Tampa Bay @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 23, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 4, LA Angels 3
The Tampa Bay Rays just can’t seem to be content playing anything but close games.
The Rays won their third consecutive contest, 4-3, over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night, and have played in five straight one-run games.
Keeping it close fits well for the Rays (77-48), who moved into a first-place tie for the AL East lead with the New York Yankees, who dropped a 3-2 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.
The Rays will try for their fourth straight win overall and fourth in a row at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night when Wade Davis meets Ervin Santana in a matchup of right-handers.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia will also try to avoid losing his first series to former coach Joe Maddon. Scioscia is 4-0 in series against Maddon.
In Monday’s series opener, B.J. Upton hit the first pitch of the game for a home run against former Tampa Bay ace Scott Kazmir. Upton also had an RBI double in the second inning, which proved to be the decisive run.
Tampa Bay’s James Shields had 10 strikeouts in six-plus innings, allowing three runs and eight hits for the victory. He tied Kazmir’s franchise marks with 144 starts and 55 victories, respectively.
Closer Rafael Soriano struck out three Angels on just nine pitches for his major league-leading 38th save.
At 38-24, the Rays have the best road record in the majors.
The loss dropped the Angels (62-64) nine games behind the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. Los Angeles has lost seven of its last 10 games.
The Rays are expected to get some upbeat news as they bring Davis and left-hander Jeff Niemann off the disabled list to make back-to-back starts.
Davis (9-9, 4.45 ERA) will come off the disabled list on Tuesday to make his first start since Aug. 5. Sidelined with a strained pitching shoulder, Davis has not lost since June 27 - posting a 4-0 mark with a 3.41 ERA before the injury.
The Rays optioned reliever Mike Ekstrom to Triple-A Durham in order to activate Davis, who has never faced the Angels.
Santana (13-8, 3.93 ERA), meanwhile, will try to stay undefeated against the Rays at home.
The hurler has won three consecutive home starts against Tampa Bay with a 1.21 ERA. Santana threw a three-hitter against the Rays on Aug. 11, 2009. He is 4-4 with a 5.19 ERA in 11 career starts against Tampa Bay.
Santana has won three consecutive starts, including a 7-2 win at the Boston Red Sox on Thursday when he allowed two runs in seven innings.
Howie Kendrick, who brought the Angels to within one run at 4-3 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning Monday, is batting .405 with 12 RBIs in 20 career games against the Rays.