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Final Score in Anaheim: Angels 11 Rays 2
It was a close game for a few innings but coming off an 8-1 road trip didn't slow the Angels down a bit. Back home, this AAA squad peppered with veterans looked like the world-beater that had swept Seattle and Milwaukee on the road. Leading 2-1 in the fourth inning, Erick Aybar hit a two-run homer to cap a three-run frame and make it 5-1.
When Cory Rasmus allowed a run in the top of the sixth to let the Rays get within spitting distance, the bats went to work that inning, scoring five runs, led off by a two-run Aybar triple.
On the pitching side of things, a shaky Garrett Richards wobbled through five innings to get the Win. But Richards walked seven batters and to survive had to rely on the leather of his teammates. The pitcher benefited from great defense by Luis Jimenez and defensive wiz Andrew Romine, who capped a three-hit night with an eighth-inning double, his first career extra-base hit in the big leagues. The bullpen pitched four innings of one-run ball on a night that the game ended at about its regular time despite having started an hour earlier due to the Labor Day holiday.