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Lewis, Rangers Pummeled Again as Angels Finish Sweep 12-6

Colby Lewis doesn't plan to dwell on a bad start that capped a miserable weekend for the Texas rotation.

Lewis allowed 12 hits and 10 earned runs in four innings β€” including Albert Pujols' AL-leading 25th home run β€” and the Los Angeles Angels finished a dominant three-game sweep of the Rangers with a 12-6 victory Sunday night.

"I guess you just chalk it up to there's good days and there are bad days," said Lewis, who lost his sixth straight start against the Angels. "You just have to have more better ones than you have bad ones."

Texas starters allowed 26 hits and 21 runs β€” all earned β€” in 10 2/3 innings of the Los Angeles sweep.

Mike Trout celebrated his third straight year of being voted an All-Star starter in the outfield β€” and fourth trip to the midsummer party β€” with one of seven run-scoring singles or sacrifice flies for the Angels in the first three innings. The All-Star Game is July 14 in Cincinnati.

Kole Calhoun's three-run homer, his ninth, gave Los Angeles a 12-1 lead in the fifth, and a 25-1 advantage combined in the first five innings of the three games. The Angels outscored the Rangers 33-8 in the series.

Texas lost a season-high sixth straight home game and dropped below .500 for the first time since May 29.

"We were in a very similar situation earlier in the season," manager Jeff Banister said. "You find a way to regroup, continue to play, continue to play for each other and challenge each other to get better every day."

Pujols is a strong candidate to replace the injured Miguel Cabrera of Detroit at first base. His solo homer in the fourth put Los Angeles up 8-1.

"I don't control that," said Pujols, who is likely to get his 10th trip to the All-Star Game when reserves are announced Monday. "We'll see what happens in the next week or so. My job is to try to help this ballclub win."

C.J. Wilson (7-6) allowed three runs in six innings, and the Los Angeles left-hander beat his former team for the second time in 10 starts.

Texas righty Colby Lewis (8-4) allowed 12 hits and 10 earned runs in four innings.

One night after getting a career-high six RBIs, C.J. Cron matched his career best with four hits, including a run-scoring double. His previous best for hits was also against the Rangers earlier this year. He's hitting .529 (18 of 34) against Texas and .135 against the rest of the league.

Pujols, Calhoun and Johnny Giavotella had two hits apiece for the Angels. Pujols, whose solo homer in the fourth put Los Angeles up 8-1, had two RBIs along with Giavotella.

"Everybody's got a sore hand from all the high-fives," said Wilson, who entered the game with a 6.59 ERA against Texas.

The only hit off Wilson through four innings was Prince Fielder's 13th home run in the first.

Lewis, Wilson's teammate for both of Texas' World Series teams in 2010-11, allowed seven of the first nine hitters to reach. And all nine had been on base at least once by the third inning, and still with nobody out.

NOT MUCH TO CHEER ABOUT

Most of the cheers from the Texas crowd came when the video board above the home run porch in right field showed scoring updates from the U.S.-Japan World Cup soccer match. One of the loudest moments was the 4-0 U.S. lead, just 20 minutes into the match.

TRAINER'S ROOM

OF Josh Hamilton was out of the lineup with what manager Jeff Banister said was a mild groin issue. Banister said the disabled list wasn't a consideration yet for Hamilton, who missed a month with a strained left hamstring before coming off the DL on Tuesday. Hamilton sat for two of the three games in his first series against his former team.

UP NEXT:

RHP Yovani Gallardo takes a scoreless streak of 29 1/3 innings, longest in the majors this season, into the opener of a two-game interleague series at home against Arizona on Tuesday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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