Angels rally to defeat high-flying Rangers, 9-8

Maybe it was actually good that the Texas Rangers scored five runs in the fifth inning Wednesday night to turn a tie game into a potential blowout.

“You have to think small,” Angels right fielder Torii Hunter said. “You know you’re not going to hit a five-run jack with no one on base. So you shorten your swing, get runners on and try to make things happen.”

From such humble beginnings grew an offensive uprising that produced a memorable comeback, the Angels scoring six runs in the sixth inning and holding on for a dramatic 9-8 victory over the hottest team in baseball.

Howie Kendrick, who entered in a one-for-18 slump, sparked the decisive rally with a leadoff double and capped it with a two-run single, and the Angels ended the Rangers’ 12-game win streak and trimmed Texas’ lead in the American League West to four games.

In between Kendrick’s hits, which helped the Angels overcome an 8-3 deficit, were two legged-out infield singles, aggressive baserunning and clutch hits by Erick Aybar and Bobby Abreu.

“Things obviously were getting away from us,” Manager Mike Scioscia said, “but we came back to the dugout after the fifth, and Mickey [Hatcher, batting instructor] just told the guys to have good at-bats, keep the inning going, keep passing the baton.”

That was some relay.

It began with Kendrick’s double off Rangers starter Derek Holland, who pitched shutouts in his two previous starts. Mark Trumbo hit an RBI single to center and took second on the throw home.

Bobby Wilson grounded out, but Mike Trout flashed his incredible speed by beating out a grounder to the shortstop hole for an RBI infield single that made it 8-5.

Aybar doubled to left-center to score Trout, pull the Angels to within 8-6 and knock Holland out. Right-hander Tommy Hunter got Torii Hunter, who ended an 0-for-18 slump with a home run in the third inning, to ground to second.

Bobby Abreu then lined an RBI single to right to make it 8-7. Abreu stole second, Vernon Wells barely checked his swing on a full-count pitch and walked, and Alberto Callaspo beat out a chopper to the shortstop hole to load the bases.

Kendrick, who hit a two-run single in the first inning, then drove Tommy Hunter’s first pitch to the gap in left-center for a two-run single and a 9-8 Angels lead before Trumbo grounded out to end the inning, a crowd of 40,052 responding with a rousing standing ovation.

Reliever Scott Downs retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, and closer Jordan Walden pitched a scoreless ninth for his 22nd save, but not before adding even more drama to the proceedings.

Walden got Josh Hamilton to fly to center and struck out Adrian Beltre with a 100-mph fastball. But Michael Young doubled, and pinch-runner Craig Gentry took third on a wild pitch.

With the crowd on its feet, Walden struck out Nelson Cruz with a 98-mph fastball to end the game.

“He was changing speeds well,” Scioscia said. “What was his range, 98-100 mph?”

The five-run deficit matched the largest comeback win of the season for the Angels, who lost four of five games coming out of the All-Star break.

“This says a lot about this team,” Kendrick said. “This team has a lot of character. Everyone knows what we’re capable of doing.”

The Rangers had broken a 3-3 tie with a five-run fifth, knocking out Dan Haren, a rally that featured Hamilton’s run-scoring single, Young’s two-run double and left fielder Wells losing Yorvit Torrealba’s line drive in the lights, turning an out into a two-run double.

Wells’ miscue was greeted with a chorus of boos, but the Angels quickly changed that tune with what they hope will be a season-altering victory.

“That was great baseball,” Torii Hunter said. “Hopefully we can build off this.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com