-0): 1 IP, 2 hits

LP — Mike Mayers (1-1): 0 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk

Up next

The Angels had a 2-2 homestand, with two postponements. Now they hit the road, beginning a four-game series against the Astros on Thursday night (5:10 p.m. PT, YouTube). Alex Cobb starts the series opener in Houston.