ST. PETERSBURG -- Over the past week and a half, the Rays have understandably felt they were on the wrong end of some bad breaks and tough luck. Dropping a season-high seven straight games prior to Wednesday, they lost four games in extra innings, three walk-offs and three one-run defeats. A few better bounces, or a few more timely hits, could have turned plenty of those losses into wins.\n\nSo it’s fair to say the Rays were due for some better fortune. They’ve seen it go their way the past two nights. After beating the Red Sox on a walk-off wild pitch on Thursday night, the Rays’ 4-3 win on Friday night turned on a few Angels misplays, a high pop-up to shallow left field and a go-ahead hit-by-pitch.
However their chances came about, the Rays made the most of them as they improved to 46-31 on the year with their third consecutive victory.\n\n“Really thrilled with the offense getting guys on base early on, coming up with some big hits and capitalizing on whatever opportunities \\[were\\] presented,” said Kevin Cash, who won his 500th game as Tampa Bay’s manager. “This is now back-to-back nights where you don't think you're going to win games on a wild pitch and a hit-by-pitch, but we'll take it.”\n\nEarly on, it didn’t necessarily seem like the kind of night that would turn on an
The Angels began the game with a pair of loud home runs off Rays opener
“For us to respond like we did, especially in the first inning, being able to get right back at it and put some runs on the board was huge,” said Meadows, who finished the night 3-for-4 and boosted his team-leading RBI total to 54.\n\nThe Angels tied it up against left-hander
“When the other team gives you an inch, it seems like we've been so good throughout most of this year of taking a mile from it. And it felt like that tonight, that we just capitalized in the right way,” Cash said. “But ultimately, it comes down to putting pressure on the defense, having some guys on base. You don't get those moments if guys aren't on base.”\n\nMeadows said he heard Ward call for the ball but couldn’t explain what happened afterward. Angels manager Joe Maddon acknowledged it was “a play we should’ve made,” but also argued that the ball “was in that area that could’ve or should’ve” invoked the infield fly rule.\n\n“Obviously that was the play of the game. We had a tough day in the outfield,” Maddon said. “The roof can be problematic, as we all know. It's not an easy place to play the outfield if you haven't played here.”\n\nThe umpiring crew didn’t agree, leaving the bases loaded, so Maddon turned to his bullpen again and brought in right-hander Steve Cishek to face