ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Joey Gallo ended the longest home run drought of his career at 20 games with the Texas slugger’s most brutal hit of the season, an early tiebreaking two-run shot in the Rangers’ 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.
Nick Solak homered twice to take the Texas team lead with seven as the Rangers stopped a second four-game losing streak, their longest of the season. Shohei Ohtani was 0 for 4 with a strikeout as the LA designated hitter a day after winning, scoring three runs and driving in two while becoming the first home run leader to start as a pitcher since Babe Ruth a century ago.
Gallo extended the longest current on-base streak in the major leagues to 23 games with a first-inning walk. It’s the deepest season-opening run for Texas since Ian Kinsler reached in the first 25 games of 2008.
But the 2019 All-Star’s power slump had reached 88 plate appearances without even one extra-base hit before Gallo pulled a 114.3 mph liner down the line in right field off José Quintana to break a 1-1 tie in the third.
Mike Trout, who entered the game leading the majors in on-base and slugging percentage, was 2 for 4 with a double to raise his batting average to .431. Ohtani and Trout didn’t go deep against Texas starter Mike Foltynewicz, who had allowed a majors-leading eight home runs in his first four starts but didn’t surrender one against the team that started the day leading the AL in long balls.
Foltynewicz (1-3) allowed eight hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings for the right-hander’s first win with the Rangers. He signed as a free agent in the offseason. Albert Pujols drove in the only LA run with a single in the second. The 41-year-old has 2,112 RBIs, second to Hank Aaron on the career list.
In his first career multihomer game, Solak had a pair of solo shots, starting in the first against Quintana (0-2). The LA left-hander allowed six hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings. Solak connected again in the seventh.
Gallo, whose only extra-base hit was a homer in Kansas City in the second game, struck out with the bases in the fourth. It was the 11th consecutive game with at least one K for the AL leader in walks (23) and strikeouts (34).
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: Manager Joe Maddon said the blister on Ohtani’s pitching hand that ended the right-hander’s night after five innings wasn’t a big concern. “We were just trying to stay ahead of it a little bit,” Maddon said. “Just one of those things that we wmustcontinue to monitor.” … Maddon said C Max Stassi (left thumb sprain) and OF Juan Lagares (left calf strain) was close to returning.
UP NEXT
Angels RHP Alex Cobb (1-1, 6.28 ERA) is set for Wednesday’s fthree-game series finaleagainst Texas RHP Dane Dunning (1-0, 3.06). Cobb has a 2.90 ERA in six career starts against the Rangers and faces them for the first time since July 2018 with Baltimore. Dunning extended his scoreless streak to 16 innings in his previous start at the White Sox before allowing a career-high five earned runs without escaping the third. Dunning had a no-decision in Chicago’s 9-7 victory.
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