Angels Spoil Return Of Josh Hamilton

Welcome back, Josh Hamilton. Texas' All-Star center fielder returned to the lineup Monday night for the first time since the end of May and didn't disappoint, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Unfortunately, the Angels had to go and spoil all the fun.

Starter Kevin Millwood turned in his worst performance of the season, allowing nine earned runs in only five innings of work, putting Texas in a hole they were never able to climb out of.

"I didn't hit my spots. When I tried to go away, it would drift over the middle of the plate. And when I didn't hit my spots, they hit those mistakes," Millwood said.

The loss was only Millwood's second in his last eight starts.

"When you look at their lineup, one through six, that's as good as it gets," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Sometimes you get through it and sometimes you don't. Seven, eight and nine aren't easy either. That's a tough lineup to make it through, and we didn't get it done."



The offense gave Millwood an early 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI base hit by Hank Blalock and an error which allowed Josh Hamilton to score but, save for a 2-run homer by Ian Kinsler after the game was out of reach, didn't manage anything else against Angels starter Jered Weaver.

Prior to Monday nights game, Millwood had held opponents to a .189 average with runners in scoring position. Highlighted by a 3-run blast by Jeff Mathis and 2-RBI nights by both Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera, the Angels hit .750 going 6-for-8.

"You've got to give them credit; they swung the bats well," Rangers third baseman Michael Young said. "The middle of their lineup did a great job. It's just one of those times where you chalk it up to being one of those nights. When Millwood is on the mound, we feel we have a good shot of winning, but it just didn't happen."

Rangers Get Big Win In Dramatic Fashion

Hank Blalock had already had himself a huge night when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 9th and hit a game-winning, 2-run homer to not only give the Rangers the series win but also pull to within a 1/2 game of the Angels.

For the game, Blalock hit two homers, a double and drove in three runs.

"That was a good one," second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "That was fun and it couldn't have happened to a better guy in the lineup. Two home runs and one a walkoff. Nothing bigger than that."

Blalock's walkoff moment almost never happened.

After Michael Young singled to start the 9th inning, David Murphy sacrificed him to second base. Marlon Byrd then struck out looking bringing Blalock to the plate. With rookie Julio Borbon on deck Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher went to the mound to discuss the possibility of pitching around Blalock to get to the rookie.

Mike went out to see how Justin [Speier] felt and to get a game plan," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We had a couple of options."

Scioscia said of the potential intentional walk, "weighed a lot. Of course we thought of that. If Justin didn't feel good about where he was ... but Justin felt good going after him."

"I threw a little backdoor slider," Speier said. "That was the right pitch. I just made a mistake, and he took advantage of it. I threw the same pitch the other night [Monday] and he swung through it. Tonight, he got me."



Despite the last-inning theatrics, it was a moment that probably shouldn't have happened.

Frank Francisco came into the game in the top of the 9th, looking to close the game out for Texas. Instead, he served up a game-tying, 3-run to Juan Rivera, setting the stage for the Blalock fireworks.

Despite blowing his second save in a week, Francisco still ended up the winning pitcher.

"I don't care about that," Francisco said. "Millwood deserved to win the game. He worked his tail off. It doesn't matter how hard I throw, I need to locate my pitches, and my fastball was all over the place."

Kevin Millwood battled hard against the Angels, going 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs while striking out four.

With the win, Texas has now claimed two series wins against the Angels this season.

"They're owning us now," Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said. "They're five out of six. The numbers say it."