Rays vs Angels Recap: Rays Hammer Angels 8-3 in Week 64

The Tampa Bay Rays rolled into Anaheim looking to bounce back. They'd lost two straight before this game. The Los Angeles Angels needed this one bad—they were only 29-42 and fighting for respect. The final score told the story: Rays 8, Angels 3. You could feel the momentum shift early. The Rays' bats came alive in ways the Angels couldn't match. Junior Caminero was hungry. Victor Mesa Jr. was locked in. These young Rays hitters showed up ready to punish fastballs and chase mistakes. The Angels' pitching staff struggled to find the strike zone and kept runners on base. By the time you blinked, Tampa Bay had built a lead they would never surrender. This was a game that got away from Los Angeles fast.

The action started immediately in the second inning. Denzer Guzman singled to left field off Casey Legumina, and Jo Adell scored first blood. Angels up 1-0. But the Rays answered hard in the third. Chandler Simpson stepped up and connected on a sweeper from Chase Silseth. The ball rocketed into center field. Jonathan Aranda scored. Victor Mesa Jr. scored. Two runs in one swing flipped the script. Then Ben Williamson came to bat in the fourth inning against Drew Pomeranz. Williamson got a fastball he liked and crushed it over the center field wall. The ball soared 394 feet. Rays led 3-1 now. These back-to-back power plays showed you the Rays' young bats had arrived today ready to hit.

The Angels tried to stay close. Donovan Walton blasted a 386-foot homer to right-center in the fifth inning off Ian Seymour. Jo Adell singled to left, scoring Logan Porter. Suddenly it was 3-3 and the game felt tight. But Tampa Bay's bats were not done. Far from it. In the eighth inning, Sam Bachman took the mound for Los Angeles. That was his mistake. Junior Caminero launched a changeup into left field. The ball disappeared. Caminero and Cedric Mullins scored on that blast. Rays 5-3. Hunter Feduccia singled to right. Richie Palacios scored. Victor Mesa Jr. stepped up next and absolutely crushed a 406-foot rocket to right-center. He and Feduccia scored. Final: Rays 8, Angels 3. Tampa Bay improved to 41-27 and stayed hot. Los Angeles dropped to 29-43.