Angels held scoreless in final eight innings and still win

If I would have told you this morning that the Angels wouldn’t score a run in the final eight innings, you’d most likely think they lost the game. Well, that’s what makes baseball so great, and sometimes so annoying.

The Angels scored all four of their runs in the first inning on Wednesday night, as they defeated the Rangers, 4-3.

The offense started rolling right away, as two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Anthony Rendon. Up 3-1 in the count, Rendon connected on a slider and singled to right field, bringing in two runs to give LA the quick 2-0 lead. After Jose Rojas popped out, there were two outs in the inning.

Jose Iglesias then worked a 3-1 count as well, singling in two more runs to give the Angels the 4-0 lead. In the first inning, the Angels scored four runs on four hits. Over the course of the final eight innings, the Halos would be held scoreless and only record three more hits.

Alex Cobb got the start for the Angels, but lasted only two innings. He allowed three runs on six hits and needed 51 pitches to get through two. His season with the Angels hasn’t gotten off to the start anyone would have liked, as he owns a 7.16 ERA through the first month of the season.

Chris Rodriguez took over in the third inning for the Angels and had his best outing of the season. He threw 3 ¹⁄₃ innings of scoreless ball and allowed only one hit. Mike Mayers, Tony Watson and Raisel Iglesias followed, throwing a combined 3 ²⁄₃ IP of scoreless ball.

Wednesday particulars

WP: Chris Rodriguez (2-0) 3 ¹⁄₃ IP, 0 ER

LP: Dane Dunning (1-1) 5 IP, 4 ER

SV: Raisel Iglesias (4) 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 SO

Box score