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Five-run fifth helps Devil Rays cruise by Angels

Jul 18, 2007 - 3:52 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays used a big fifth inning to help conquer a recent nemesis.

Carlos Pena and Josh Wilson drove in two runs apiece in a five-run fifth as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays posted an 8-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday.

James Shields pitched seven effective innings and Ty Wigginton had four hits for Tampa Bay, which had lost nine of 10 to Anaheim.

B.J. Upton also had three hits and scored twice for the Devil Rays, who pounded out 16 hits, their second-highest total of the season.

After the Angels tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth, the Devil Rays sent nine men to the plate in the bottom of the frame.

Carl Crawford led off with a walk and moved to second on a single by Upton. Pena then rifled a double off the right field wall to give the Devil Rays a two-run lead.

"That was fun, I like having two guys who can run in front of me," Pena said of Crawford and Upton. "That ball off the wall, my first reaction was, I knew Crawford would score. But when I saw B.J. coming around, that was a big run. I'm always in awe of their talent."

"Carlos has kind of that up-and-over swing that if he doesn't get them up, they are going (to drill holes in the wall)," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He has the kind of Ted Williams-type top-spinning line drive to right field."

One out after an infield single by Delmon Young, Wigginton delivered an RBI base hit for a 5-2 advantage.

Wilson added a two-run single later in the frame to make it 7-2, and Wigginton produced an RBI base hit in the seventh to finish the scoring for the Devil Rays. It was the eighth consecutive hit for Wigginton, which tied a club record set by Aubrey Huff in 2004.

"I'm up there doing the same thing I've been doing all year," Wigginton said. "I haven't changed a thing."

The outburst made things easy for Shields (8-5), who allowed two runs, seven hits and a walk en route to just his second win in his last seven starts. The righthander had been 1-5 with a 6.39 ERA in his previous six outings, surrendering 10 home runs in that span.

"I looked at my last start and I thought my arm angle was a little bit down," Shields said. "That's one of the things I changed. I pretty much look at all the films after I pitch to see what is right and wrong.

"The last time, all my pitches seemed flat. This game, I was consistent with my mechanics. Tonight, I used all four of my pitches."

The 25-year-old Shields improved to 2-1 in four career starts against the Angels.

"We've grown to expect that out of Shields," Maddon said. "All season long, the seven-, eight-inning performances, he gives us a chance to win almost every time out. He's really a competitor, and he needed that kind of performance like that tonight."

Tampa Bay's first seven runs came off Anaheim starter Ervin Santana (5-11), who surrendered a career-high 14 hits along with four walks and four strikeouts.

"I thought (Ervin's) stuff was good early on," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think at one point, there were signs that he was moving in the right direction. Our mission is to get him back on track. We know he has a lot more talent than he has shown."

The righthander has lost a career-high five straight decisions and has been charged with at least five runs in his last four starts.

"I just missed a couple of pitches," Santana said. "I have to keep pitching and try to win. I don't worry about pitch count, I just worry about making good pitches. I don't have to prove nothing to nobody. I just have to pitch."

It was also the most hits allowed by an Angels pitcher this year and one shy of the team record set back in 1976 by Paul Hartzell.

The Devil Rays took an early lead in the third as Upton and Young capped a string of four straight hits with RBI singles.

The Angels knotted it in the fifth on a two-run single by Jose Molina.

Chone Figgins had three hits and Brandon Wood drove in his first career run with a ninth-inning double for Anaheim, which has lost two straight and three of five.