Figgins, Angels beat Rays to shrink magic number

Major League Baseball News

Sep 18, 2007, 6:21 GMT

Anaheim, CA - Chone Figgins hit the go-ahead RBI triple in the fifth inning and had three of Los Angeles' 18 hits, as the Angels inched closer to the AL West title with a 10-7 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.Figgins drove in two runs, and Casey Kotchman had three hits, two RBI and scored twice, as the Angels reduced their magic number to five for clinching the AL West title for a third time in four years.'Our team is not a home run hitting team,' Figgins said. 'We've got guys that can run. We won tonight. It's too early to think about anything else but tomorrow's game.'Garret Anderson and Maicer Izturis each had three hits and scored twice for the Angels.Delmon Young drove in three runs for Tampa Bay, which had a two-game winning streak broken but lost for the fifth time in seven games.The Devil Rays tied the game with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Akinori Iwamura singled, Greg Norton doubled and Carlos Pena walked to load the bases. Darren Oliver (3-0) then replaced starter Kelvim Escobar, and B.J. Upton reached first on an error by second baseman Howie Kendrick to make it 6-5. Young grounded into a fielder's choice to tie the game, but despite reloading the bases later in the frame, Dioner Navarro flied out to end the inning.Nathan Haynes walked with two outs in the bottom of the inning, and Figgins laced a triple to center to give the Angels the lead.LA added to its total with a three-spot in the sixth. Anderson walked with one out and was on his way to third on an Izturis single to center. Upton threw toward third, but the ball sailed into the stands, making it 8-6. Jeff Ridgway then gave up an RBI single to Kotchman, and then a triple to Kendrick.Brendan Harris tripled and scored on Navarro's sac fly in the ninth.Escobar allowed eight hits and six runs, while Tampa Bay starter Edwin Jackson (4-15) was charged with 14 hits and seven runs -- four earned -- over 4 2/3 frames.'It's been tough the last three or four games,' Escobar said. 'I've been out of sync. I'm fighting with myself to find my rhythm. Maybe it's mechanics or I'm trying to do too much. I have to find a way to fix it.'Young singled in a run in the first inning, and Navarro had an RBI base hit in the second, but the Angels went ahead in the bottom half on a Figgins RBI groundout and an Orlando Cabrera two-run single.The teams traded two runs again in the third, as Young's groundout scored Carlos Pena. Escobar then failed to pay attention to Upton, who stole home. However, Kotchman and Haynes each singled in runs in the bottom half, and it became 6-4 the next inning on an Izturis RBI single.Game NotesDevil Rays manager Joe Maddon was ejected by home plate umpire Bruce Froemming for arguing balls and strikes in the top of the seventh inning...Tampa Bay has lost six straight at Anaheim and has dropped 11 of the last 14 meetings overall...At 50-25 the Angels have the best home record in majors...Vladimir Guerrero has a 10-game hitting streak for the Angels.© 2007 The Sports Network

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