Luis Rengifo caps Angels rally in come-from-behind victory

ANAHEIM — It would have seemed crazy a month ago for Luis Rengifo to be batting third.

But this is what it’s come to for the Angels. Rengifo has actually been the Angels best hitter for a month.

He delivered his biggest hit with a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, capping a five-run inning and leading the Angels to a 9-7 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.

Rengifo has hit .348 with an .899 OPS since June 29.

“He’s my dog,” outfielder Brandon Marsh said. “We came up together. It’s cool seeing seeing Gifo thrive right now and for the rest of the year. We need it, and we’re going to need him to stay right there for the rest of the year.”

Rengifo’s double ended the Angels scoring on a night that Shohei Ohtani started it with his 22nd homer, a three-run shot in the third.

The Angels trailed 7-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Max Stassi led off with a single, his second hit of the game. An out later, Marsh had one of his better plate appearances of the season. Marsh, who has the highest strikeout rate in the majors, fell behind 0-and-2, but eventually worked a 12-pitch walk against Dennis Santana.

“I was just telling myself stay on time for the heater, react to the offspeed and try to get a bat on it,” Marsh said. “Luckily I fouled off some (pitches) and he threw four (balls). It was a fun at-bat. Very encouraging. In a tough spot 0-2 against a late inning relief guy. It’s a spot you don’t want to be in, but it was fun. We got out of it.”

David Fletcher then yanked a two-run double down the left field line, cutting the deficit to 7-6. It was the second hit of the night for Fletcher, who was supposed to get the day off but was forced into duty when Phil Gosselin was hit in the head by a pitch. Manager Phil Nevin said after the game that Gosselin is OK.

After Fletcher’s double, pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki struck out and the Rangers then intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani. Taylor Ward drew a walk to load the bases, and left-hander Brett Martin then uncorked a wild pitch to bring in tying run.

Rengifo then gave the Angels their first lead.

“We were just feeding off each other,” Marsh said. “We’re just passing the baton. That’s kind of what it felt like. I feel like we all have confidence in each and every one in this locker room.”

The late rally took Chase Silseth off the hook for the loss after he gave up five runs in four innings, lifting his ERA to 6.59 after his first seven big league starts.

The Angels drafted Silseth last July in the 11th round. He started this season at Double-A, and pitched well enough to jump all the way to the majors. Silseth started with a couple strong outings against the Oakland A’s, but it’s been a struggle since then.

One of his issues is that he’s consistently lost his velocity as he’s gone deeper into the game. Coming into Saturday’s game, Silseth had averaged 96.0 mph with his fastball in the first time through the lineup, and 94.9 mph in the second time through.

On Saturday night, he retired six of seven hitters in the first two innings, with his fastball at 94-97 mph. In the third, he issued a leadoff walk. Two outs later, in his second time through, his fastballs were 92-93 mph. He issued a walk to Jonah Heim, and then back-to-back run-scoring singles to Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis Garcia.

The Angels gave Silseth a second life when Ohtani blasted a 424-foot homer. Ohtani’s homer put the Angels up 3-2.

The lead didn’t last long, though, because when Silseth came out for the fourth, he continued to struggle. He walked two hitters and then gave up a three-run homer to Marcus Semien, who blasted a hanging splitter over the center field fence.

After Nevin said Silseth’s drop in velocity was “a little worrisome,” Silseth explained it was because he hadn’t pitched lately.

“I hate using excuses but it’s been two weeks since I’ve thrown,” Silseth said. “I’m just kind of finding the routine, still finding and grinding out the routine to put my body in the best shape as possible.”

Touki Toussaint followed Silseth to the mound and gave up a two-run homer to Meibrys Viloria, putting the Angels down 7-4. Toussaint, however, held the Rangers scoreless over the next two innings, giving the Angels a chance to come back.

For a team that has had trouble scoring for the last two months, and hadn’t done much on Saturday outside of Ohtani’s homer, it was a welcome sight.

“We haven’t had a big one like that,” Nevin said. “Last Sunday in Atlanta, we had a nice offensive outburst (five runs) in the first inning. But to do it under those circumstances, in that situation and against a pitcher that’s done very well at the back end of their bullpen was big for us.”