Angels-Rays Preview

The Los Angeles Angels arrived in St. Petersburg this week with the best record in the AL, a title they've held for much of the season.

If they want to leave in the same position, they'll have to do something they haven't accomplished all year -- beat the Tampa Bay Rays on the road.

One night after a late comeback vaulted them atop the AL, the Rays will look to complete their second three-game home sweep of the Angels in 2008 on Wednesday.

Neither injuries nor the threat of a tropical storm have slowed Tampa Bay's current charge, as the Rays (77-48) have won 16 of their last 20, opening a 4 1/2-game lead on Boston in the AL East and a half-game edge on the Angels.

"We're making less mistakes. We're starting to believe in what we're doing. It just validates the work that we've done," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It's good. But still, there's a long ways to go. It's just nice to be there right now."

Recently, the Rays have played without injured outfielder Carl Crawford and rookie of the year candidate Evan Longoria, but their 22-9 record since the All-Star break is the best in baseball. Their 47-17 record at home overall is the best in the majors.

They have improved both marks at Los Angeles' expense this week. After turning back a late Angels comeback bid in a 6-4 win on Monday, the Rays completed their own turnaround in Tuesday's 4-2 victory.

Angels right-hander Ervin Santana didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning, but the Rays erased an eighth-inning deficit with three unearned runs off Los Angeles' bullpen.

The Rays also swept Los Angeles from May 9-11. Overall, they are 6-2 against the Angels -- and the only AL team with a winning record against the West leaders.

Matt Garza (10-7, 3.63 ERA) hasn't yet faced Los Angeles this season, but he's coming off perhaps the best start of his career. The right-hander fired his second shutout since the All-Star break against the Texas Rangers, striking out nine while allowing two hits in Tampa Bay's 7-0 road win on Friday.

"You can have the best offense in the league, which we do, but when a guy is throwing like that you're not going to hit the ball," Rangers outfielder Marlon Byrd said.

In six starts since the break, Garza has thrown at least 7 2-3 shutout innings three times and allowed at least four runs three times.

He has faced the Angels once in his career, giving up four runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings of a 7-2 loss on July 22, 2007, when he pitched for Minnesota.

The Angels (76-48) are looking to recapture that kind of offense, which hasn't been present as they've lost three straight games and five of their last six. Their only four-game slide of the season also included the May sweep at Tampa Bay.

Los Angeles has now dropped consecutive series to AL opponents after going more than three months without losing any AL sets. It still leads the AL West by 15 1/2 games over Texas, with a magic number of 22 to clinch.

"I don't think we've played particularly bad in any of these games, but tonight was one bad inning," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "... We just didn't get it done late. We've been doing a terrific job of that, but not tonight."

Jered Weaver (10-9, 4.47) will look to turn things around. The right-hander dominated the Rays in Anaheim on June 10, giving up one run and four hits in eight innings of a 6-1 win. He's 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his career against Tampa Bay, including a win at Tropicana Field on June 7, 2006.