Rays survive 9th inning Angels’ rally, win 6-5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays dodged a scare from Mike Trout, and now they’re headed to the Bronx for a most crucial division showdown.
Yandy Diaz hit an RBI single during Tampa Bay’s two-run eighth inning, and the Rays held off Los Angeles’ late rally to beat the Angels 6-5 Sunday.
Trout hit a two-run homer off Diego Castillo in the ninth to make it a one-run game. After Shohei Ohtani singled and went to second on Albert Pujols’ grounder, Castillo completed his seventh save by striking out Kole Calhoun.
“It’s always good to get a win before you’re heading on a plane,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
The Rays are a half-game behind the New York Yankees in the AL East with a threegame series between the teams starting Monday night. The clubs are scheduled to play each other 11 times over the next 33 days.
“It’s always a hostile environment over there,” Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said. “Those fans, they let you know what they feel, trust me. But it’s also a great thing quieting that crowd anytime you can.”
“Their fans are going to know that we’re head-andhead with their guys,” Kiermaier added. “It’s going to be an electric atmosphere, and we look forward to playing in that.”
Tommy Pham put the Rays ahead 4-3 with a solo shot against Griffin Canning (2-3) in the fifth. The lead grew to 6-3 in the eighth when Diaz got his run-scoring hit and another run scored on wild pitch.
David Fletcher had two RBIs for the Angels (35-37), who haven’t been at .500 since April 15.
“We split a series with a good team, which I think is pretty good,” Los Angeles catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “We could easily have taken three out of four from these guys.”
The Rays used opener Ryne Stanek and five other relievers to complete a 3-4 homestand.