(Image via Keith Allison.)

Rangers 3, Angels 1

Darvish continued his streak of great games, going eight innings, allowing only four hits, giving up one run, walking only one and striking out nine. Darvish now looks like the ace the Rangers thought they were getting from Japan this offseason. Darvish killed the Angels with his cutter. Of his 108 pitches, half were cutters (season high 54). 39 of them (72%) were strikes. 10 whiffs.
Also as a frame of reference, that gives Darvish a 13.5 SO/9 rate in innings 7-9. Verlander has a 12.1 SO/9 rate in innings 7-9 this year.

Joe Nathan pitched an uneventful ninth inning giving up only a two out hit.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Soto’s sac fly in the fifth. The Angels tied it in the bottom of the sixth on a Torii Hunter single. Then in the ninth, Young lead off with a single off Frieri and the next batter Beltre hit an off speed pitch into the left field stands for his 34th home run to decide the game.

Another series win for the Rangers, who have lost only two since the All-Atar break.

On Deck Seattle Mariners

LH Martin Perez [1-1, 3.38 ERA] v. RH Hisashi Iwakuma [6-5, 3.39 ERA]