Albert Pujols powers Angels past Rangers

ANAHEIM >> On a night that a couple of pitchers failed to recapture their glory days, Albert Pujols relived his.

Pujols, of course, never fell quite to the depths that Tim Lincecum and Kyle Lohse did in recent years, but this week he has provided reminders that the player who has had one of the greatest careers in baseball history still lurks inside.

Pujols hit two homers, his second multi-homer game in three days, and drove in six runs in the Angels’ 8-6 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday, their season-best fifth straight.

Just hours after the club was dealt another harsh blow, with the loss of starter Nick Tropeano to an elbow injury, the hitters kept plugging along and carrying the team.

The Angels have scored 33 runs in five games since the All-Star break. Pujols has driven in 11 of them, including his first six-RBI game in his five seasons with the Angels.

His average (.252) and on-base percentage (.331) have been well below his standard, and he’s hit into a team-leading 14 double plays, eaing the sco of frustrated Angels fans. But there’s no arguing that he hasn’t done the most important part of his job: driving in runs.

His team-leading 71 RBI put him on a pace for 122. He is hitting .314 with runners in scoring position.

After Pujols’ homers, he was hit in the head by a pitch from Tony Baette in the seventh. Baette quickly came of the mound to check on Pujols, who took his time but stayed in the game and was soon smiling.

Pujols did his damage on Tuesday against Lohse, his teammate on the World Series winning 2011 Cardinals.

Of course, for Lohse and Lincecum, it’s not 2011 any more. They were top of the rotation starters then, but now they are just trying to hang on in the majors. Both were out of work until May, when their current clubs gave them a shot.

Six starts in for Lincecum and two in for Lohse, it’s not working out so well.

Lincecum, who has a 6.59 ERA, gave up five runs in five innings. It could have been worse – he gave up nine hits and two walks -- but he did a nice job to escape jams in the first and third, recording back-to-back strikeouts both times. Lincecum struck out seven.

He also gave up a couple uneaed runs in the fifth, after Yunel Escobar had a ground ball tick off the end of his glove. It was his 14th error, one shy of the major league lead.

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Lohse did not allowed a run until the fourth. Kole Calhoun drew a walk and then Mike Trout smashed a laser off the top of the center field fence, for a double.

Pujols then crushed Lohse’s first-pitch changeup over the left-field fence, tying the game, 3-3.

The next time Pujols came up, the Rangers had retaken the lead, 5-4, but the Angels had two on after Calhoun’s triple and an intentional walk to Trout.

This time Lohse hung a 3-and-1 slider and Pujols crushed it, putting the Angels up, 7-5.