Right-hander Zach Eflin got his American League-best 13th win and Harold Ramirez went 4-for-6 with four runs batted in as the Tampa Bay Rays routed the Los Angeles Angels 18-4 on Saturday to split their doubleheader in Anaheim, Calif.
The Angels took the first game 7-6.
Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes had three hits apiece and Tampa Bay batted sent nine batters to the plate in a four-run fifth inning, and 10 batted in their seven-run sixth. They took advantage of some sloppy Angels defense and pitching along the way.
The Rays recorded season highs with their 18 runs and 20 hits.
After Los Angeles starter Patrick Sandoval pitched three scoreless innings, the Rays got to him in the fourth inning on an RBI ground-rule double from Osleivis Basabe and a run-scoring groundout by Josh Lowe. Then the game got out of control for the Angels.
In the fifth, Sandoval was victimized for four unearned runs after rookie center fielder Jordyn Adams dropped Arozarena’s routine fly ball with two outs. The runs came on an RBI single by Paredes, a two-run double from Curtis Mead, and a run-scoring double by Basabe for a 6-0 lead, before Jaime Barria came on to get the final out.
The onslaught picked up the sixth against Barria, however, The Rays scored seven runs on six hits to go up 13-1. The damage came on a two-run double by Ramirez, a three-run homer from Paredes and a two-run shot by Jose Siri. Paredes’ homer was 24th, extending his career high.
Arozarena continued the blowout with a two-run homer off Barria in the seventh for a 15-1 lead, before Ramirez singled in two more in the eighth off Jimmy Herget for a 17-1 lead.
The Angels’ Brandon Drury hit his 17th homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the eighth, to give him homers in both games of the doubleheader.
Eflin retired the first eight Angels he faced before Adams singled for his first major league hit in 10 games. Hunter Renfroe broke up Eflin’s shutout bid with a line-drive homer to left, his 18th, in the fifth.
In six innings, Eflin (13-7) allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out four. Sandoval (6-10) worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing six runs, two earned, on seven hits and three walks. He fanned four.
For the second time in six games, the Angels used infielder Eduardo Escobar to finish the game on the mound.
–Field Level Media
