Erick Aybar had a two-run triple and Chone Figgins and Mark Teixeira also drove in runs off Rays Garza for the Angels, who won for the first time in six tries at Tropicana Field this season.

Despite the loss, Tampa Bay retained its 4½-game lead over second-place Boston in the AL East.

“You’re going to lose some tough ones, but what really matters is what you do after that,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “They beat us tonight, but we had our opportunities to win the game, too. Again, it just indicates we are making progress.”

The victory cooled the Rays, who have won nine of 12, and enabled Los Angeles to nudge back ahead of Tampa Bay for the best record in the American League at 77-48.

The Rays scored three runs with two outs in the second after Angels third baseman Figgins was unable to get to Gabe Gross’ foul ball that didn’t quite reach the stands up the left-field line.

Gross singled to right two pitches later, driving in Eric Hinske, who drew a throw to the plate that allowed Gross to move up to second base. Shawn Riggans followed with a RBI single, then Jason Bartlett tripled to left-center to make it 3-0.

The Angels countered with a four-run third against Garza, who was coming off a two-hit shutout over the Texas Rangers.

Figgins doubled to drive in the first run, Aybar followed with his two-run triple and Teixeira put Los Angeles ahead 4-3 with a RBI grounder that scored Aybar.

Notes: Rays LF Carl Crawford, on the 15-day disabled list after undergoing surgery to correct a tendon problem in his right middle finger, returned to St. Petersburg from his home in Phoenix and will see a therapist on Thursday. He hopes to return before the end of the regular season. He said he’s not surprised the team has continued to win with him, 3B Evan Longoria and RHP Troy Percival on the DL. “We’ve been winning like that all year long without certain guys in the lineup,” Crawford said. “The team is not built for one person to make it win. It’s a team effort.” ... Weaver fanned nine in a game for the fourth time in his career.

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