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Allen homers in 9th, Rays sweep Angels

Apr 27, 2012 - 1:41 AM St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Brandon Allen's pinch-hit, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Tampa Bay a 4-3 victory over the Angels on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

Matt Joyce added two hits and an RBI, while Brandon Gomes (1-1) earned the win by tossing a perfect top of the ninth inning as the Rays recorded their fifth straight victory.

Jordan Walden (0-1) gave up Allen's game-winning homer to suffer the loss. Mark Trumbo homered, knocked in two runs and scored twice in the Angels' fourth straight loss.

"We did a lot of good things on the field and got to a certain point of the game, unfortunately, where we couldn't pull it off," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Rays starter Matt Moore allowed three runs -- two earned -- on five hits and two walks through 5 2/3 innings, while Jerome Williams gave up two runs on five hits and three walks in a seven-inning start for the Angels.

The Angels carried a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning. But after Scott Downs retired Joyce with a grounder, Walden took the mound trying for the two-out save.

B.J. Upton greeted him by slapping a ball to right field for a base hit.

Allen stepped up to the plate next and worked a 2-2 count before pulling a knee-high fastball into the right field bleachers for the game-winning runs.

"He was calm on the bench, ready for his at-bat, saw his pitch and did not miss it," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

The Rays picked up an early run after Desmond Jennings led off the first with an infield single and scored on Ben Zobrist's double just inside the first base bag. Zobrist, though, was picked off at second by Williams, who struck out the next two hitters.

The Angels' only baserunner through the first four innings came on a two-out walk by Vernon Wells in the second. Trumbo led off the fifth with a home run over the left-center field wall to knot the game at one.

Albert Pujols knocked a base hit up the middle in the sixth inning to snap a career-high hitless streak of 21 at-bats but was thrown out at second while trying to leg it out into a double. Torii Hunter then hit a single before rounding the bases on Trumbo's double into the right-center field gap.

Trumbo moved to third on the play when Sean Rodriguez's relay throw home landed short and skipped past Jose Molina. Moore was then replaced by Burke Badenhop on the mound and Wells greeted the reliever with an infield single to plate Trumbo and give the Angels a 3-1 lead.

Tampa Bay got a run back in the bottom of the sixth when Luke Scott worked a two-out walk and came home on Joyce's triple past a diving Trumbo in right- center field. But Upton then struck out looking to keep it a one-run game.

The Angels had a chance to extend their lead in the eighth inning after Howie Kendrick led off the frame with a single and then advanced to third on consecutive groundouts by Pujols and Hunter, but Joel Peralta fanned Trumbo to end the threat.

Game Notes

The Rays have won the last six meetings between the teams...Tampa Bay went 0- for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base...The Angels hit 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded five...Both Moore and Williams struck out six batters.