TAMPA BAY – Another late-stage collapse cost the Los Angeles Angels as they fell 8-5 to begin the second half of their six game road trip at the newly-refurbished Tropicana Field Friday night.
In a near comeback effort, the Angels brought the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the ninth. Vaughn Grissom, already with a pair of RBI knocks and hitting .381 with runners in scoring position and two outs, got under a hanging changeup and popped up on the infield to end it.
Despite the loss, there were a lot of positives for the Angels, who had won five of their last six coming into this series. Walbert Ureña took the rubber for the eighth time this season, delivering his fourth quality start with six innings pitched and one earned run allowed.
Ureña had struggled on the road in recent outings, but settled in after allowing a leadoff bomb to Yandy Díaz.
Facing a Rays lineup that entered with the second-best batting average and the fewest strikeouts in the league, the 22-year-old worked through multiple jams by inducing weak contact.
Command has been Ureña’s primary issue this season, and despite issuing three walks, he limited the damage. He also leaned on his offspeed pitches, getting four of his five punchouts via the sweeper and changeup that touched 93 MPH.
On the other side, the Rays sent ace Nick Martinez to the mound, whose 1.51 ERA was the third best in the league.
While the final score indicates otherwise, this game was a pitcher’s duel through the first two-thirds.
Martinez’s only blemishes came on Grissom’s RBI single in the third inning and Zach Neto’s RBI knock in the fifth for his 200th career RBI. He worked through seven innings, facing the minimum in his final two en route to his fifth win of the season.
The narrative of this game completely flipped once the Angels struggling bullpen took over.
After a missed strike-three call on Díaz, Ryan Zeferjahn gave up a two-run shot to put the Rays up 3-2. Jonathan Arada followed with his tenth homer of the season, and from there the Rays piled it on
Recording just one out, Zeferjahn allowed four earned runs and took the loss. Brent Suter couldn't stop the momentum, allowing three runs (one earned) in 1.2 innings of work. With just two saves in their last 47 games, the Angels will desperately need major contributions from their bullpen moving forward.
The Angels did work their way back into the game with patient at-bats, setting up an RBI double for Grissom for their third hit with runners in scoring position. A promising sign for a squad that ranks dead last in that category. RBI groundouts from Jo Adell and Wade Meckler helped trim the deficit, but the comeback ultimately fell short.
Suffering their first series-opening loss in two weeks, the Angels will have a chance to even the series tomorrow at 1:10 p.m with LHP Reid Detmers facing off against RHP Drew Rasmussen.