Angels sweep Rangers for sixth consecutive victory to start second half

ANAHEIM >> Good against the reeling Chicago White Sox was one thing.

Good against the American League West-leading Texas Rangers was quite another.

The Angels have miles to go before they can claim to be anything more than also-rans in 2016, but they showed with a 7-4 victory Wednesday over the Rangers at Angel Stadium that they can be more than cannon fodder for the rest of the AL the rest of the way.

Left-hander Hector Santiago slogged his way through five effective innings, Jefry Marte slugged a three-run homer to propel the Angels to an early lead and their bullpen sealed the deal for their sixth consecutive victory to start the season’s second half.

Next: a six-game trip to Houston and Kansas City.

Santiago (8-4) was nearly flawless in his last start, throwing seven shutout innings and giving up five hits without issuing a walk in a 7-0 victory over the White Sox last Friday. He was effective again Wednesday, but this time it was messy and far more complicated.

No matter, the Angels staked him to a 5-0 lead, easing his burden.

Santiago didn’t need to be perfect, and he wasn’t.

He had a big margin for error, and he used some of it.

“He struggled with his fastball command all night,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Santiago, who has won each of his last five decisions. “Instead of throwing his changeup or changing speeds, he tried to throw it harder, and consequently he lost his release point. …

“It didn’t seem like he got in sync.”

Santiago didn’t have the sharp stuff that carried him during his last start, and his streak of not giving up an eaed run ended at 24 consecutive innings when he gave up a run-scoring triple to Adrian Beltre and a sacrifice fly to Ryan Rua in the third inning.

“After the second inning, I came in here (the clubhouse) and threw a couple of baseballs against the wall,” Santiago said. “Then I just went out there in the third inning and tried to throw strikes. You have to pitch with conviction. I got into trouble trying to make too many pitches.”

Designated hitter Albert Pujols continued to torment opposing pitchers, delivering a run-scoring single in the first inning that gave him 12 RBIs in four games, his highest total in four games in his career, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.

Pujols hit not one but two three-run homers in the Angels’ 8-6 victory Tuesday over the Rangers for his second multi-homer game in his last three contests. The victory extended the Angels’ winning streak to five games to start the season’s second half.

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“These guys, they know what it’s about and they keep grinding it out,” Scioscia said. “When you’re scoring runs and you’re winning, it’s going to look like you have a lot more life, but even in the tough times, our clubhouse has been good, our bench has been good.

“Since the (All-Star) break, we’re getting games on our terms.”

Racing to a 4-0 lead after the first inning and extending it to 5-0 after the second and putting the Rangers in early jeopardy got the Angels pointed in the right direction. Completing a three-game sweep of the Rangers moved the Angels within 111/2 games of Texas.

Marte provided the thunder in the first inning by belting a 3-0 pitch from Texas left-hander Martin Perez (7-7) over the left-center field fence for a three-run homer. Scioscia could have had Marte wait for ball four, but Marte was given the green light, and he responded with his sixth homer of the season.