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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
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| Erstad |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Beating last-place Tampa Bay was a
step in the right direction for the Anaheim Angels.
"We haven't played good baseball," closer Troy Percival said
after Darin Erstad and Scott Spiezio homered Friday night to help
the Angels win 6-4 and stop a two-game losing slide that dropped
them a season-worst five games under .500.
"We're better than a lot of these teams that we're playing,"
Percival added, "and we have to go out and beat the teams that
we're supposed to beat."
Erstad's third homer, off Albie Lopez (3-5), broke a 2-2 tie.
Scott Spiezio, who had a RBI single in the second, added a solo
homer off the Devil Rays starter in the eighth.
"That ball was crushed," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of
Erstad's homer, which traveled an estimated 421 feet to center
field. "You couldn't hit that ball much farther than he hit it."
Reliever Ben Weber (2-0) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the victory
before a crowd of 10,946 at Tropicana Field, the smallest for a
home game in the Devils Rays' four-year history.
Ben Grieve went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs for Tampa Bay, his
first RBI in 12 games. Damion Rolls was 2-for-4 and also drove in
two runs for the Devil Rays.
Grieve has reached base in 32 consecutive games, the longest
streak in the AL since Manny Ramirez did it in a league-best 49
straight games last July 29-Sept. 23.
"The frustrating aspect is when we hit, we don't pitch. And
when we pitch, we don't hit," said Devil Rays manager Hal McRae,
who watched his team lose for the eighth time in 10 games to tumble
to a major league-worst 13-34.
"We haven't gelled. That makes a difference of five or six
wins. That's a 10-game swing. If you put a 10-game swing into the
record, it's respectable."
The Angels scored on Spiezio's RBI single in the second and when
Troy Glaus grounded into a force play in the third before
threatening to break the game open when Erstad homered and Garret
Anderson added a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Angels starter Pat Rapp took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the
fifth, but couldn't get through the inning to give himself a chance
to get the victory.
Jason Tyner drew a two-out walk, stole second and scored when
Rolls doubled. Grieve followed with a RBI single to trim Tampa
Bay's deficit to 5-4 and finish Rapp, who allowed eight hits in 4
2-3 innings.
"Pat started off strong, but quickly got out of sync," Angels
manager Mike Scioscia said. "And those guys didn't miss many
mistakes."
Weber replaced Rapp and allowed one hit and struck out one. Al
Levine pitched the seventh and eighth innings for the Angels, and
Percival worked the ninth for his 11th save in 11 opportunities.
Since winning three of his first four decisions, Lopez has
dropped four straight. The right-hander allowed six runs on 10
hits, walked two and struck out two in eight innings.
Lopez said he can't explain the turnaround.
"I'm going out and throwing my same pitches," he said. "I'm
just not getting the same results."
Game notes
Lopez hit one batter and also had a wild pitch. The Devil
Rays lead the majors in both categories. The pitching staff has hit
34 batters and is on pace to break the major league record of 85
set by the 1895 Pittsburgh Pirates. The record for wild pitches is
96 by Cincinnati last year. Tampa Bay is on pace for 106. ... Greg
Vaughn's bat broke in two while he was swinging in the on-deck
circle in the third inning. The barrel flew into the stands and
struck a fan who didn't appear to be injured seriously ... Grieve
only has four RBI since May 3 ... Angels rookie David Eckstein has
reached base in 39 of 40 starts ... The Devil Rays activated RHP
Mike Judd from the 15-day disabled list and designated him for
assignment. The club has 10 days to trade or release him.
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RECAPS
Baltimore 7
Texas 6
Boston 4
Toronto 0
Cleveland 6
NY Yankees 4
Chi. White Sox 8
Detroit 4
Anaheim 6
Tampa Bay 4
Seattle 9
Kansas City 6
Oakland 4
Minnesota 2
Chicago Cubs 1
Milwaukee 0
St. Louis 5
Cincinnati 4
Philadelphia 10
Montreal 8
NY Mets 4
Florida 3
Atlanta 1
Pittsburgh 0
Arizona 7
San Diego 1
Los Angeles 4
Houston 1
Colorado 6
San Francisco 1
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