Andriese, Miller Lead Rays To Sweep Of Angels With 3-1 Win
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Andriese pitched seven innings of four-hit ball to win his season debut, Brad Miller hit a two-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 3-1 victory Sunday.
Curt Casali also homered as the Rays (15-14) won four straight games and moved above .500, accomplishing both for the first time since last August.
Andriese (1-0) shut down the Angels on Mother's Day with his mom, Lynn, watching him pitch for the first time in his big league career. The UC Riverside product is from Redlands, California, about 50 miles northeast of Anaheim.
Andriese didn't allow a run after the first inning. He escaped a two-on, nobody-out jam in the sixth, striking out Mike Trout and getting Albert Pujols to ground into a double play.
Alex Colome pitched the ninth for his ninth save in nine chances, retiring Trout and Pujols again as Tampa Bay swept Los Angeles for the first time since 2012.
Nick Tropeano (1-2) struck out 10 while pitching into the sixth inning for Los Angeles, yielding seven hits and two walks. He is winless in five straight starts despite mostly pitching well for the light-hitting Angels.
Yunel Escobar had two singles for the Angels, who didn't get an extra-base hit and couldn't score after the first inning in their seventh loss in nine games.
The Angels also lost shortstop Andrelton Simmons to a sprained left thumb in the third inning, capped a miserable weekend for a struggling team. On Friday, ace Garrett Richards learned he probably needs elbow ligament replacement surgery, sidelining him well into next season.
After Kole Calhoun scored on Pujols' sacrifice fly to put the Angels ahead early, Miller connected in the third for his second homer and sixth hit in the weekend series.
Casali hit his third homer in 13 May at-bats on Tropeano's first pitch of the fifth inning. The light-hitting catcher had one homer in 48 at-bats in April.
ANDRELTON OUT
Simmons came down awkwardly on his glove while diving to stop Evan Longoria's grounder. Simmons, who snapped an 0-for-21 skid at the plate a day earlier, will have an MRI exam Monday.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: LHP C.J. Wilson threw off a mound for the first time since March in his return from shoulder tendinitis. Apparently the session went well, but the $77.5 million starter is still a long way from returning, manager Mike Scioscia said. ... Closer Huston Street hopes to begin a throwing program next week in his return from a muscle strain.
UP NEXT
Rays: Matt Moore (1-3, 4.95 ERA) takes the mound in the opener of a three-game series at Seattle.
Angels: After a day off, Hector Santiago (2-1, 3.58 ERA) will open an interleague series against the St. Louis Cardinals in Anaheim.
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