ALBERT PUJOLS homered in the Angels’ 8-3 win over the Rangers on Monday (Flickr/Eric Droust).

Remember the tired old expression, “there is no I in T-E-A-M”? As clichés as it is, it seems to apply to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim early in the 2018 season.

Although the Halos have two of the best-known players in baseball with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani – not to mention future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols – they are getting it mostly done with steady performances up and down the lineup.

Monday’s 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers was a case in point. The team had 13 hits – with four players getting two hits and Andrelton Simmons getting three – as it improved its record to 8-3 in the American League West. That’s still one game behind the Houston Astros (9-2) in the division.

Albert Pujols hit a home run in the fourth, and Martin Maldonado drove in two runs for the Halos.

Starter Garrett Richards pitched 4.1 one-run innings, giving up four hits while striking out six and walking five. After that the bullpen took over and gave up four more hits and two runs the rest of the way.

On Tuesday the Angels will again take on the Rangers in Texas.