Kevin Kiermaier led off the 10th inning with a home run after rookies Joey Butler and Steven Souza Jr. went deep to account for all the scoring in Tampa Bay's five-run sixth, leading the Rays to a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.
Rays closer Brad Boxberger, born in nearby Fullerton, entered in the eighth looking for his first four-out save in the majors. He struck out Matt Joyce to strand a runner at third, but gave up the tying run in the ninth on Erick Aybar's sacrifice fly after getting ahead in the count 0-2.
The Angels called on closer Huston Street (2-2), and his 2-1 pitch was driven deep into the right-field seats by Kiermaier for his fourth homer of the season.
The blown save was the first in 16 opportunities this season for Boxberger (3-3). But he was credited with the win after former Angels righty Steve Geltz followed Xavier Cedeno out of the bullpen and got two outs for his second big league save
Hector Santiago was touched up for five runs and five hits in five-plus innings, after getting staked to a 4-0 lead with Mike Trout's solo homer in the first and Johnny Giavotella's two-run shot in the fourth.
Santiago got off to an inauspicious start, throwing 31 pitches in the first inning. But he escaped a bases-loaded jam unscathed, retiring Jake Elmore on a fly to right.
The Rays didn't get another hit until the sixth, when Butler drove a 1-0 pitch over the center-field fence to cut the Angels' lead to 4-2. It was the fourth home run for Butler, who came in leading AL rookies with a .333 batting average and .519 slugging percentage.
Ibarra & Perez take similar path from Venezuela to #MLB with #Angels, writes @JillPainter. http://t.co/thtEWIRl8I pic.twitter.com/04CjnfqUhK
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) June 4, 2015
Santiago gave up a single to Evan Longoria and a walk to Logan Forsythe, then got a visit from pitching coach Mike Butcher before Souza drove his 93rd and final pitch to left field for his 11th homer - the most among the league's rookies.
David Freese led off the bottom half with a double and was waved around by third base coach Gary DiSarcina on a ground single toward the middle that went off the glove of diving shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. But Cabrera recovered in time and threw out Freese at the plate by a wide margin as he made a headfirst slide.
The Angels took the lead when Trout drove his 14th homer to the batter's eye beyond the center field trees on rookie Nathan Karns' third pitch of the game. Albert Pujols made it 2-0 in the third when he singled home Kirk Nieuwenhuis with two outs for his 1,631st RBI, five behind Ernie Banks for 29th place on the career list.
Giavotella's second homer was the Angels' 17th in eight games, following a four-game stretch that didn't produce any.
Karns gave up four runs, five hits and three walks over five innings.
#Angels will use Shoemaker out of bullpen while Scioscia shakes up rotation, via @RHaylock. http://t.co/LEw4mAmbu2 pic.twitter.com/5kLyqchYFQ
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) June 4, 2015
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Erasmo Ramirez (3-2) faces Roenis Elias in the opener of a four-game series at Seattle on Thursday night.
Angels: RHP Jered Weaver (4-4) will oppose Yankees RHP Nathan Eovaldi on Friday night in the opener of a three-game set at New York. The three-time All-Star has given up 19 home runs to the Yanks in 14 career starts spanning 82 1-3 innings - the most he's allowed against any club outside the AL West.
