ANAHEIM -- The Angels not only saw their four-game win streak come to end but right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and left fielder Wade Meckler both exited due to injuries on Sunday.
Rodriguez departed with low back tightness after hitting Cedric Mullins with a 3-2 changeup to load the bases with one out in the third inning, while Meckler left in the fifth after colliding with the left-field fence in the fourth inning of an 8-3 loss to the Rays in the series finale at Angel Stadium.
The Angels couldn’t complete their second sweep of the season, as reliever Sam Bachman gave up five runs in the eighth inning.
“Once Grayson gets evaluated, we’ll know more,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Meckler was just precautionary.”
Rodriguez, making his sixth start of the season after opening the year on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, was looked at on the mound by Suzuki, pitching coach Mike Maddux and trainer Eric Munson before leaving the game. His last pitch was an 83.4 mph changeup that he yanked and hit Mullins in the foot. Rodriguez’s velocity was mostly normal, however, as the pitch that he injured himself on was a 97.4 mph fastball.
“I'm doing all right,” Rodriguez said. “The second-to-last pitch my back tightened up on me pretty good there. I didn't plan on coming out of the game. So right now just trying to deal with it. Not too concerning right now but obviously I'm concerned because I came out of the game for it. It's just going to be something that we're going to have to manage over the next couple days.”
Right-hander Chase Silseth replaced Rodriguez and struck out Junior Caminero on three pitches before getting ahead of Chandler Simpson with an 0-2 count. But Silseth left a sweeper at the bottom of the zone that Simpson hit for a go-ahead two-run single. Silseth got Richie Palacios to ground out to short to escape further trouble.
Both runs were charged to Rodriguez, who gave up two runs on three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. He's had his ups and downs this season, posting a 7.36 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 15 walks in 25 2/3 innings.
“It's frustrating anytime you have to come out of a game, especially when you're on IL as long as I was,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like I'm getting close, like my stuff's getting a lot better. I had runners on there in the third inning, but if I can stay in there, I like to think I'm one ground ball away from getting out of that with a double play.”
Rodriguez, 26, has had his fair share of injuries over the years, as he missed all of 2025 and had bone spurs removed from his right elbow last August. Rodriguez, acquired in an offseason trade that sent Taylor Ward to the Orioles, previously hadn’t pitched in the Majors since July 31, 2024. He missed time that year with a right lat strain that also bothered him early in the ‘25 season.
If Rodriguez misses time due to injury, right-hander Caden Dana would be a top candidate to replace him, as he started with Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday and would be lined up to take his next start. The Angels also recently lost right-hander Jack Kochanowicz to season-ending Tommy John surgery and No. 16 prospect Sam Aldegheri fared well in a spot start on Friday and will get another start on Wednesday in Arizona.
After Rodriguez departed, the Rays scored in the fourth on a solo homer from Ben Williamson off lefty Drew Pomeranz. Meckler ran into the fence on the play and initially remained in the game before he was replaced by Jose Siri in the fifth. Meckler said he tested for a concussion but is OK.
“Got my bell rung a little bit,” Meckler said. “I’m fine. It was just precautionary after hitting my head.”
The Angels tied it in the fifth after Donovan Walton hit his first homer in the Majors since 2024 and Jo Adell drove in a run on a ball that took a bad hop past Williamson at shortstop. But Bachman gave up a two-run homer to Caminero, a two-out RBI single to Hunter Fedducia and a two-run blast to Victor Mesa Jr. in the eighth.
“Just not making pitches to locations I wanted to go to,” Bachman said. “They were sitting on the soft stuff. I needed to be more aggressive with my heater.”