The Los Angeles Angels may have lost the series finale to the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday, but the Angels won the series and have won five of its last seven games.
The Los Angeles Angels are in Arizona for a three-game series against the Diamondbacks after winning back-to-back series against the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays, which were the best team in the American League prior to the series.
The Angels played great baseball against the Rays and have been heating up, winning five of its last seven games. The Rays did get the best of the Halos in the series finale Sunday, 8-3, but it took until the eighth inning for Tampa Bay to break out.
Los Angeles got out to an early lead in the second inning after prospect infielder Denzer Guzman singled home outfielder Jo Adell, but the Rays came back with a two-run single off the bat of outfielder Chandler Simpson in the third and a Ben Williamson solo homer in the fourth to go up 3-1.
Designated hitter Donovan Walton clubbed a home run of his own and Adell knocked in a run with a single in the fifth to even the score. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero hit a go-ahead two-run blast in the eighth inning followed by an RBI single by catcher Hunter Feduccia and a two-run shot off the bat of right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. to put the game out of reach.
The Angels are more concerned about right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who left the game after 2.1 innings of work with low back tightness. He allowed two runs on three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch while striking out one.
Rodriguez was concerned that he left the game but isn’t too worried about the severity of the injury. He told beat writer Jeff Fletcher that it’s something they will have to manage over the next few days.
The Halos will now take on the D-Backs, which are one game above .500 and in the National League wild card race. Los Angeles will send rookie right-hander Walbert Urena to the mound against Arizona’s Ryne Nelson, who has had a rough go of it this year.
Urena is 4-4 with a 2.44 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 55 strikeouts to 33 walks through 12 games (10 starts, 55.1 innings). Ever since being elevated to the starting rotation, Urena has been tough to hit. The 22-year-old is coming off a scoreless outing against the Astros, a start in which he threw five innings of three-hit ball, but he walked five with seven strikeouts.
Nelson is 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 57 strikeouts to 22 walks through 14 starts (76.1 innings). The home-run ball has gotten Nelson this season, as he has allowed 17. The right-hander has allowed eight over his last five outings; Nelson allowed seven runs on eight hits (two HRs) and a walk while fanning two against the Miami Marlins his last time out.
First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.
