Angels Beat the Rangers 13-0

My boys are on a roll.

At the O.C. Register, "Santiago, Angels dominate Rangers in 13-0 triumph":

ARLINGTON, Texas – Hector Santiago had let two of the first four men he faced reach base, and he was up to 18 pitches already, facing a 2-0 count to the Texas Rangers’ hottest hitter, Mitch Moreland.

The left-hander stepped off the mound. He picked up some dirt, rubbed it along it his right forearm to gain some grip in the muggy conditions, and bore down. The next two pitches he delivered were splendid, sinkers right on the outside corner, one on top of the other, each leaving Moreland no choice but to take them for a called strike.

That didn’t get him out of the jam — Moreland fouled off the next four offerings in a row — but it showed Santiago had settled in. Finally, on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, he threw another of the same sinker, Moreland grounded into an out, and the Rangers’ offense went kaput for the night.

In the latest of an improbable string of dominant starts that seem poised to send him to next week’s All-Star Game, Santiago finished seven scoreless innings as the Angels backed him with a torrent of offense in a 13-0 Independence Day rout of Texas.

For much of the night, it seemed the Angels could not stop scoring. They put up three runs in the second, one apiece in the third and fourth, six in the sixth and two in the eighth. Everybody had a hit except Mike Trout. Erick Aybar and C.J. Cron had three each, with six runs driven in by Cron alone. He homered, as did Kole Calhoun.

The Angels reached base 24 times in all, notching a season-high 17 hits. They went down in order only once. When batting with runners in scoring position, they recorded as many hits as outs.

In his first two at-bats, Erick Aybar singled and then doubled, stretching his hit streak to seven consecutive at-bats after his 5-for-5 day Friday. With a walk on Wednesday, Aybar had reached base in eight straight trips to the plate — half the all-time major-league record, held by Ted Williams. Bobby Grich owns the Angel record at 12, set in 1984. Aybar did eventually make an out.

Santiago struck out three and walked one in his seven innings, throwing 104 times. He used all his pitches, even the screwball, relying repeatedly on his improved breaking balls.

“He had really good life on his fastball,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He moved it around, mixed in a couple changeups, a couple breaking balls, really pitched ahead in the count most of the night.”