Trout's Heroics Power Angels' Late Rally Over Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Los Angeles Angels were searching for a spark on offense against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. As he’s done so many times before, Mike Trout provided the jolt they needed.

Trout crushed a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, his seventh of the season, to ignite a five-run rally that propelled the Angels to a 7-3 comeback victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field.

The blast came off Rays reliever Pat Maton and traveled a scorching 111.1 mph for 420 feet down the left field line, giving the Angels their first lead at 2-1. It was Trout’s major league-leading 17th game-tying or go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later.

“We needed a big one at the right time and he came through, and it opened it up for everyone else,” said Angels manager Ron Washington. “We finally sustained some stuff on the offensive side, as we’ve been searching for.”

Matt Thaiss followed with a bases-clearing double to make it 5-1, providing some much-needed breathing room. Taylor Ward tacked on a two-run shot in the ninth as the Angels pulled away.

The late offense made a winner out of Luis Garcia, who tossed a scoreless seventh. The Angels’ bullpen shut down the Rays over the final four frames after starter Patrick Sandoval allowed just one run over five innings.

While the numbers weren’t overwhelming, Sandoval was effective in limiting hard contact against a potent Rays lineup. He induced plenty of weak contact and worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth by allowing just one run.

“Their starter did a nice job against us,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “We had him on the ropes that one inning but couldn’t break through.”

Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin was solid as well, firing 6 1/3 scoreless frames before the Angels finally got to the Rays’ bullpen. It was more sixth late-inning woes for a relief corps that has gotten off to a shaky start.

Harold Ramirez provided the Rays’ biggest highlight, crushing a two-run homer in the eighth to briefly make it 5-3. But it was too little, too late on a night that belonged to Trout and the Angels.

Trout has tormented the Rays for years and entered the night hitting .472 over his previous 10 games against Tampa Bay. He added to that impressive total by going 2-for-4 with a walk.

The three-time MVP has been one of the few consistent bright spots for an Angels lineup that entered the night ranked 19th in batting average and 20th in runs scored. Thanks to Trout’s latest heroics, they were able to put up a crooked number and rally for a key early-season win.