Matt Shoemaker is glad it is a game of inches in Angels’ 4-0 victory

The ball tore through Tropicana Field’s enclosed air as Kole Calhoun gave chase. If Colby Rasmus’ drive cleared the yellow line encasing the outfield, Tampa Bay would take the lead in Tuesday’s seventh inning. If Calhoun caught it, the Angels and their starter, Matt Shoemaker, would be one out away from escaping the night’s most pressing threat.

Neither happened. Calhoun jumped for the baseball, but it landed just beyond his glove and grazed the foam padding in between the line and the top of the right-field wall. Rasmus missed a three-run homer by a few inches and settled for a single.

With the bases loaded, manager Mike Scioscia emerged to replace Shoemaker with right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, who promptly struck out Steven Souza Jr. and Derek Norris. The inning was over. The Angels were on their way to a 4-0 victory, their third straight.

“That ball staying in the park, that was a big part of the game,” Shoemaker said. “Obviously, that was huge.”

Petit remained on the mound for one more batter in the eighth inning, and struck him out too. Left-hander Jose Alvarez replaced him and struck out two more men before rookie right-hander Keynan Middleton handled the ninth.

Signed one week before pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, Petit is a 32-year-old journeyman who was once a top prospect and, later, came within one out of throwing a perfect game. As a reliever this season, he has appeared in 17 games, pitched 29 1/3 innings, and struck out 33 batters. His 2.45 earned-run average is more than two runs below his 2016 mark with Washington.

“Petit’s been as important as any piece on our pitching staff,” Scioscia said Tuesday.

Petit attributed his success this season to more frequent usage keeping his performance consistent. He is on pace to handle 96 innings this season, compared to 62 last season.

For most of Tuesday night, Shoemaker dominated. He struck out five and pounded the lower third of the strike zone with his split-finger fastball. The Rays mustered only one hit until the seventh inning. In the second inning, Tim Beckham bunted down the third base line. The ball seemed bound to bounce foul, but Cliff Pennington was unaware. Making his first start at third base since 2015, Pennington tried to spear the ball with his bare hand and bobbled it. Beckham reached first but did not advance farther.

Then, with one out in the seventh, Shoemaker fell behind to cleanup hitter Logan Morrison, who drove a 2-and-0 fastball to right for a double. Petit began to throw in the bullpen while Shoemaker walked Beckham, and Scioscia soon pulled his starter at 89 pitches.

“His pitch count wasn’t up,” Scioscia said. “It was just a little bit hot and humid, and he just lost his release point for his last five or six hitters.”

The game-time temperature inside Tropicana Field is 72 degrees every day and night.

It was Shoemaker’s third consecutive successful outing, following an ineffective start to his season. The Angels are encouraged by his growing resemblance to his striking mid-summer self from 2016.

“He’s doing what he did last year,” Scioscia said, “and it’s great to see.”

Shoemaker faced right-hander Alex Cobb, a fellow victim of a line drive to the head. They talked last year, after Shoemaker’s September accident forced him to undergo emergency brain surgery, but not in the lead-up to this matchup.

The Angels (25-23) began the game with consecutive home runs to left field by Cameron Maybin and Mike Trout. Both men grabbed hold of Cobb fastballs and hit them precisely 416 feet.

The Angels then loaded the bases without an out in the fourth and produced nothing. Martin Maldonado and Danny Espinosa each grounded out, the former into a double play.

They scored twice more in the seventh, when Trout walked, Albert Pujols, Luis Valbuena and Andrelton Simmons singled, and Calhoun hit a sacrifice fly.

The bottom of the ninth was delayed because Trout had not yet taken the field. One of his contact lenses had fallen out. After he replaced it, teammates poked fun at him as he jogged out to center field and let play begin.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura