Game 102: Hellickson Outpitches Greinke, Rays Win 2-0

Zack Greinke pitched well in his Angels debut, but Jeremy Hellickson and the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen were just simply too much as the Rays were able to take the series finale by a 2-0 score.

Greinke, acquired just two days ago by the Angels as the chief piece of their midseason shopping agenda, managed to throw 7.0 strong innings in his first game with his new team. Greinke allowed seven hits on the day, adding a walk and eight strikeouts, but would up with his first loss in an Angels uniform after permitting both runs to score.

It took until the 6th inning before the Rays were able to push across a run. Sam Fuld reached base on a fielder’s choice before advancing to third on a single by Ben Zobrist. With the pair on and two outs, Matt Joyce was able to drive a single to right field, scoring Fuld and pushing Zobrist to third. Jeff Keppinger struck out, ending the inning.

Tampa Bay started off quickly in the 7th. Carlos Pena doubled to deep right field to leadoff the frame. Ryan Roberts grounded out, moving Pena over to third. He then was able to score on a wild pitch from Greinke, making it a 2-0 game.

Hellickson, meanwhile, was cruising despite suffering from a stomach ailment that coupled with the heat was leaving him highly dehydrated for much of the game. He vomited five times and reported feeling some light-headedness towards the end of his outing. Still, Hellickson managed to throw 6.0 innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five.

The Rays bullpen finished things off from there. Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta, and Fernando Rodney each pitched a scoreless inning to finish out the game. Rodney made things interesting for a moment, allowing a pair of 9th inning hits to the Angels before closing it out for his 30th save of the season.

Tampa Bay took two of three from the Angels and will continue their West Coast swing at Oakland next.

* With Robbie taking some much-deserved vacation time over the next two weeks you’ll be seeing a lot more content from Staff Writer David Hill around these parts, plus a few items Robbie’s scheduled in advance so that you don’t miss him while he’s gone. I’ll be stopping in from time to time to help him out as well. My name is Aaron Somers. I’m the Editorial Director here for FanSided MLB and the Senior Editor & Lead Writer for our Washington Nationals site, District on Deck. In addition to the great staff here at RCG, feel free to follow me on Twitter @AaronJSomers.