Perez struggles against streaking Angels

ANAHEIM — Angels first baseman Jefry Marte got the green light and didn’t miss, as his three-run, first-inning home run powered the Angels’ offense to a 7-4 win and series sweep over the Rangers on Wednesday night.

Marte’s blast sparked a four-run first inning as the Angels scored in each of the first four innings against Rangers left-hander Martin Perez. Perez, who owned a 5.49 road ERA entering Wednesday’s start, got knocked around for seven runs in six-plus innings.

Texas threatened often against Angels left-hander Hector Santiago, biting him for a couple of runs in the third inning on an RBI triple from Adrian Beltre and a Ryan Rua sacrifice fly. In the fourth, first baseman Mitch Moreland hit a Statcast-projected 419-foot homer to center field to cut the deficit to three runs. Santiago struggled with big innings, but still managed to get through five innings of three-run ball and pick up the win as JC Ramirez, Joe Smith, Jose Alvarez and Huston Street held the lead out of the bullpen.

The Angels remain undefeated since the All-Star break after completing a 6-0 homestand, and the club has won 10 of its last 12 games. The Rangers have lost 12 of their last 15.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDMarte mashes: Marte, who returned to the lineup and played first base for the first time in five …

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