Carson Kelly finished a triple shy of the cycle Friday night for the Texas Rangers, who beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Anaheim, Calif., to open the final series of the year for both teams. Kelly singled in the second, homered leading off the fourth and doubled in the sixth before he grounded out to open the ninth.
The three-hit game was the fifth this season for Kelly and his first since Aug. 11. Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia hit back-to-back homers in the first for the Rangers (76-84), who improved to 12-12 this month.
Marcus Semien added an insurance run with a solo homer in the ninth and finished with three hits. Eric Wagaman had an RBI single while Nico Kavadas laced a run-scoring double for the Angels (63-97), who fell to 7-17 in September. The 97 losses extend the single-season team record for Los Angeles.
Daniel Robert (1-0), the third of seven pitchers used by the Rangers, earned his first major league win with a scoreless sixth inning. Kirby Yates recorded his 32nd save by tossing a hitless ninth inning. Jacob deGrom, making his third start since returning from his second Tommy John surgery, allowed one run on four hits and no walks while striking out five over four innings.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner finishes the year with no decisions, a 1.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings. Reid Detmers (4-9) tied a season high with 12 strikeouts but took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk over five innings.
It was the third double-.