ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Angels who will be back next season had better days than one who likely won’t be in their 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

Veteran left-hander Aaron Loup entered in a tie game in the bottom of the eighth and gave up four runs. Loup, a 35-year-old whose $7.5 million contract option for 2023 almost certainly will be declined, now has a 6.10 ERA.

His performance – and a mostly quiet night from the lineup – sent the Angels to their sixth consecutive loss.

Wins and losses matter little at this point, as the Angels play out the string. They could at least take some solace in the performance of some of their rookies on Tuesday.

The Angels’ two runs came on home runs from rookies Logan O’Hoppe, in the fourth, and Zach Neto, in the eighth. O’Hoppe also hit two other line drives that were caught.

O’Hoppe has hit 11 homers in just 41 games and Neto hit his ninth homer in 74 games. It was his first since he came off the injured list last week.

“He’s the man,” O’Hoppe said of Neto. “I love sharing a locker room with that guy, hanging out with him off the field. I’m really hoping to be playing with him for quite a while. It’s pretty impressive what he’s doing. He wants to win. And I love that about him.”

Neto was playing his first major league game in his native Florida, and he had a large cheering section just beyond the Angels’ dugout on the third base side. After his 416-foot homer sailed into the left field seats, fans tossed the ball back onto the field. It was quickly redirected toward Neto’s family, and the ball ended up with Neto’s mother.

“It’s awesome,” Neto said. “It’s like a childhood dream, always having your parents there, family there, knowing that no matter how good or bad your day is, you could look in the stands and they’re always gonna be cheering you on. So it’s awesome playing in front of family.”

Mama Neto reaction is priceless @Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/KkTT7go6ng

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) September 20, 2023

Another rookie, Nolan Schanuel, drew a walk to extend his on-base streak to 23 games, which is an ongoing franchise record for the start of a career.

Rookie relievers Ben Joyce and José Soriano each worked scoreless innings before Loup entered.

“We’re definitely moving in the right track,” Neto said of the young players. “Today didn’t go our way but for the future, we’re definitely looking good.”

Starter Patrick Sandoval gave up two runs within his first five pitches, but then nothing else through his last 95.

Sandoval allowed a two-run homer to Randy Arozarena – his teammate from Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic – in the first inning.

“He put a good swing on a really bad pitch, a fastball down the middle and it went a long way,” Sandoval said. “Other than that, I was happy with how I fought my back and got through five.”

Sandoval still pitched around some trouble, allowing five hits and three walks, but he struck out seven. Two of those strikeouts were against Arozarena. One of his strikeouts of Arozarena was on a 96.6 mph fastball that was his fourth-fastest pitch of the season.

“I felt like I got stronger as I went on,” Sandoval said. “The first two innings didn’t really feel like myself, body-wise. Then the third, fourth, fifth came around and my body felt a lot better.”

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