TAMPA, Fla. — The Angels and Tampa Bay Rays each loaded the bases in the first inning.
The Angels got nothing. The Rays hit a grand slam.
As you might expect, that was the ballgame. The Angels lost, 5-4, on Wednesday night, as their three-game winning streak came to an end.
The Angels (7-4) had won all four of their previous one-run games this season.
All of the runs for both teams scored on homers to right field. The Angels got two solo homers from Kyren Paris, who has now hit four homers in his last three games.
Jorge Soler, who has three homers in his last four games, and Taylor Ward also homered.
Even though the Angels out-homered the Rays 4-2, none of them did the damage of the first homer of the night, from Rays outfielder José Caballero.
Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi threw a fastball over the outer half of the plate and Caballero lifted it 327 feet to right field. It was the shortest homer in the majors so far this season, and the Rays matched it when Yandy Diaz hit another 327-foot homer against Reid Detmers in the seventh. That proved to be the difference in the game.
Neither would have gotten out in any other major league ballpark, but they were homers at George Steinbrenner Field. The Rays are playing this season in a minor league ballpark because of hurricane damage to Tropicana Field.
Kikuchi locked down after the Caballero homer. He got through the sixth inning without allowing another run.
In three starts this season, Kikuchi has pitched exactly six innings each time, allowing three runs twice and four runs once.
The Angels had a chance to get Kikuchi a lead before he threw his first pitch, when they loaded the bases in the first on a single and two walks. Logan O’Hoppe – the Angels’ hottest hitter – then struck out. Yoán Moncada also struck out.
Moncada then left the game, having aggravated his sore right thumb. It’s the same injury that cost him time at the end of spring training and last weekend.
The Angels can clearly afford to be without Moncada now because Paris continues to sizzle at the plate.
Paris is now hitting .440 with five home runs and an OPS of 1.653 through his first 30 plate appearances of the season. Paris came into the season with a .378 OPS in his first 105 major-league plate appearances.
Paris played center field on Wednesday night, because Jo Adell had the day off. When the Angels bring Adell back, they can move Paris back to second and play Luis Rengifo at third, as they did in the previous three games.
More to come on this story.
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