Taylor Ward drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 9-8 win against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
Ward had three hits while Juan Lagares and Jose Rojas each had two hits and two runs scored for Los Angeles, which won its third straight game to match its season high.
The Angels matched their highest run total of the season in an 11-5 win against Texas on Tuesday night in the opener of the two-game series.
Angels right-hander Griffin Canning went six innings, allowing three runs and four hits. Canning (4-3) struck out seven and walked two.
Rangers starter Dane Dunning (2-4) lasted four innings, allowing seven runs and seven hits. He struck out four and walked three.
Adolis Garcia homered for the second straight game for the Rangers, moving him into a tie for the American League lead with his 16th of the season. Nate Lowe and Joey Gallo added two-run homers for Texas.
The Rangers trailed 9-1 after five innings, but Lowe homered in the sixth to make it 9-3, and Gallo homered in the eighth to cut it to 9-5.
The Rangers tacked on three more runs in the eighth to pull within a run, but Raisel Iglesias threw a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.
Justin Upton batted in the leadoff spot for the third straight game and homered in the bottom of the first for the second game in a row.
Dunning retired the next two batters, but walked Jared Walsh and gave up a single to Lagares. Rojas followed with an RBI single before Ward lifted a three-run homer over the left-field fence for a 5-0 lead.
Garcia homered to lead off the fourth and cut the lead to 5-1, but Canning retired the next seven hitters.
Shohei Ohtani led off with a walk in the fifth and scored on Anthony Rendon’s double to make it 6-1. Lagares then drove in Rendon with a single.
Ward, who had not driven in more than two runs in his previous 113 major-league games, followed with a two-run single to make it 9-1.
-Field Level Media