A two-run home run by Mike Trout and a three-run double by Matt Thaiss highlighted a five-run eighth inning as the Los Angeles Angels rallied for a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday at St. Petersburg, Fla.
Rays starter Zach Eflin took a shutout into the seventh inning, but the bullpen was unable to hold onto a 1-0 lead.
Trout followed a one-out single in the eighth by Anthony Rendon with his seventh home run of the season, turning on a 74 mph curveball by Tampa Bay reliever Phil Maton (0-1) to give the Angels a 2-1 lead.
Singles by Taylor Ward and Miguel Sano and a walk by Brandon Drury loaded the bases for Thaiss with two outs. Thaiss, a backup catcher starting in place of Logan O’Hoppe, yanked a 2-2 pitch into the right field corner, scoring all three baserunners to put the Angels ahead 5-1.
The Rays cut the deficit to 5-3 on a two-run homer by Harold Ramirez off Matt Moore in the bottom of the eighth. But the Angels tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth on Ward’s two-run homer, his sixth.
Angels reliever Luis Garcia (1-0) tossed a scoreless inning to earn the win, while Carlos Estevez threw a scoreless ninth inning.
Angels starter Patrick Sandoval matched Eflin through four innings before the Rays broke a scoreless tie in the fifth on a fielder’s-choice grounder by Ramirez.
Eflin took a shutout into the seventh inning before the Angels threatened to score and ended the right-hander’s day. Sano led off with a single and one out later went to third on a double by Dury.
That spelled the end of the night for Eflin, who threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed six hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He was replaced by Jason Adam, who walked Thaiss to load the bases then got pinch hitter Mickey Moniak to ground into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.
Rendon remained hot at the plate for the Angels with three hits. He began the season 0-for-21 but is 12-for-25 in his past six games.
–Field Level Media
