Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
LA Angels 8, Tampa Bay 2
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Dana DeMuth, 1B - Paul Nauert, 2B - Ed Hickox, 3B - Mike Estabrook
Attendance: 11617

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tying Mickey Mantle with his 536th career home run was a nice milestone for Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, but he was much happier to see a five-game losing streak end Tuesday with Los Angeles' 8-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

"It's pretty special. I always liked Mickey. He's a legend," Pujols said. "Obviously what he did in this game, nobody's going to forget that. My goal is to try to help this ballclub to win and I'm glad I was able to do that tonight."

The Angels (29-29) pounded 15 hits -- seven with runners in scoring position -- and got six-plus solid innings from starter Matt Shoemaker, who retired the first 11 Rays he faced.

Tampa Bay (31-28) had won five of its last six games but struggled all around in their first game back from a 10-game road trip. The Rays gave up a season-high 15 hits, while setting a season high with three errors.

"Probably not our best game," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We didn't catch the ball as well as we normally do ... little uncharacteristic of us but (Evan Longoria) was not in there. He's a big part of what we do offensively and defensively."

Los Angeles got a career-high four RBIs from outfielder Kole Calhoun, who went 3-for-5, and the top four hitters in the Angels lineup went a combined 11-for-20 on the night.

"We did a lot of things well," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "A lot of clutch hitting. I thought there was a lot of energy, we ran the bases well, dugout was alive and it was just a good night for us."

The Rays had just one hit in the first five innings, then got three in a row in the sixth, including a two-run double by rookie outfielder Joey Butler. Tampa Bay had two on in the seventh and Longoria -- limited by a wrist injury -- at the plate as a pinch-hitter and the tying run, but he struck out to end the rally.

Pujols, who hit his 16th home run of the season, now has eight in his last 11 games. He had a double in the third inning and an infield single in the eighth. The Angels had five consecutive hits in the eighth inning off reliever Enny Romero to break open a 5-2 game.

Shoemaker did not give up a hit until left fielder David DeJesus singled in the fourth inning.

"Today was their day and today wasn't ours," Rays starter Nathan Karns said. "That's basically how I look at it."

Los Angeles scored twice in the first, with shortstop Erick Aybar leading off the game with a single and scoring on an RBI double by Calhoun. A pair of errors helped Calhoun score, the second coming on a throwing error by third baseman Jake Elmore on a ground ball by catcher Carlos Perez.

The Angels added a run in the third when Pujols doubled and scored on an RBI double by third baseman David Freese, then made it 4-0 in the fifth on Pujols' home run.

The Rays had a season-high three errors -- including two by infielder Nick Franklin, making just his second start at first base -- by the fifth inning.

NOTES: Rays OF Desmond Jennings, out the last five weeks with a left knee injury, will undergo arthroscopic surgery Wednesday and miss a minimum of 3-4 weeks. The injury was originally diagnosed as bursitis but the team hopes the scope will better identify the nature of his problem. ... The Rays placed RHP Jake Odorizzi on the disabled list with an oblique injury, recalling RHP Andrew Bellatti for bullpen help. Bellatti was sent down Saturday after being called up a second time June 1. ... LHP Matt Moore threw in Dunedin on a rehab assignment, scheduled for 65 pitches as he recovers from Tommy John surgery last year. ...RHP Kirby Yates, who has a strained right pectoral muscle, had his rehab assignment transferred from Class A Charlotte to Triple-A Durham. ... INF Daniel Robertson, who was playing at Double-A Montgomery, had surgery in St. Petersburg on Tuesday morning to remove a fractured hook of the hamat
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
LA Angels   Tampa Bay
Matt Shoemaker Player Nathan Karns
Win W/L Loss
6.1 IP 5.2
6 Strikeouts 4
5 Hits 9
2.84 ERA 6.35
Hitting
LA Angels   Tampa Bay
Albert Pujols Player Rene Rivera
3 Hits 1
1 RBI 0
1 HR 0
7 TB 2
.750 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
LA Angels 15 1 23 .341 20 6 7 2 0 0
Tampa Bay 6 0 8 .188 10 10 2 2 0 3