Beltre and bullpen spell a 7-5 Halo defeat

For much of the 2017 season, the Los Angeles Angels have relied on the relief corps to shore up a pitching situation ravaged by injury. But on Wednesday night, the bullpen faltered and the Halos suffered a 7-5 loss to Texas Rangers in 10 innings at Anaheim.

After the team fell behind early 3-0 – mostly thanks to two home runs by Adrian Beltre – the Angels rallied to tie the game, which went into extra innings deadlocked at 4-all.

Eduardo Paredes (0-1), who came into the game with a 1.29 ERA, got roughed up for three hits, two walks and three runs in a forgettable 10th inning. His teammates were able to push across one run in the bottom of the inning, but when Andrelton Simmons flied out with two runners on base, the Angels went down to their second loss in three games to the Rangers.

Beltre was 3-for-5 for the visitors. Angel hitting was led by Luis Valbuena, who had a three-run home run in the fourth and four RBIs, and Simmons with two singles.

The Orange County team’s record fell to 65-62, still in second place in the American League West. That’s still a half-game out of the second AL wild card spot, tied with the Kansas City Royals (64-61).

On Thursday, the Angels will seek to get a split of the four-game series with Texas with Troy Scribner (2-0) making the start.