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Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Sam Fuld, right, congratulates reliever Fernando Rodney, who earned the save in the Rays’ 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels, at a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, July 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

…And with that ladies and gents, the Rays have taken their second series in a row. They were able to hold the Angels to only three runs in 27 innings this time around.

Words cannot describe how great the pitching was in this series. Cobb, Moore, and Hellickson were absolutely spot on, as was the pen. Six games into this nine game road trip, the Rays are 4-2 as Tampa Bay finds itself again tied with Baltimore for second place in the east, and two games out of the second wildcard spot.

Zack Greinke was very impressive in his Angels debut, yet the fact of the matter is that he got out dueled by Hellickson. Greinke posted a 7 IP/7 H/2 R (both earned) line while striking out seven and walking one. He ended the day throwing 111 pitches (57 for strikes).

I’m not too psyched to watch Weaver, Wilson, and Greinke when the Rays face the Angels again in a few weeks. Hopefully Evan Longoria and Luke Scott back from the DL by then.

Highlights
  • The Rays held Pujols to 3-11 with one run and two RBI in this series. Pujols is now 4-22 against the Rays in 2012.
  • They also held the TNT Boys to 3-19 with only one run over the course of the last three games.
  • The pitching shutout the Angels in 23 consecutive innings, and 26 out of 27 innings overall.
  • Helly posted a 6 IP/2 H/5 K line on 86 pitches (54 for strikes). Oh yeah, he was also sick, and as per Joe Maddon, tossed his cookies twice in the course of the game.
  • The defense looked hella solid, with great plays by Ryan Roberts, Elliot Johnson, and Carlos Pena.
  • Credit where it’s due, not only did ‘Los hit a big double in the seventh, inevitably scoring on a wild pitch, but he also dug out his fair share of errant throws out of the dirt. Johnson, we love you bud, but could you please throw the ball well?
  • Greinke is now 2-5 against the Rays, yet he still has a sub three ERA. Scratch your head on that one.
  • Fernando Rodney is now 30 out of 31 in the save department with a 0.77 ERA. That’s effing insane!
  • ESPN had the Rays as the underdog in the last three games. I guess one out of three ain’t bad, eh Kruk?

Oh yeah, enjoy Fernando Rodney talking about slaying the Rally Monkey again today:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yRZCuGLElk]

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