Tampa Bay @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 24, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 10, LA Angels 3
Tampa Bay has not only put away its troubles on the West Coast, but is primed to sweep the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday afternoon.
The Rays (78-48) won their fourth consecutive game Tuesday night, breaking out for 13 hits in a 10-3 rout. The easy victory ended a streak of five one-run games and kept them tied for first place in the American League East with the New York Yankees.
In May, Tampa Bay won its first series in Anaheim in 11 years. Now they seek their first road sweep at Angel Stadium.
For the second consecutive day, the Rays will activate a starting pitcher off the disabled list when left-hander Jeff Niemann makes his first start since Aug. 3.
Niemann endured a strained right shoulder, the same injury that kept Tuesday’s starter, Wade Davis, out of the lineup since Aug. 5. Right-hander Dale Thayer was optioned to Triple-A Durham after Tuesday's victory.
Niemann (10-3, 3.12 ERA) will oppose Angels right-hander Dan Haren (1-4, 4.39).
Davis went 5 1/3 innings Tuesday, allowing two run on five hits. The Rays gave him all the runs he needed with a four-run second. Evan Longoria also had three hits, including his 19th homer, and Matt Joyce also homered and had two RBIs.
Longoria is hitting .409 with four homers, nine doubles and 13 RBIs in 11 games at Angel Stadium.
Outside of Hideki Matsui, who had three hits and extended his hitting streak to nine games, the Angels did little Tuesday. Los Angeles (62-65) has lost seven of nine and is 10 games behind the AL West-leading Texas Rangers.
Niemann is a perfect 5-0 with a 3.65 ERA against AL West opponents. He has one victory in three starts against the Angels. The Rays, with the best road record in the majors (39-24), have won nine of their last 10 away from home when Niemann starts.
The Angels acquired Haren in a trade with Arizona on July 25, hoping he would be a piece of the puzzle that could get them back into the AL West race. Despite decent stats, Haren has lost eight of his last nine starts, and the Angels are as far back in the division as they have been all season.
Haren has been troubled by poor timing and lack of run support. He lost three times in July – twice when allowing two runs and once allowing three runs.
He had nothing but trouble in his last start Friday against Minnesota. The Twins clubbed him for seven runs on 11 hits in seven innings of a 7-2 loss.
Haren, making his first start against Tampa Bay since 2007, is 4-2 with a 2.74 ERA in seven career starts against the Rays.