The Angels were shut out by the Rays and starter James Shields, who allowed just one hit, with eight strikeouts, in the 2-0 Rays win.
The only hit the Angels could muster was a Brandon Wood single in the third. The only other mistake Shields made was hitting Erick Aybar with a pitch. Aybar had to be taken out of the game and is listed as day-to-day, but he may be out for the weekend which could mean a roster transaction to bring someone up to replace him. Casey Kotchman was back in the lineup after missing Wednesday’s game from a groin strain on Tuesday.
Jon Garland matched Shields’ shutout through eight innings. Garland gave up just four hits, while walking three and striking out two. This was Garland’s first scoreless outing of the season, but he left with the game at 0’s for the no-decision. Justin Speier came to throw the ninth and took the loss after giving up a two-run walkoff homerun to Evan Longoria. This gives Speier his second loss of the season.
The Angels and Rays go again at 4:10pm. Joe Saunders will try and stretch his perfect record to 7-0, which would put him atop the AL for most wins. The Rays will start LHP Scott Kazmir, who is just 0-1 in two starts this year after starting the season on the DL.
