Tampa Bay Rays lose to Los Angeles Angels, remain in second in AL East
The Tampa Bay Rays matched the Los Angeles Angels with nine hits Sunday, but the Angels did more with theirs to beat the Rays 6-3.
In his fifth start since coming off the disabled list, starting pitcher Jeff Niemann did not do well giving up six hits, including two home runs and five earned runs, while walking three and striking out five before getting pulled in the fifth inning.
After giving up a home run to Bobby Abreu, Niemann settled down, getting the final two outs to end the first inning, and only giving up a pair of hits over the next two innings. Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach hit a home run in the bottom half of the second to
tie the game up at 1-1.
"I felt like I threw the ball pretty well today," Niemann said. "They hit a few pitches and I made some mistakes, but overall, I thought I threw the ball pretty well."
However, his control wavered in the fourth inning when he gave up a pair of walks before Peter Bourjos hit a home run to give the Angels a 4-1 lead. He was pulled after Hideki Matsui hit a RBI double one out in to the fifth inning.
"[Niemann was] still was not able to get his fastball where he wanted to," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He kept throwing fastball after fastball in the full count. He did not want to elevate three in a row, and he did. And then, eventually [Bourjos] caught
one.
Niemann faced the Angels in his first game back from the disabled list for a strained shoulder on August 25. He failed to last four innings then, giving up eight hits, three walks, and 10 earned runs.
With the loss the Rays record fell to 89-59 on the season. They are now a half game behind the New York Yankees in the AL East, but have a comfortable six and a half game lead on the Boston Red Sox for the AL wild card spot.
Tampa Bay travels to New York Monday in what will likely be a decisive four-game series with the Yankees. If they can leave New York in the first place there is a good chance they will win the division. Matt Garza is scheduled to take the mound on Monday with
Ivan Nova set to do so for the Yankees.
After the series in New York, Tampa Bay has games against some of the worst teams in baseball to finish the regular season: the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Royals. New York, on the other hand, has to play the Boston Red Sox six times
and the Toronto Blue Jays three.
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