A seven-run fourth inning, powered by Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum, lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 7–3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. The Rays entered the matchup as narrow -115 betting favorites and backed that up with a decisive offensive surge to secure their third win in 13 games.
Lowe provided the spark with a two-run home run, his 20th of the season, while Mangum added a two-run single during the same inning. The Rays sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame, transforming a scoreless contest into a comfortable lead that held up through the remainder of the game.
Yandy Díaz contributed at both ends of the inning, leading off with Tampa Bay’s first hit of the night before scoring on Lowe’s 411-foot home run to center field. Later in the inning, Díaz added an RBI groundout. Four of the next five Rays batters following Lowe’s homer reached safely as they opened a 7–0 lead.
Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot earned the win, improving to 7–9 after allowing five hits and two earned runs across 5 2/3 innings. He broke a personal five-start winless streak while giving Tampa Bay a much-needed quality start.
The Angels’ José Soriano appeared in control early, retiring the first nine batters he faced. However, the right-hander faltered in the fourth, giving up all seven runs in the inning. He fell to 7–9 on the season and was lifted before recording an out in the fifth inning.
Los Angeles attempted to respond behind Jo Adell, who drove in all three of the team’s runs. Adell launched a two-run homer in the fifth inning, his 23rd of the season, and later added an RBI single in the sixth to cut the deficit to four runs.
The Angels appeared poised for a bigger fifth inning after Adell’s home run, but base-running mistakes proved costly. Logan O’Hoppe was thrown out at home while trying to score from first on Christian Moore’s double. Shortly after, Bryce Teodosio lined out to Lowe, who doubled off Oswald Peraza at first to end the inning.
Despite the late push, the Angels could not recover from the fourth-inning damage. They fell to 6–6 on their current 13-game homestand and have dropped two of their last three games.
Lowe, who has at least 20 home runs in three consecutive seasons and four of his last five, continues to serve as a consistent power source for Tampa Bay. The Rays improved to 59–63 with the win and will look to build on the momentum in the series finale.
The three-game series concludes Wednesday afternoon. The Angels will send left-hander Tyler Anderson (2–7, 4.49 ERA) to the mound, still searching for his first win in 18 consecutive starts. Tampa Bay counters with right-hander Shane Baz (8–8, 4.79 ERA), who has lost five straight decisions.