If the Angels are going to make some kind of late-summer run, if not to make the playoffs at least to make things interesting in the American League wild-card race, they might want to start soon.
They remained stuck in neutral in a 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays before a sparse crowd of 9,132 in Tropicana Field Wednesday night, their third straight defeat dropping them to 54-55 and keeping them 9 ½ games behind Seattle and now Oakland for the last playoff spot.
Since June 25, the Angels have remained within two games of .