MATT SHOEMAKER mastered the Tampa Bay Rays Monday as the Angels win 4-0 (Flickr/Keith Allison photo).

Boom! Boom! Consecutive solo home runs by Cameron Maybin and Mike Trout in the first inning were all the Los Angeles Angels needed as they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 Tuesday night in St. Petersburg. It was their third straight win and seventh victory in nine games, lifting their record to 25-23.

“Getting early runs are always important,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Matt Shoemaker (4-2) had another good start, working 6.2 innings, giving up just three hits. He walked three batters and struck out five. The Halos outhit the Rays 9-3.

Andrelton Simmons had three hits and Danny Valbuena two. Trout had one hit – the homer – but walked once and scored twice. After the initial home run barrage in the first, the Angels tacked on two more in the top of the eighth on a walk, a single, and a sacrifice double play.

The win put the Angels in a virtual tie for second place in the American League West with the Texas Rangers, who are 24-22. The Halos have a winning percentage of .521, compared to .522 for the Rangers. Both teams are seven games back of the Houston Astros (31-15, .674).

In the race for the two AL wild card spots, the Rangers, Angels and Boston Red Sox are each one game back of the Cleveland Indians (24-20, .545). The Angels are next in action Wednesday at Tropicana Field with Ricky Nolasco (2-3) making the start for the Orange County team.

THREE LOCALS ADVANCE TO CIF QUARTER-FINALS

A trio of teams from the Garden Grove-Huntington Beach-Westminster area advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS baseball and softball playoffs with wins on Tuesday.

In Division 1 baseball, Nick Pratto pitched a seven-inning shutout, struck out 10 batters and hit a two-run home run as Huntington Beach (27-4) defeated Servite 3-0. The Oilers will face El Dorado on Friday.

In D-2 play, Edison (20-12) edged Moorpark 2-1 and in D-5, Garden Grove (17-9) lost 3-1 to Campbell Hill. The Chargers will face Palm Desert on Friday.

Softball action in Division 1 saw Pacifica (22-7) blank South Hills 3-0, while Santiago (23-3) fell to Schurr 4-2 in D-6 action. The Mariners will be facing Norco (30-0), the nation’s top-ranked team, on Thursday.