Angels Barely Hold Off Devil Rays, 10-7

With an eight-run lead after 6 1/2 innings Thursday, Angel Manager Mike Scioscia considered pulling a few regulars to get them some rest and using reliever Matt Hensley, the low man on the bullpen totem pole, to keep his front-line relievers fresh for tonight’s series opener against the New York Yankees.

An inning and a half later, every starter remained in the game, and the Angels were relying on setup man Francisco Rodriguez to get them out of a bases-loaded jam with the tying run at the plate.

Rodriguez defused the Tampa Bay rally, retiring Carl Crawford on a fly to left and striking out B.J. Upton with a full-count slider in the dirt to end the eighth, and the Angels held on for a 10-7 victory over the pesky Devil Rays in front of 9,720 in Tropicana Field.

Vladimir Guerrero smashed a three-run home run -- his 27th -- in the third inning, reserve catcher Josh Paul hit his first career grand slam in the seventh, and Darin Erstad added a two-run homer in the eighth, and the Angels, not known for prodigious power displays, pulled within 1 1/2 games of idle Oakland in the American League West and a game of Texas and Boston in the wild-card race.

“We had a grand slam, a three-run homer and a two-run bomb,” Scioscia said. “That’s not the way we’re set up, but when it comes, it’s beautiful.”

So was an 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, a comfortable cushion that seemed to ensure victory until Angel starter John Lackey was tagged for four runs in the bottom of the seventh on Jose Cruz’s leadoff homer and Crawford’s three-run homer.

Erstad’s homer made it 10-4, but the Devil Rays came back in the bottom of the eighth, scoring twice off reliever Scot Shields and loading the bases with none out.

Shields struck out Brook Fordyce, but with the top of the order coming up and Shields elevating too many pitches in the strike zone, Scioscia went to Rodriguez.

Angel left fielder Jose Guillen, who went 0 for 12 in the series, caught Crawford’s shallow fly ball near the line after a long run, and Rodriguez fell behind Upton, 3-and-1.

Upton took a fastball for strike two, and Rodriguez, showing the mettle that has made him one of baseball’s most dominant relievers, went to his slider for the strikeout.

“Frankie’s stuff is electric,” Paul said. “His fastball is firm, he can throw his breaking ball for a strike and then bury it in the dirt, and it’s hard for the hitter to know what’s coming.

“With him, he can throw a 3-2 slider. He has the confidence to go with it.”

Paul, who had one previous homer this season, was also an offensive star, but his grand slam would not have been possible if not for Adam Kennedy, who preceded Paul’s homer by fouling off four two-strike pitches during a nine-pitch at-bat in which he drew a bases-loaded, two-out walk to give the Angels a 4-0 lead.

“Any walk that I draw is big news,” said Kennedy, who has only 30 walks, but three in the last two games. “And any time you can work your way on base and get a run in makes for a satisfying at-bat.”

Paul then drove a 1-and-1 pitch from reliever Travis Harper over the wall in left-center to make it 8-0, a shot that proved to be valuable after the Devil Rays peppered the Angels for seven runs in the final three innings.

“Those guys played hard to the last out,” Scioscia said of the Devil Rays. “They touched some pretty good pitchers to come up with seven runs in three innings.”

The win gave Scioscia 400 victories as an Angel manager, and he joined Bill Rigney (625 wins) as the only two managers to post 400 victories with the Angels.

Scioscia was unaware of the milestone, and when told it was his 400th victory, he said, “For who?

“I haven’t won one of those games -- those guys did,” Scioscia added, referring to his players. “I’m not even conscious of that.”

So, the Angels didn’t award Scioscia a game ball before boarding their charter to New York for tonight’s series opener against the Yankees?

“I don’t want a game ball,” Scioscia said. “I want a game cheeseburger on that flight.”