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Major League Baseball
LA Angels 13, Tampa Bay 5
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Ed Hickox, 1B - Ben May, 2B - Mike Estabrook, 3B - Dana DeMuth
Attendance: 14896

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- After only one home run in all of June, C.J. Cron has found his bat, with two home runs Tuesday in a 13-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, giving him five home runs in 13 RBIs in five July games.

"C.J. is hot right now," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We've been waiting for a while to see him swing the bat this way. You're not going to stay this hot, but he's definitely driving the ball to his capability and it's shown up in the last week."

Cron hit a three-run home run as part of a six-run ninth as the Angels pulled away from a back-and-forth game. Los Angeles (34-50) had lost 12 of 14 games before bouncing back for the road win. The Angels had blown an early 4-1 lead and trailed 5-4 before retaking the lead in the sixth on a two-run double by Andrelton Simmons.

The Rays (34-49) and their struggling bullpen dropped 17 of their last 20 games, allowing at least 10 runs in three of their last six games.

"The issue of the night was getting the lead and not being able to find that shutdown inning," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Overall, not a productive night for any of us."

Rays pitchers have allowed 19 runs in the ninth inning of their last six games, this after allowing a total of 23 runs in the ninth inning of the first 77 games this season.

The Angels saw two outfielders leave the game with injuries -- Daniel Nava tweaked his knee in the field and Shane Robinson rolled his ankle taking off for second base in the ninth inning. Scioscia said both will be evaluated and could have to go on the disabled list.

"We have some guys banged up," he said. "We'll have to make a decision tonight to see if we need new depth. Shane's very sore, ankle's swollen and Daniel has the same thing with the patellar tendinitis."

Cron hit his 10th and 11th home runs -- he already has five home runs and 13 RBIs in July -- but Los Angeles also got big production from the bottom third of their lineup, with Andrelton Simmons driving in three runs and Robinson two -- he had entered the game with five in 62 at-bats all season.

The Angels trailed 5-4, having blown a 4-1 lead, when they jumped back ahead with three runs in the sixth off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi. Daniel Nava walked to lead off, and Johnny Giavotella followed with a ground-rule double. Simmons brought in both runners with a double for a 6-5 lead, advanced to third on one bunt, then scored on another by Robinson, as Odorizzi tried to flip the ball home but Simmons slid under the tag for a 7-5 lead.

"Just frustrating," Odorizzi said. "I'm not throwing how I'm capable of doing. Especially tonight is frustrating. We had the lead and gave it right back. That's on me. I'm accountable for it."

The Rays bullpen couldn't keep the game close, as reliever Enny Romero faced three batters in the ninth, with a walk, a single and Cron's three-run home run. Even with the return of closer Alex Colome -- named an All-Star on Tuesday -- from the disabled list, pitching a scoreless eighth, Tampa Bay has very few effective options in their current bullpen. Dana Eveland, who replaced Romero in the ninth, gave up a triple to Simmons and RBI singles to Carlos Perez, Yunel Escobar and Kole Calhoun.

Robinson had to be helped off the field in the ninth after injuring his ankle, with Mike Trout drawing cheers as he took the field as a pinch-runner, later scoring.

The Rays, down 4-1 after two innings, rallied for the lead, tagging Angels starter Tim Lincecum for 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

A two-out rally started in the fifth with Brandon Guyer getting hit by a pitch for an MLB-high 17th time this season and a team-record 52 for his career, breaking Carlos Pena's record. Corey Dickerson followed with a double and Nick Franklin hit a two-run single to give the Rays a 5-4 lead and chase Lincecum.

Lincecum had strikeouts for four of his first five outs.

NOTES: Angels OF Mike Trout led all American League outfielders in fan voting and is headed to his fifth All-Star Game in as many full seasons in the majors. ... The Rays had a bit of a surprise, with RHP Alex Colome getting the team's nod for the All-Star Game ahead of 3B Evan Longoria, who will have a shot as one of five finalists for the last AL spot in fan voting online. Longoria leads the Rays with 18 HRs and 45 RBIs but was caught in a logjam of talented AL third basemen. ... The Angels announced that LHP C.J. Wilson will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery to address fraying to his labrum and rotator cuff. He is a free agent after this season, so his time with the Angels could be over. ... The Rays got back a key part of their bullpen, activating Colome off the disabled list. He'd been out since June 18 with biceps tendinitis after going 19-for-19 on save opportunities. Tampa Bay optioned RHP Danny Farquhar to Triple-A Durham to make room.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
LA Angels   Tampa Bay
Tim Lincecum Player Jake Odorizzi
No Decision W/L Loss
4.2 IP 5.1
6 Strikeouts 4
10 Hits 9
9.64 ERA 11.81
Hitting
LA Angels   Tampa Bay
Andrelton Simmons Player Corey Dickerson
3 Hits 3
3 RBI 1
0 HR 0
6 TB 4
.600 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
LA Angels 16 2 27 .381 15 5 13 3 0 2
Tampa Bay 14 1 20 .368 17 8 5 1 1 1