Zach Neto and Taylor Ward hit home runs, Tyler Anderson pitched well for seven innings, and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Rangers 9-3 on Friday night, giving Ron Washington a win in his first game as a visiting manager in Texas.
Neto’s two-run homer in the fourth broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Angels the lead for good. It was his fifth homer of the season, and it helped the Angels win two games in a row for the first time since the first week of the season.
Anderson, the Angels’ pitcher, struck out four batters and only allowed two hits in his seven innings.
“It all starts with good pitching,” said Washington. “Anderson controlled the strike zone well tonight and had some solid innings.”
Washington, who previously managed the Rangers from 2007 to 2014, is now with the Angels. He led the Rangers to their first two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
Jonah Heim and Marcus Semien hit home runs for the Rangers, who have lost seven of their last nine games and made three errors in the game.
With a record of 23-23, the Rangers have been at .500 eight times this year. They’ve managed to avoid falling below .500 each time so far, something they haven’t done since Bruce Bochy became their manager last season.
