Major League Baseball
Tampa Bay 4, LA Angels 2
When: 1:10 PM ET, Monday, July 4, 2016
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Dana DeMuth, 1B - Ed Hickox, 2B - Ben May, 3B - Mike Estabrook
Attendance: 14532

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays haven't won often in the last three weeks, but they have had a surprisingly good chance when Matt Moore is pitching.

Moore (5-5) held the Los Angeles Angels to two runs in 6 2/3 innings, helping the Rays to a 4-2 win Monday afternoon at Tropicana Field. In the last 22 games, Moore is 3-1, and the rest of the Rays are 3-15.

Tampa Bay (34-48) won for just the third time in 19 games, while the Angels (33-50) have now lost 12 of 14 games. The Rays' bullpen, which had allowed runs in 17 of the last 18 games, got the final seven outs. Reliever Ryan Garton struck out Mike Trout and got C.J. Cron to pop out foul in the ninth, stranding two runners for his first career save.

The Rays jumped ahead in the sixth off reliever Fernando Salas, with Brad Miller getting a single and scoring from second on an RBI single by Logan Morrison. Up 3-2, Morrison scored on an RBI double down the left-field line from Steven Souza for a 4-2 lead.

Moore got himself into and out of several jams -- in the third, he gave up a two-out double to Yunel Escobar and a single to Trout but got Albert Pujols to fly out to center to strand two. In the fourth, after tying the game at 1-1, the Angels had runners at second and third with two outs, and Shane Robinson flied out to center. In the fifth, runners at first and third and Johnny Giavotella popped out to right.

Moore left in the seventh with his second straight quality start -- he held Boston to three hits in seven shutout innings in earning a win Wednesday. In his last five starts, he has three wins and a 2.43 ERA.

Jefry Marte's solo home run in the sixth tied the game at 2-2, but the Angels had a chance to take the lead, with Jett Bandy getting a double and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. Robinson hit a hard grounder to third, where Evan Longoria threw home, getting Robinson caught in a 5-2-5-1 rundown. Moore got a comebacker from Escobar to end the inning and strand Robinson at second.

The Rays took early leads on a pair of solo home runs -- Miller hit his 12th in the third inning for a 1-0 lead, only to see Los Angeles tie the game in the fourth on an RBI double by Andrelton Simmons. Morrison hit his ninth home run for a 2-1 lead in the fourth off Angels starter Nick Tropeano, called up before the game to start. Tropeano held the Rays to the two runs on four hits in his five innings, striking out four.

NOTES: Adding a much-needed arm to an overworked bullpen, the Rays placed OF Desmond Jennings on the disabled list (retroactive to July 1) with a hamstring injury, opening up a spot to recall RHP Tyler Sturdevant. Jennings is hitting .202 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs. Manager Kevin Cash said he is hopeful Jennings can be back right after the All-Star break. Sturdevant, 30, was 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 13 games in previous stints with the Rays. ... Angels 3B Yunel Escobar, who played for the Rays last season, entered the game with an eight-game hitting streak after getting four hits in Sunday's loss to Boston. He came in with a .400 average when batting leadoff. ... Going back to Saturday's 21-2 Angels win over Boston, C.J. Cron and Carlos Perez became the first teammates since 1920 to combine for at least 11 hits and 11 RBIs in the same game.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
LA Angels   Tampa Bay
Nick Tropeano Player Matt Moore
No Decision W/L Win
5.0 IP 6.2
4 Strikeouts 3
4 Hits 6
3.60 ERA 2.70
Hitting
LA Angels   Tampa Bay
Jefry Marte Player Steven Souza Jr.
1 Hits 2
1 RBI 1
1 HR 0
4 TB 3
.500 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
LA Angels 8 1 14 .229 18 7 2 3 0 0
Tampa Bay 7 2 14 .233 9 5 4 2 0 1
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