Column: Angels show a sense of urgency against Rangers after August blues

The Angels came home from a trip they’d like to forget — which ended a month they’ll remember only because it might cost them a postseason berth — and were confronted by the harsh realities of a tough schedule and a dwindling calendar.

On Friday they began a stretch of three games against the Texas Rangers, three against the Dodgers and three against the division-leading Houston Astros. By the time it ends, the Angels’ season could essentially be over, so deep was the damage inflicted by their 10-19 performance in August. It’s win now, or wait till next year. Again.

“We’re getting down to the crunch of things,” outfielder Kole Calhoun said, “and every game’s important, not just this homestand but going out for the rest of the season.”

Crunch this: The Angels’ 5-2 victory over the Rangers Friday was small but definite progress for a team that batted only .197 with runners in scoring position last month and .221 overall. But they’re still 21/2 games behind Texas for the second American League wild card spot with 28 games remaining, and their path won’t get easier.

“It’s going to take every single guy in here,” said Calhoun, who reached on a forceout in the third inning Friday and eventually scored on designated hitter C.J. Cron’s two-out, two-run single off left-hander Martin Perez.

“Everybody’s got to do their part, as little or as big as it may be, and just play as a team and hopefully at the end of this month we’re happy with where we’re at.”

At least they’ve started September better than they started or ended August. It’s easy to downplay the two wins over last-place Oakland that ended their last trip, but after looking like they were toast a week ago the Angels will take every bit of encouragement they can find — and they do have reasons for optimism.

Cron drove in five runs and continued to feast on Texas pitching, improving to 23 for 50 (.460) with 17 RBIs against the Rangers in 12 games. Overall, he has 31 hits in 90 at bats (.341) in his last 25 games. Trout, after an eight-for-39 slump, is eight for his last 19, including a second-inning single Friday. That’s a start, but the Angels need more bats to get going.

There’s only one way out of the mess they’re in, and it’s not by thinking they must sweep every series or win at least two of three, even if that’s pretty much what they’ll have to do.

“I think what makes us so good as a team is we’re approaching it as, ‘Hey, we’ve got to go out and win one ballgame and then tomorrow we’ll do the same thing. We’ve got to win one ballgame,’” pitcher Matt Shoemaker said. “I think that kind of helps you as a team, to not get ahead of yourself, because that can be tough.

“Obviously we’re looking at the big picture. We want to get into the playoffs. The bigger picture, we want to get to the World Series and win it. But the first step is getting to the playoffs, and a big part of that is winning each game. If we can win today, it’s a step forward. A win tomorrow, a step forward.”

That philosophy comes from Manager Mike Scioscia, who has always insisted he ignores the standings and never looks beyond the next game. “If you look too far ahead, this schedule will swallow you up,” he said. “We need to play at a level that will lead us to getting set up to win, and that’s all we’re going to focus on.”

They came close to that level Friday. Starter Garrett Richards held Texas to two runs despite walking five, and Cron got the big hits in the third and the fifth.

That combination of a good effort by a starter, timely hits and effective relief work was rare in August, when the bullpen wore down while pitching a league-leading 104 innings.

“We just didn’t attack the ball. We didn’t pitch quite as well as we were earlier in the season. On the defensive side we weren’t as clean as we need to be. There’s probably a lot of things you can look at as to what the cause was,” Scioscia said of the August swoon.

Dwelling on those woes, he said, “isn’t going to serve much of a purpose now,” when they must focus on the challenges ahead.

“We’re in this thing,” the Angels manager said, but then added: “It’s fun to win, but I think the guys in that clubhouse understand that we are a better team than we showed in August and hopefully we’re going to get in stride and start to work toward our goal.”

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