The Los Angeles Angels could not get a hit off Tampa Bay Rays right-handed starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot for the first four innings of their game on Tuesday.
But the Rays had no problem facing Angels’ right-hander José Soriano. Tampa Bay put up all seven of their runs in the top of the fourth inning, with two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe launching a home run to get the Rays’ rally started.
It was the third time this season the Rays have put at least seven runs in an inning and the first time they have done it on the road since October 2023.
The Angels began to figure out Pepiot in the bottom of the fifth inning when right fielder Jo Adell hit the hardest ball by an Angels’ player this season (115.7 mph) to spark a rally for the Halos with a two-run home run.
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe followed Adell with a walk and then second baseman Christian Moore doubled to center. As their bats started to heat up, the Angels faced another issue: third base coach Bo Porter.
After Moore hit the double with no outs, Porter signaled O’Hoppe to run home. O’Hoppe, who is not known for his speed, was thrown out by a few feet.
Rather than having runners on second and third with no outs while already plating two runs, the Angels had a runner on second with one out.
The move essentially killed the rally.
The Angels are down 7-2, and this is how they made the first out of the inning. Not good. pic.twitter.com/4R7T3mQWXg
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 6, 2025
Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery expressed his frustration with Porter’s call and believed the Halos could have scored more runs if it had not happened.
“The inning would have been a lot different,” Montgomery said. “I talked to (Porter) right after. The first thing he said was, ‘It was a bad send.’ It was a bad send. It can’t happen in that situation, given who’s running right there. Bo certainly knew it. We’ve all made mistakes in that situation too, and we’ll talk about it. Again, the momentum swing. It’s a big play.”
Ray Montgomery acknowledged this was “a bad send.” He said Bo Porter said right away that he knew it was a mistake.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 6, 2025
“It can’t happen in that situation,” Montgomery said. https://t.co/T8plFAuHUI
O’Hoppe was the first out of the inning. After an infield single, center fielder Bryce Teodosio lined into a double play to end the inning. The Angels went on to score one more run off Adell’s single and an error by Rays’ shortstop Taylor Walls in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Defeating the Rays was crucial for the Angels as they look to get back into the Wild Card picture. Instead, they moved to 55-59 with their 7-3 loss.
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