Steven Souza Jr.
Logan Forsythe finishes off Rays' rally in win over Angels
Steven Souza Jr.

Logan Forsythe finishes off Rays' rally in win over Angels

Published May. 8, 2016 12:30 a.m. ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Logan Forsythe had just 10 RBIs in his first 102 at-bats this season for the Tampa Bay Rays. On Saturday night, he delivered two more in the ninth inning, and had to break his bat to do it.

Forsythe hit a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded after Steven Souza Jr. hit a tying two-run homer off Jered Weaver in the sixth, and the Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2.

"Logan has been doing it all year for us, it seems like," manager Kevin Cash said. "He just kind of locks in on the pitch and doesn't try to do too much. He had a lot of good at-bats tonight."

Souza greeted Joe Smith (0-2) with a leadoff single in the ninth, then broke for second on a pitchout with Logan Morrison up. The throw from catcher Geovany Soto was so good that Souza retreated back toward first base. But shortstop Andrelton Simmons' throw hit him in the back, allowing him to end up on second.

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"I just tried to get back to first, honestly. And when I turned around, it just hit me in the back of the neck," Souza said. "It ended up working out great."

Souza was forced at third on Desmond Jennings' bunt to first baseman C.J. Cron after a walk to Morrison, but Forsythe delivered the clutch hit on a 1-1 pitch after a walk to Curt Casali.

"Smith has good mix of sinker, slider, so he's a tough guy to face," Forsythe said. "It's great anytime you come up clutch and help the team win or get ahead,."

Erasmo Ramirez (6-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory and Alex Colome got three outs for his eighth save in as many chances.

"I'm sounding like a broken record, but Erasmo's been outstanding," Cash said. "We're lucky to have him in that role and we'll keep using him."

Weaver ended up with a tough-luck no-decision after allowing two runs -- one earned -- and six hits through six innings with five strikeouts and no walks. The right-hander took a 2-0 lead into the sixth before an error by Cron led to a tying two-run homer by Souza.

"Losing isn't fun, that's for sure.," Weaver said. "We've got to find a way to snap out of it and try to get on a streak. It's just a matter of time.

"Injuries or not, we're still got to go out and pitch. Guys need to step up and not let injuries bother us. It's not something you like to see happen, but the season goes on and you've still got to figure out ways to win."

The Angels, whose starting rotation already is depleted because of injuries to Garrett Richards, C.J. Wilson, Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs, got a scare when Weaver had to leap for Cron's underhanded toss on a grounder by Corey Dickerson and landed hard off the bag on his left foot.

Manager Mike Scioscia quickly got Greg Mahle up in the bullpen during pitching coach Charles Nagy's visit to the mound. Weaver's next batter was Souza, who drove the right-hander's 3-2 delivery into the bullpen in left field for his seventh homer, tying the score 2-all.

Rays starter Jake Odorizzi allowed five hits over six innings, including a two-run single by Simmons in the fifth. The right-hander has yielded fewer than three runs in five of his six no-decisions.

Mike Trout's two-out single in the first was the Angels' only hit until the fifth, when Cron led off with a single and Johnny Giavotella reached on an infield hit that was upheld by video review. Both advanced on Soto's sacrifice before Simmons lined the next pitch into left field to open the scoring.

The Rays didn't get a runner past second base until the fifth. Kevin Kiermaier led off with a single, stole second with Hank Conger batting, then stole third with Forsythe at the plate. But Forsythe struck out and Brad Miller popped out.

There was a technical issue with the replay system after the umpires tested the equipment before the first pitch. As a result, both clubs were afforded unlimited crew chief reviews for the entire game in addition to the usual manager's challenge.

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Matt Andriese will be recalled from Triple-A Durham on Sunday to make his season debut with the big club, five days after he struck out 14 batters at Indianapolis. The former UC- Riverside product made eight starts last season for the Rays as a rookie, going 2-2 with a 3.57 ERA.

Angels: RHP Nick Tropeano (1-1) is coming off a 5-4 loss last Tuesday at Milwaukee in which he gave up five runs, five hits, five walks and three home runs over five innings. He has gone no more than 5 2-3 innings in any of his five starts, but has thrown at least 89 pitches in each of them.

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