Tim Salmon, playing out the final week of his major league career, hit his 299th home run and Howie Kendrick drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to lead the Los Angeles Angels over the Texas Rangers 6-5 on Wednesday night.
Mark Teixeira had two homers and five RBIs for the Rangers, but the Angels wouldn't allow Salmon's first-inning homer to go to waste.
C.J. Wilson (2-4) gave up one-out singles to Juan Rivera and Adam Kennedy before Kendrick drove in Rivera with a double down the right field line on a 2-1 pitch to make it 6-5.
Brendan Donnelly (6-0) pitched 1 1-3 perfect innings for the win after relieving rookie Jered Weaver, who allowed five runs and 10 hits over 6 2-3 innings in his 19th and final start of the season. He finished 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA.
Francisco Rodriguez got three outs for his major league-leading 45th save, one shy of Bryan Harvey's 1991 franchise record.
Salmon's three-run homer and Garret Anderson's RBI-single helped Weaver take a 5-3 lead into the seventh. But Gary Matthews Jr. led off with a single and Teixeira tied the score for the second time, driving a 1-1 pitch to right field for his 32nd homer and 23rd since the all-star break.
Teixeira pulled Texas even at 3-3 in the fifth with a three-run shot. It came with two outs after a blown call by first base umpire Ed Hickox, who ruled that Michael Young had beaten the throw from Erick Aybar on a grounder deep in the hole for a hit _ when TV replays showed otherwise. Weaver punched the air in anger after Teixeira drove his next pitch into the bullpen in left.
Adam Eaton, 4-0 in his previous five starts, allowed five runs and seven hits in five innings.
One night after the Angels were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, Salmon started as the designated hitter and batted third. The 15-year veteran, who was able to squeeze one more season out of a 38-year-old body that was racked by severe knee and shoulder injuries last year, got a standing ovation when he walked to the plate in the first inning and didn't disappoint the crowd of 38,032.
He drove an 0-1 pitch into the first row of seats above the 18-foot-high wall in right-centre for his ninth homer of the season after a leadoff walk to Maicer Izturis and a single by Reggie Willits.
Salmon went 2-for-4 in his final game against the Rangers. He batted .353 (200-for-567) lifetime against them with 35 homers and 119 RBIs _ his best numbers against any opponent.
Notes: Matthews scored his 102nd run, breaking Oddibe McDowell's club record for leadoff hitters. Matthews' 79 RBIs and 306 total bases also are the most by any Rangers leadoff man. ... Teixeira has 139 career homers, the fourth-most by a player in his first four seasons. The only players with more are Albert Pujols and Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner and Eddie Mathews. ... The Angels won the season series 11-8 after going 15-4 against the Rangers last season.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
