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Trumbo leads Angels over Rays

Apr 30, 2011 - 5:57 AM St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Mark Trumbo went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, powering the Angels to an 8-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game series.

Erick Aybar knocked in a pair of runs for the Angels, who pounded out 17 hits coming off a series win over the Athletics.

Ervin Santana (1-3) battled through six innings to pick up his first win of the year, surviving four runs -- one earned -- on four hits and two walks.

"It came down command of his fastball and he threw some great breaking balls when he needed to," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia about Santana. "Really he pitched a great game out there and won the game for us."

David Price (3-3) was knocked around for 12 hits and five runs in just 4 1/3 innings of work for Tampa Bay, which had a five-game winning streak stopped.

Matt Joyce belted a three-run homer in a losing cause.

"They got us tonight but I am very pleased with the way my guys went about their business tonight," said Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon. "They gave it their all and it just turned up short, that's going to happen."

Trumbo and Casey Kotchman traded run-scoring hits in the second inning before the Rays took a 4-1 lead on Joyce's no-doubter in the third, which began with Aybar booting Reid Brignac's ground ball.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Angels pushed three across in the fourth. Howie Kendrick led off the inning with a double, moved to third on Price's errant pickoff attempt and raced home on Aybar's infield single. Trumbo followed with a shot halfway up the seats in left-center to tie things.

Price was pulled after giving up the lead and then loading the bases in the fifth. Vernon Wells' sacrifice fly scored Bobby Abreu with the go-ahead run, but Aybar spoiled a chance for more when he grounded into an inning-ending double play off Juan Cruz.

Rays relievers Cesar Ramos and Adam Russell combined to load the bases in the seventh, and the latter walked Alberto Callaspo to force in a run before Aybar's RBI groundout made it 7-4.

B.J. Upton's eighth-inning leadoff homer off Fernando Rodney cut the deficit to two, but the Angels got the run back in the ninth when Trumbo knocked in Kendrick with a groundout.

Jordan Walden worked around a leadoff double in the ninth to secure his fourth save.

Game Notes

Abreu, Kendrick and Callaspo each recorded three hits for the Angels...Rays outfielder Johnny Damon went 0-for-4, snapping a 16-game hitting streak...Joyce was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the sixth inning...Ben Zobrist, coming off a 13-RBI performance in the Rays' three-game sweep of Minnesota, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored...The Rays went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.