Gomez hits for cycle as Rangers top Halos

ARLINGTON -- Carlos Gómez hit for the cycle for the second time in his career and led the Rangers to a 6-3 victory over the Angels on Saturday night. It's the third time a player has hit for the cycle in the Major Leagues this season, as Gomez joins Wil Myers of the Padres and Trea Turner of the Nationals.
"It's hard to do," Gomez said. "It's exciting to do that. And you can enjoy it when you win. This month we've been bouncing up and down a lot. Two nights ago we had a great game and tonight we did this, so I think we're going in the right direction and hopefully everything will start from here."
Gomez, who had one hit in his previous nine at-bats coming into the game, started the night with a double and a single in his first two at-bats. He added a two-run triple against starter Jesse Chavez in the fifth to erase the Angels' 2-0 lead and scored on Rougned Odor's two-run home run.

Gomez finished off the cycle with a two-run homer off right-handed reliever Jose A. Valdez in the seventh, his first home run since April 13. Gomez also hit for the cycle on May 7, 2008, while with the Twins. It's the 10th time a Rangers player has hit for the cycle, including twice by Adrián Beltré. He was the last Rangers player to do so on Aug. 3, 2015.
"Obviously the cycle is what it is," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "It's a special moment. There aren't that many. I think more than anything, when he's seeing the ball and putting good swings on the ball, he's fortunate to be putting the barrel on the ball all night long. There is a lot of feel-good with it."
Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish earned the win by holding the Angels to two runs in six innings while throwing a 2017 Major League-high 125 pitches. Chavez looked promising early but took the loss after allowing four runs in the fifth.

"He threw the ball well like always," Angels DH Albert Pujols said of Darvish. "We executed our plans, and that's probably the most pitches that he's thrown against us. We made him work. We just didn't -- myself included -- come up with the big hit."
• Darvish rewards manager's confidence in him
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trout rocket follows near miss:Mike Trout drove home the Angels' first run with a double in the fourth inning that scored Kole Calhoun from first base. The double came on a full-count fastball and had an exit velocity of 111.2 miles per hour, according to Statcast™. That's the second-hardest hit ball off Darvish in the past three years. The Rangers thought Darvish had Trout struck out on a 2-2 fastball down in the strike zone.

Odor home run follows delay: Odor was batting with two out and a runner at third in the fifth. He fouled off a 1-1 pitch, and manager Jeff Banister went out to talk with home-plate umpire Adam Hamari about Chavez possibly committing a balk. The delay took a couple of minutes. On Chavez's next pitch, Odor hit one off the foul pole down the right-field line that gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead. Odor had gone 78 at-bats without a home run after hitting three in his first 13 at-bats.
"I was just looking for a rules clarification," Banister said.
Asked if the delay hurt his concentration, Chavez said, "I don't want to say no, but it could have thrown me a little bit off rhythm. Who's to know if he didn't have that conversation what the next pitch would have been. I'm not sure. I'm not going to blame it on that -- I've still got to execute."
QUOTABLE
"It's something that makes you feel really good when you have the crowd pushing for you. It's something that makes you feel like you need to come here every single day and give everything you have."
-- Gomez, on the support of the Rangers fans

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Darvish's 125 pitches are the most by a Major League pitcher this year. They also are the most by a Rangers pitcher since Darvish threw 126 against the Red Sox on May 9, 2014.
WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: In the series finale against the Rangers at 2:05 p.m. CT, JC Ramirez will try to build off a strong start his last time out (Tuesday), when he tossed seven scoreless innings, struck out seven and allowed two hits and two walks in a no-decision against the A's.
Rangers: Left-hander Martín Pérez pitches against the Angels in the final of a three-game series. He is 2-3 with a 3.23 ERA in eight career starts and one relief appearance against the Angels.
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