Major League Baseball
Tampa Bay 3, LA Angels 1
When: 3:35 PM ET, Sunday, May 8, 2016
Where: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Temperature: 68°
Umpires: Home - Scott Barry, 1B - Adam Hamari, 2B - Tony Randazzo, 3B - Dan Bellino
Attendance: 41086

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- At no time in the past four years did the Tampa Bay Rays achieve what they accomplished Sunday.

Brad Miller hit a two-run home run and Curt Casali added a solo drive to give the Rays a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium to complete a three-game series sweep.

The Rays not only earned their fourth successive win, a season high, but they swept the Angels on the road for the first time since 2012. The hosts took their fifth loss in six games.

Right-hander Matt Andriese (1-0) won his season debut after being recalled from Triple-A Durham prior to the game. Andriese retired 13 of 15 batters between the first and fifth innings, permitting just two walks during that span.

In seven innings, Andriese induced three double plays among his 12 groundouts, scattered four hits, conceded just one run and three walks and finished with three strikeouts.

"Matt Andriese set the tone," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "It's not an easy thing to face a big-league lineup after travelling cross country. He was outstanding."

Casali, the Rays' catcher, added, "He was awesome, he really was. He's got great stuff. You wouldn't have known he was in Triple-A. If you told me before the game that he was going to give me seven innings with one run, I'd take that, for sure. He really delivered for us."

Steven Geltz and Xavier Cedeno combined to blank the Angels in the eighth inning. Alex Colome pitched a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout for his second consecutive save in the series and his ninth of the season.

Los Angeles shortstop Andrelton Simmons left in the top of the third inning after spraining his left thumb while fielding a ground ball. Simmons will undergo an MRI exam Monday.

"It's a huge blow," Angels center fielder Mike Trout said. "Just the way he handles himself on the field, he's a key part to this team."

Right-hander Nick Tropeano (1-2) amassed 10 strikeouts, one fewer than his career high, in 5 1/3 innings. However, Tropeano received his second consecutive loss after allowing three runs, seven hits, both homers and two walks.

Miller's fourth home run of the season, in the third inning, put Tampa Bay ahead, 2-1. One out after Casali hit a double to left field, Miller lined Tropeano's first pitch, a 79 mph slider, into the third row of the right field stands for a two-run drive.

"He was aggressive early in the count, same with Casali," Tropeano said. "Besides those two pitches, really, I felt pretty good. Obviously, I've got to execute better early in the count, executing pitches either down and away or down in the zone."

Simmons was injured while fielding a ground ball from the next batter, Evan Longoria. Simmons dived to field Longoria's grounder on the outfield grass, then threw underhanded while on his knees. Longoria easily beat the throw for a single.

After being examined briefly on the field, Simmons left the game. Cliff Pennington moved from second base to replace Simmons, with Johnny Giavotella taking over at second.

Casali hit his fourth home run, a solo drive, into the Rays' bullpen in left field in the fifth to pad the lead.

Los Angeles used Albert Pujols' sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. With one out, Kole Calhoun hit a sharp ground ball off the glove of diving first baseman Steve Pearce for a single. Calhoun took third base on Trout's single up the middle, then scored when Pujols hit a fly ball that sent left fielder Corey Dickerson to the wall.

The Angels would not get another hit until Yunel Escobar singled in the sixth. Calhoun followed with a walk, but Andriese struck out Trout on a low 86 mph sinker and made Pujols hit into a double play.

"He just refused to give in," Cash said of Andriese. "He does a good job of composing himself. Even if there are some anxious moments out there, you've got to have a poker face."

NOTES: Tampa Bay began the game with the American League's worst batting average, .228. ... Rays RHP Erasmo Ramirez, who received his sixth win Saturday night, owns the team record for most victories through 28 games of a season. ... The mother of Rays RHP Matt Andriese, Lynn, watched him pitch in the major leagues for the first time. ... Los Angeles' bullpen compiled the major league's best ERA (1.69) since April 20, and held opposing batters to a .202 average entering Sunday's game. ... Angels RHP Nick Tropeano made his first career start against a team from the American League East.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Tampa Bay   LA Angels
Matt Andriese Player Nick Tropeano
Win W/L Loss
7.0 IP 5.1
3 Strikeouts 10
4 Hits 7
1.29 ERA 5.06
Hitting
Tampa Bay   LA Angels
Curt Casali Player Yunel Escobar
2 Hits 2
1 RBI 0
1 HR 0
6 TB 2
.500 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Tampa Bay 7 2 14 .219 12 15 3 4 0 0
LA Angels 5 0 5 .179 11 5 1 3 0 0