ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The strategy is more amusing to Albert Pujols than annoying, though he says he understands it.

With runners on second and third and two outs in the sixth inning Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays decided to walk Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout to face Pujols with the bases loaded.

Never mind that Angels first baseman had homered in his previous at-bat against the same pitcher, Rays starter Alex Colome. The strategy worked for the Rays when Pujols popped out to center field to end the inning.

Problem was, Pujols had four other at-bats in the game, and he made the Rays pay then. Pujols finished with a single and two home runs, leading the Angels to a 7-3 win at Angel Stadium.

Trout and third baseman David Freese also went deep for the Angels, who won their fifth in a row, their longest winning streak of the season.

"They can do that 100 more times, that doesn't bother me," said Pujols, who has seen opposing pitchers intentionally walk Trout in front him seven times this season. "Obviously, I wish I would have come through right there with the bases loaded, but I got another chance in the eighth inning and hit a two-run homer. So, I don't know if that's going to stop or whether I hit it 500 (feet), you don't want the best player on the other team to beat you.

"That doesn't bother me, I've been in this game too long. I know what I need to do, and most of the time, I'm going to make them pay."

The four homers continued the Angels' recent power surge: Los Angeles has 13 home runs in its past five games.

Angels starting pitcher Garrett Richards (5-3) was not at his best, but he was good enough. He gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in six-plus innings, striking out four.

He was removed from the game after giving a leadoff single in the seventh inning, shaking his head and he headed off the mound and into the dugout.

"I know every night I can pitch deep into a ballgame, and tonight the sixth inning ... it is what it is," Richards said. "I know I have more in the tank. I put myself in that position. If I attack guys a little bit earlier (in the count), I would have kept my pitch count down and pitched later into the game. So I have nobody to blame but myself."

Colome (3-2) gave up five runs on nine hits and three walks in six innings. He also yielded three of the Angels' four homers, which made all the difference in the game.

"He competed well against a hot lineup with some really good hitters," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "He made a couple mistakes to their big boys, and they made him pay. Ultimately, that seemed to be the outcome of the game, the home runs."

Trout's homer was the big blow, coming on an 0-2 count in the bottom of the third inning, a three-run shot that gave the Angels a 4-1 lead.

"I was trying to go down and away, like the first two pitches," Colome said. "I missed in the middle, and he got it."

Tampa Bay second baseman Nick Franklin hit a two-run home run in defeat, snapping an 0-for-25 stretch. It also was his first hit of the season from the left side after he was 0-for-19.

Richards not only got support from the offense, but also from his bullpen. He came out of the game after giving up a leadoff single in the seventh. Jose Alvarez came in and got a double-play ball on the only batter he faced, and Fernando Salas retired the only batter he faced to end the seventh.

Joe Smith pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Cam Bedrosian pitched the ninth to finish the game in a non-save situation.

NOTES: The Angels called up LHP Edgar Ibarra from Triple-A Salt Lake. To make room on the roster, Los Angeles optioned OF Alfredo Marte to Salt Lake. Marte went 1-for-4 in four games for the Angels. ... The Rays called up RHP Andrew Bellatti from Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay had a vacant roster spot after INF Tim Beckha