May 08--The losses continue to mount for the Angels, on the field and in the training room.
Brad Miller and Curt Casali hit home runs, and Redlands native Matt Andriese threw seven strong innings Sunday to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 victory and a three-game sweep at Angel Stadium.
As if losing for the seventh time in nine games wasn't bad enough for the Angels, who fell to 13-18 on the season, they also lost shortstop Andrelton Simmons to a sprained left thumb in the third inning.
Simmons, injured while making a diving stop of a grounder, will undergo an MRI test on Monday but appears headed for the disabled list, where he would join four injured starting pitchers -- Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, C.J. Wilson and Tyler Skaggs.
The Mother's Day matinee started with so much promise for the Angels, as third baseman Yunel Escobar made a back-hand stop of Logan Forsythe's game-opening grounder behind the bag, jumped into foul territory and made a long throw to first for the out.
The Angels then took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Kole Calhoun, moved from the fifth to the second spot, singled to right, took third on Mike Trout's single to center and scored on Albert Pujols' sacrifice fly to deep left.
But the Angels lost the lead and their shortstop within a span of four pitches in the top of the third inning.
Casali doubled to left to start the inning, and Miller lined a 79-mph slider from Angels starter Nick Tropeano into the right-center field seats for a two-run homer and a 2-1 lead.
Evan Longoria followed with a grounder to the shortstop hole, where Simmons, considered the best defensive player in baseball at any position, made a back-hand, diving stop and threw from his knees -- but not in time -- to first.
Simmons jammed his glove hand in the turf on the play and knew immediately the injury was serious enough to come out of the game.
If Simmons goes on the disables list, the Angels would likely move Cliff Pennington to shortstop and call up a utility infielder such as Rey Navarro or Gregorio Petit from triple-A Salt Lake.
Casali's homer to left to lead off the fifth inning gave Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead. The Angels threatened off Andriese, a former Redlands East Valley High and UC Riverside pitcher, in the sixth when Escobar led off with a single and Calhoun walked.
But Trout struck out chasing a 2-and-2 slider in the dirt, and Pujols grounded into a double play -- the major league-leading 35th of the season for the Angels -- to end the inning. Johnny Giavotella grounded into another double play in the seventh, giving the Angels 36 on the season.
Andriese, making his first start of the season after being recalled from triple-A Durham, allowed one run and four hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking three. In attendance in Angel Stadium was his mother, Lynn, who had never seen her son pitch in a big league game in person.
Tropeano went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and seven hits, striking out 10 and walking two, to fall to 1-2 with a 3.69 earned-run average.
Follow Mike DiGiovanna on Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna
