ST. PETERSBURG (620 WDAE) -- Matt Andriese tossed eight shutout innings, and Colby Rasmus drove in all four Tampa Bay runs as the Rays salvaged a split of their four-game series with a 4-0 whitewashing of the Los Angeles Angels Thursday at Tropicana Field.
Rasmus started the scoring with the bases loaded and two out in the first against Daniel Wright, lining a single to centerfield that scored Corey Dickerson, who had reached on an error, and Evan Longoria, who singled.
The Tampa Bay DH again came to the plate with the bases loaded in the fifth against reliever Kenyan Middleton, and lined a ground rule double to left-center, again bringing in Dickerson and Longoria to set the scoring.
Andriese (5-1) got help from his defense to keep the Angels off the board, as Steven Souza Jr. threw out Mike Trout at the plate in the first inning trying to score on a base hit by Andrelton Simmons.
Andriese also stranded a Los Angeles runner in scoring position in the second, third, fourth and seventh inning, scattering six hits and a pair of walks in a 112-pitch outing.
Tommy Hunter allowed a one-out walk to Jefry Marte in his first appearance since missing nealry a month with a calf strain, but kept Los Angeles off the board to complete the shutout.
The win gets Tampa Bay back to .500 on the season at 25-25, and gives them a winning homestand at 4-3.
The Rays now begin a nine-game road trip with a weekend series against the Minnesota Twins. Friday's opener will feature Chris Archer (3-3, 3.76 ERA) taking on Hector Santiago (4-2, 3.96 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 8:10, with coverage on WDAE beginning at 7:00 with The Inside Pitch presented by Sykes Lakeland.