Angels Finish Homestand, Fall Short of a Comeback Against the Rays

The Angels had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, with a chance to make a comeback late after being down by four runs for the majority of the game. Up to the plate came Logan O’Hoppe, Luis Rengifo, and Christian Moore, all with chances of being the hero. All three batters struck out, stranding the runners. This ended the Angels' chances at a win in a 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

The Angels lost two out of three games to Tampa, placing them six games back from the final Wild Card spot. This puts the Angels in a deeper hole to get out of if they hope to push for the postseason. Wednesday saw Mike Trout hit his 398th homer of his career, a three-run homer that tied the game in the third inning for the Angels. The homer ended up being all for nothing after the Rays’ Christopher Morel hit the game-winning homer that put the Rays on top.

That eighth inning for the Angels also saw Trout get on base after running out a single that began the rally, followed by a Taylor Ward walk, and Jo Adell by the way of catcher’s interference. The Rays brought in the newly acquired reliever Griffin Jax, who stopped the Angels' hopes for a comeback. The Angels looked to be out of the game early as Tyler Anderson was on the mound for the Halos, giving up four runs within his first three innings. However, the Angels fought back immediately when a combination of walks to Moore and Rengifo, as well as a single from Nolan Schanuel, scored a run and set up the runs that Trout brought with the three-run blast. Anderson would be bailed out of a loss when Ryan Zeferjahn surrendered Morel’s winning blast, tagging Zeferjahn with the loss. 

The Angels finish the 13-game homestand going 5-8, and are now 55-60 on the season. Stuck in a tough spot, the Halos are now six games behind the final AL Wild Card spot. There are also five teams ahead of the Halos. The Angels are now headed to Detroit, facing a Tigers team that holds the second-best record in the American League.