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Mike Trout returns from injury, but Angels lose

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout went 1 for 5 in his return from a 39-game injury absence, and Brad Miller had an RBI double in the 10th inning of the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

Trout looked healthy in his first game since May 28, when he tore a ligament in his left thumb sliding headfirst into second base. In his comeback game from the first significant injury of his career , the two-time AL MVP singled in the third inning and promptly stole second — again sliding headfirst, as he promised.

Trout came up with two late chances to help the Angels, but grounded out with two runners on to end the seventh before Alex Colome struck him out on three pitches to end it.

Wilson Ramos got a two-out single in the 10th and scored on Miller’s long drive off Cam Bedrosian (2-1).

Brad Boxberger (2-0) pitched the ninth, and Colome earned his 26th save as Tampa Bay won for the seventh time in 10 games. Evan Longoria homered early for the Rays.

Albert Pujols hit his 605th career homer for the Angels, who lost for the sixth time in eight games despite seven innings of two-hit ball from starter Ricky Nolasco.

Rays rookie Jake Faria pitched five-hit ball into the seventh in his hometown. Although less sharp than Nolasco, Faria was equally effective while escaping big jams in the third and fourth, stranding five combined runners.

Nolasco has won just two of 14 starts since April, and he appeared to be in for another long night when Longoria homered in the first. Instead, the veteran right-hander settled in and retired 16 of the next 17 Rays.

Pujols connected on a long shot to left-center in the second for his 14th homer of the season. He is closing in on Sammy Sosa’s 609 career homers for eighth place in major league history.

LOCAL GUY

Faria was raised just five minutes north of Angel Stadium. His parents had season tickets at the Big A for several years, and he modeled his delivery on longtime Angels ace Jered Weaver while in high school in nearby Cerritos.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: They returned from the break without OF Colby Rasmus, who has decided to step away from baseball. The veteran has been out since June 19 with left hip tendinitis.

Angels: LHP Andrew Heaney threw 30 pitches in a game in Arizona, 377 days after Tommy John surgery, as he noted on Twitter. He is likely to pitch at least two more times in Arizona before moving forward. … LHP Tyler Skaggs will pitch in Arizona on Monday. He has a strained oblique muscle.

UP NEXT

Rays: Alex Cobb (7-6, 3.75 ERA) surged into the break, going 3-1 with a 2.38 ERA in his final six starts. The right-hander has one win in five previous starts against the Angels.

Angels: J.C. Ramirez (8-7, 4.46 ERA), a reliever for most of his career, improbably led Los Angeles in victories before the All-Star break. He beat the Rays at Tropicana Field in May, tossing 6 2/3 innings of six-hit ball.

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