ANAHEIM, California: The Tampa Bay Rays made Felix Hernandez’s perfect game look even more impressive by roughing up the Los Angeles Angels during an impressive four-game series sweep.
Matt Moore shrugged off home runs by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to win his fourth straight decision, and the Rays beat the fading Angels 8-3 on Sunday.
Tampa Bay tagged Zack Greinke (1-2) and outscored the Angels 37-14 in the series — setting a franchise record for runs in a four-game set. The offensive barrage immediately followed Hernandez’s gem for the Mariners on Wednesday.
“I really believe that’s a testament to our players and the way they are able to put things in the trash can immediately afterwards if something bad happens,” manager Joe Maddon said. “If you carry negativity around with you, nothing good can happen. So we just put it in our rearview mirror, then came out and played great down here.”
Angels starting pitchers were 2-6 with a 7.57 ERA and allowed 13 homers during their 10-game homestand, forcing an injury-depleted bullpen to eat up 35 1-3 innings. In this series, Greinke, Dan Haren, Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson combined to give up 27 earned runs and six homers in 17 1-3 innings.
“I have all the respect in the world for them and their pitchers, but they had to face David Price, James Shields, Alex Cobb and Matt Moore — and they didn’t even get a chance to see Jeremy Hellickson,” Maddon said. “I mean, they’re good and they’re formidable, but you have to beat good teams and good pitching to go to the promised land.”
Ryan Roberts hit a two-run homer and Matt Joyce and Carlos Pena also drove in two runs apiece for the Rays. Tampa Bay won the season series 9-1 for its best showing against the Angels in the club’s 15-year history.
Saturday night’s 10-8 win, which Pena helped decide with a pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth inning against Kevin Jepsen, made the Rays the first visiting team to beat the Angels after trailing by at least eight runs.
“Tampa had grit. We had them down 8-0 yesterday and they just didn’t give up,” Los Angeles outfielder Torii Hunter said. “That’s a good ballclub over there, and their pitching staff is even better. They’ve probably got one of the best teams in the league, and they did what they had to do. They came in here and took four from us, which is tough to do with the ballclub we have. But the way we’re playing right now, it’s not hard.”
The Angels are a season-worst nine games out of first place in the AL West after their 13th loss in 18 games, and trail Baltimore by 4 1/2 games for the second wild card in the AL.
“We’ve just got to wait our turn. Things have been going the other team’s way lately, and the results have not been good, but we’re just going to keep fighting,” Hunter said. “I’m disappointed in the way we’re playing, but we do have heart. We’re going to play the game the right way and let things take its course.”
Moore (10-7) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. The 23-year-old left-hander is 9-2 with a 2.79 ERA over his last 14 starts, including a 3-0 win on July 28 at Anaheim to begin his winning streak. Greinke gave up six runs and seven hits over six innings in his fifth start for the Angels, who acquired the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner from Milwaukee for three prospects. He struck out eight and walked four.
The 28-year-old right-hander has allowed at least four earned runs in four consecutive starts for the first time in his nine-year career. He also dropped a 2-0 decision to the Rays on July 29 in his Angels debut.
The Rays grabbed a 4-0 lead in the second when Greinke hit No. 9 hitter Elliot Johnson on the leg with the bases loaded on his first pitch to him. Greinke forced home another run with a two-out walk to B.J. Upton before Joyce capped the burst with a two-run single.
“Elliot gets hit by the pitch and then B.J. gets the walk — those were the signature at-bats today, even though they didn’t get hits. They were great at-bats,” Tampa Bay star Evan Longoria said.
Moore had gone eight starts and 56 2-3 innings without allowing a home run until Trout led off the fourth with his 24th. But Roberts responded in the fifth with a drive into the left-field bullpen to extend Tampa Bay’s lead to 6-1.
Moore gave up two-out singles to Erick Aybar and Vernon Wells in the fifth and appeared to be out of the jam when Bobby Wilson hit a foul pop. Catcher Jose Molina camped under it about 10 feet to the right of the plate, but first baseman Pena collided with him and elbowed him in the head as the ball popped loose, and Pena was charged with the Rays’ only error of the series. Molina was checked out by a trainer and allowed to continue.
Moore walked Wilson on the next pitch, loading the bases, but retired Trout on a fly ball.
Pujols hit his 28th homer and 473rd of his career in the sixth, putting him two away from tying Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 28th place.
Rays beat Greinke, complete 4-game sweep of Angels
Rays beat Greinke, complete 4-game sweep of Angels
Rocky 2025 for Green Falcons leaves Saudi fans anxious ahead of 2026 World Cup
- Herve Renard’s team secured a seventh qualification for the Kingdom, but the year ended in disappointment after the semifinal exit at the Arab Cup
RIYADH: Just over three years ago, the Saudi men’s national team did the unthinkable, defeating eventual world champions Argentina in their opening match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
As the 2026 World Cup approaches, with just under six months until the Green Falcons kick off against Uruguay, the contrast in sentiment surrounding the national team could hardly be starker.
The road since 2022 has been anything but smooth. While Herve Renard was head coach during Saudi Arabia’s memorable 2022 campaign, this is now his second tenure in the Kingdom. A brief spell under Roberto Mancini, one many Saudi fans would rather forget, saw progress stall on the road to 2026.
Despite significant excitement surrounding Renard’s in October 2024, the second chapter so far has failed to inspire.
A draw against Australia and a loss to Indonesia marked the beginning of Renard’s return, followed by an underwhelming campaign at the 26th Gulf Cup. Saudi Arabia did make it through to the semifinals, but for a nation that has not lifted a trophy since early 2004, supporters were desperate for silverware, even at the regional level.
There were signs of improvement at the start of 2025. Wins against China and Bahrain, alongside a draw in Japan, left the Greens one victory away from direct World Cup qualification — albeit requiring a favorable swing in goal difference after Australia’s last-minute win over Japan.
However, defeat to Australia, followed by another disappointing campaign, this time at the 2025 Gold Cup in the US, saw fans’ pessimism creep back in ahead of the fourth round of World Cup qualification.
A narrow win over Indonesia, coupled with a draw against Iraq, meant Saudi Arabia ultimately secured World Cup qualification for the seventh time. With the 2025 Arab Cup on the horizon, the Greens found themselves at a crossroads: Win the Arab Cup, and momentum heading into 2026 would be sky-high. Lose, and uncomfortable questions would resurface.
Saudi Arabia did reach the knockout stages, but once again, doubts remained. Renard’s trip to the US for the World Cup draw meant he missed out on the Comoros group stage clash, and that did little to ease concerns. Still, the Greens were three matches away from their first title in 21 years.
Palestine proved stern opposition in the quarterfinals, but Mohammed Kanno’s late intervention sent Saudi Arabia through to face Jordan, the 2023 Asian Cup finalists.
Jordan’s rise has increasingly unsettled the Saudi fanbase. Between 1970 and 2018, Saudi Arabia had lost to their neighbors just three times in 11 meetings. That has all changed since 2019, with Jordan triumphing in three of their last four outings against the Greens.
They would ultimately make it four from five, as a solitary second-half goal was enough to launch Jordan to their first-ever final, and disappointment once again took over the Saudi camp.
That result intensified calls for Renard to be sacked ahead of the World Cup. Rumors suggested his departure was imminent, but the Saudi Arabian Football Federation swiftly denied anything of the sort.
It is worth noting that Renard himself has already made history, becoming the first coach to lead Saudi Arabia to World Cup qualification in 2022 and remaining in the role for the start of the tournament. Should he remain in charge for 2026, he would also become the first to manage the team at two consecutive World Cups.
Yet while SAFF and Renard turn their attention to their next challenge, Saudi fans remain anxious.
Speaking to Arab News, local fan Ahmed Al-Bawardi said the issue extends beyond results. “It’s not so much about the results, but the national team’s identity,” he said.
“We don’t look like a well-oiled team on the pitch, and we don’t feel the same excitement as we did in 2022.”
Asked whether he would like Renard to stay, Al-Bawardi added: “Sacking Renard might solve some problems, but what we’re seeing is deeper than just bad tactics.”
Renard himself has repeatedly pointed to the limited game time afforded to domestic players in the Roshn Saudi League. Al-Bawardi responded with a sentiment shared by many Saudi fans: “The Premier League is the best in the world. How many domestic players start there?”
According to TransferMarkt data for the 2025/26 season, the Premier League has 544 players registered, 388 of whom are foreign — a staggering 71 percent. The Roshn Saudi League, by comparison, is still some way off — only 37.5 percent of the league’s players are foreign.
Balancing the national team’s development alongside the league’s rapid expansion was never going to be easy. Nor was switching managerial philosophies, only to return to one whose previous work was partially undone.
As Saudi Arabia looks ahead to 2026, unease remains among the fanbase. With a World Cup group that includes former world champions Spain and Uruguay, the road to the US, Mexico and Canada may still prove to be rocky.
