Albert Pujols tied Mickey Mantle on one all-time list and passed George Brett on another, leading the Los Angeles Angels to an 8-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.
Pujols led off the fifth inning with a home run, No. 536 of his career to tie Mantle for 16th place all-time. He had three hits, including a double that helped him pass Brett on the all-time list for extra-base hits.
Kole Calhoun added three hits and four RBI and Erick Aybar also had three hits as the Angels banged out 15 as a team to stop a five-game skid, which started with two losses against the Rays in Anaheim from June 2-3.
Matt Shoemaker (4-4) improved to 3-0 in three career starts against the Rays, striking out six in 6 1/3 innings while allowing two runs, five hits and one walk. It was his first win in his last four starts overall.
Rays right-hander Nathan Karns (3-3) made his second consecutive start against the Angels and was charged with five runs -- four earned -- on nine hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Joey Butler hit a two-run double for the Rays, who were coming off a 7-3 road trip.
The Angels sent eight batters to the plate and scored two runs in the first inning. Calhoun drove in the first run with a two-out double and later scored when third baseman Jake Elmore bobbled the ball after knocking down a hard grounder by Carlos Perez with the bases loaded and a chance to end the inning.
Pujols hit a leadoff double in the third inning and scored on David Freese's double to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.
Shoemaker retired the first 11 Rays, four on strikeouts, before David DeJesus hit a two-out single in the fourth. DeJesus was stranded at first and Pujols led off the fifth with his 16th homer of the season, tying Mike Trout for the team lead.
The sliced line-drive over the right-field wall was Pujols' 1,121st extra-base hit. He entered the game tied with Brett for 15th place on the all-time list and now sits one behind Manny Ramirez for 14th.
Trout singled and Pujols walked with two outs in the sixth inning and Calhoun greeted reliever Enny Romero with an RBI single to give the Angels a 5-0 lead.
The Rays rallied for two runs off Shoemaker in the bottom of the sixth after Rene Rivera doubled, Kevin Kiermaier singled and Butler knocked them both in with a double.
The Rays put two runners on with one out in the seventh to chase Shoemaker, but Fernando Salas struck out the next two batters to end the threat. The Angels then tacked on three runs in the eighth on Calhoun's two-run single and Taylor Featherston's RBI double.
Game Notes
Karns gave up four runs in five innings last Wednesday in a game the Rays went on to win in 10 innings ... The Rays placed right-handed starter Jake Odorizzi on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain and recalled righty Andrew Bellatti from Triple-A Durham.
[SportsNetwork.com]
