Rays 5, Angels 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels were big losers Friday, and that was even before they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Friday at Angel Stadium.
The club announced that Garrett Richards has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and likely will have season-ending Tommy John surgery.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed," Richards said before the game. "You can't help but feel like you're letting your teammates down and kind of abandoning them in the middle of the season."
Richards left his last start Sunday after just 79 pitches because of what the club said was dehydration. Later in the week the team said it was "general fatigue." But an MRI Thursday showed a high-grade tear in the UCL.
"This is a total shock, this was something that just surprised us all," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We'll deal with it one step at a time."
The first step Friday was using reliever Cory Rasmus in a starting role. Rasmus was expected to be able to make about 50 pitches and wound up making 45 before being knocked out of the game with one out in the third inning.
The Rays got a three-run homer from Corey Dickerson as part of a four-run first inning and a solo homer from Brad Miller -- one of his four hits in the game -- in the third to take a 5-0 lead.
That was plenty of support for starting pitcher Chris Archer, who threw six scoreless innings, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out six to earn his second victory of the season.
The Angels' best chance came in the seventh inning with Archer out of the game. They loaded the bases with two out against reliever Steve Geltz, bringing Mike Trout to the plate.
Trout fell behind in the count 0-2 but worked a walk, driving in the Angels' first run. Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in reliever Erasmo Ramirez to face Albert Pujols, who hit Ramirez's first pitch deep to right field, but was caught in front of the wall by Steven Souza Jr. to end the threat.
The Angels got an RBI single from Andrelton Simmons in the eighth to make it 5-2, but could get no closer. Alex Colome pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his seventh save.
The injury to Richards is the latest in a string of injuries to the Angels' pitching staff that have decimated the club. Andrew Heaney, the No. 2 pitcher coming out of spring training, made only one start before an arm injury put him on the disabled list. Starter C.J. Wilson has been out all season with shoulder tendinitis and left-hander Tyler Skaggs hit a snag in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Closer Huston Street is out with a strained oblique muscle.
Friday, the club used five pitchers in relief of Rasmus, and they combined to throw 6 2/3 scoreless innings.
"I don't know about guys stepping up but we're looking for and hopefully we'll get some guys that just pitch to their potential," Scioscia said. "You can't ask any more out of a player, you can only ask them what they're capable of doing. We feel we're going to be able to at least weather the storm for now."
Dickerson fell behind in the count 0-2, but Rasmus grooved a fastball and Dickerson hit it an estimated 411 feet into the right-field bleachers.
The Rays added to their lead in the third inning, getting a solo homer from Miller to go up 5-0. One out later, Rasmus walked Steve Pearce and gave up a single to Steven Souza Jr., spelling the end of the night for Rasmus.
Meanwhile, Archer worked his way out of mild trouble in the first two innings as the Angels had a runner in scoring position in each inning but couldn't score.
Through five innings, Archer shut out the Angels on five hits.
NOTES: The Angels called up RHP Javy Guerra from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace RHP Garrett Richards on the roster. ... Angels LF Daniel Nava was activated from the disabled list after being out since April 16 with patellar tendinitis in his left knee. To make room on the roster, the Angels optioned LF Rafael Ortega to Salt Lake. Ortega hit .294 with eight runs scored in 14 games for the Angels. ... The Rays began the night having scored 56.7 percent of their runs with two out -- the highest percentage in the majors. The major league average is 37.6 percent. ... Rays OF Brandon Guyer leads the majors in getting hit by a pitch (seven). He led the American League last year, getting hit 24 times. ... The start was delayed by 11 minutes because scheduled home plate umpire Tom Hallion had to deal with a "personal issue." Hallion was not available for the game, which was played with three umpires.