José Caballero had three hits and drove in two runs, while Isaac Paredes hit a home run as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Los Angeles Angels 6-4 on Tuesday night, despite Mike Trout hitting his sixth home run.
Harold Ramírez also contributed with two RBIs for the Rays, who have won three of their last four games.
Aaron Civale (2-1) allowed only two hits after Trout’s two-run homer in the first inning. He pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) with four strikeouts. Civale has given up four earned runs in three starts, all from home runs.
“No one wants to give up home runs, but also no one wants runners on base. The more you’re pitching without runners, the better,” Civale said. Pete Fairbanks earned his first save despite giving up an RBI single to Luis Rengifo in the ninth inning. The Angels had runners on first and second with two outs, but Miguel Sanó struck out looking.
“No one is performing at their best right now. Sometimes you have to grind through it a bit. Grind your at-bats and grind your pitches. I felt like we did that tonight,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Trout has homered in three consecutive games for the 15th time in his career.
“When they’ve been making mistakes, he’s been making them pay,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He’s swinging the bat well.”
Caballero, acquired from Seattle in the offseason, has reached base in 10 consecutive games to start the season. He tied the game 2-2 with an RBI single in the first inning off Patrick Sandoval (1-2). In the fifth inning, he drove in Jose Siri with a double to left field, giving the Rays a 3-2 lead.
However, Caballero made a mistake in the fourth inning when he missed a ground ball, allowing Brandon Drury to score and bringing the Angels within one run.
“The staff, the teammates, they’ve been awesome to me. They’ve been trying to help me with everything, and I feel comfortable here. That’s why I think it makes me a better player,” Caballero said.
Paredes extended his hitting streak to nine games with a solo home run in the seventh inning, putting the Rays up by two runs. He is batting .364 with four homers since starting the season 0-for-9.
Trout’s home run came in the first inning after Mickey Moniak singled. Trout is tied with Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox for the most homers in the majors.
The Rays scored their first run in the second inning when Curtis Mead scored on Siri’s double. Sandoval pitched five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, with six strikeouts.
