Angels focus on the positives after extra-inning loss to Rangers

ANAHEIM >> Every baseball game is a like a nine-inning math problem, with a string of positives and negatives that all add up at the end to either a win or a loss.

Some games are simple, with one or two performances so glaring that they overshadow everything else.

And some games are like the Angels’ 7-5, 10-inning loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, one that left players in the losing clubhouse oddly content.

“Nothing to hang our heads about tonight,” Cameron Maybin said. “Everybody came to play, with that intensity, that energy. It’s just a tough one to drop.”

The Angels’ list of positives — from Luis Valbuena’s four RBI to brilliant ninth-inning defense from Mike Trout and Maybin to exceptional relief work from Yusmeiro Petit and Blake Parker — wasn’t quite enough.

The final negative came from rookie reliever Eduardo Paredes, who took the mound in the 10th and gave up three runs. He gave up three hits and walked one, with another put on intentionally.

It was the ugly finish to a game that started with another negative — or positive, depending on your perspective — from Andrew Heaney.

In his second start since retuing from Tommy John surgery, which makes Heaney’s mere presence on the mound a bright spot, he gave up four runs in five innings, and it could have been worse if Petit hadn’t bailed him out.

Heaney’s breaking ball was still not there, forcing him to rely on his fastball and changeup, which he couldn’t place precisely enough to be effective.

“Physically, I felt good,” he said. “I didn’t make good pitches to good hitters. I think everybody knows, this game is (expletive) hard. When it gets tough, you don’t (expletive) roll over. You keep fighting. This team has proved that every single step. Every single time, we’ve faced some adversity, I think our guys have stepped up and done what it takes to win games. I’m going to do the exact same thing.”

After Heaney allowed three homers — two to Adrian Beltre — in the first four innings, the Angels sprung to life and seemed headed for a come-from-behind victory.

It started with Valbuena’s three-run, game-tying homer in the fourth. It was his 10th homer since the All-Star break. Valbuena was hitting .185 with a .585 OPS at the break, but in the second half he’s hitting .253 with a 1.025 OPS.

“This month Luis has been terrific,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s getting clutch hits, driving the ball. He gave us a big boost tonight.”

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Valbuena also drove in the tying run in the sixth, with a single. The game remained tied through the ninth, thanks to the spectacular defense.

Maybin first sprinted in to make a diving catch of a Ryan Rua fly ball for the second out of the ninth, a catch that Scioscia said was “sensational.” Maybin, however, said his play paled in comparison to what Trout did two batters later. Shin-Soo Choo singled into center, and Trout picked up the ball and fired a ball on the fly all the way home, in time to nail Robinson Chirinos before he could score the go-ahead run.

“The throw he made was incredible,” Maybin said. “That play was huge right there.”

Unfortunately for the Angels, all it did was delay their defeat for another inning.

Even in a losing clubhouse, though, they still took enough out of this game that there didn’t seem to be a hint of regret.

“We’re still fighting,” Valbuena said. “We never put our heads down. You have to forget about it. Tomorrow is a new day. Come back with the same energy. Play the game tomorrow and win the game.”

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