Entering Monday's matchup between the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays, fans were looking for some clarification: Either Angels starter Joe Saunders was playing above his head, or maybe the entire Rays team was.

The Rays resumed their soaring season and knocked Saunders down a few pegs, riding an offensive onslaught led by 10 total bases and walk from Evan Longoria to a 13-4 victory in Anaheim.

The Rays carried baseball's fifth-best record into the game, while Saunders was trying to continue his hot start, which consisted of a 9-1 record and 2.63 ERA going into the matchup.

Both teams came into this three-game set playing very well, with L.A. having won seven straight series and Tampa Bay ten of its last thirteen. The Rays came into Angel Stadium sporting a record that was an unbelievable 18 games better than their record this time last season, and grabbed onto the game's first lead in the second inning.

Saunders—who, in his only other start against the Rays, had allowed one run in six innings of work—ran into trouble when he faced the No. 5, 6, and 7 hitters of Tampa in the second frame. Evan Longoria, Willie Aybar and Dioner Navarro each connected for home runs in consecutive at-bats to become the first trio of Rays to ever hit back-to-back-to-back homers, which put the Rays up, 3-0.

However, just as Cleveland's Cliff Lee became MLB's first 10-game winner of the year in a game against Detroit, L.A's offense woke up to back Saunders, who was also trying to reach that plateau. The Angels chipped away at the three-run deficit in each of the next three innings, beginning in the second, when designated hitter Vladmir Guerrero, who entered the game in a 4-for-25 slump, ripped a double off the top of the center field wall to lead off the inning. He scored three batters later on a Gary Matthews Jr. single, making the score 3-1.

In the top of the third, it looked like Carl Crawford, who had walked to lead off the inning, had his 18th steal of the season, but it was revoked because Longoria was called for interference as he walked across home plate after striking out, thus impeding upon Jeff Mathis' ability to throw out Crawford. Mathis, who had been called for catcher's interference earlier in the game, sold the interference very well to home plate umpire Eric Cooper, ending the Rays' threat.

Mathis and Maicer Izturis led off the home half of the third with back-to-back singles, and Mathis moved over to third on a fly ball off of the bat of Howie Kendrick. With one out, Garrett Anderson hit a fly ball to center field, which Justin Ruggiano caught with ease and then fired to Navarro, trying to get Mathis at the plate, but Navarro cut it off early, conceding the run to Mathis, and gunned down Izturis at second, who, upon seeing the throw go all the way through to the catcher, had tried to tag up and advance to second base.

Guerrero led the fourth inning off with a broken-bat single to center field and came around to score after Matthews Jr. hit his 200th career home run, a no-doubter off of Rays starter Edwin Jackson, which gave the Angels their first lead of the night, at 4-3. The Angels strung together four consecutive hits in the fourth, but only came away with the two runs from the homer. Jackson worked out of the jam by inducing Robb Quinlan into a 5-4-3, inning-ending double-play.

That lead didn't last long for Saunders and the Angels, though. After a ground out and a pop out, Carl Crawford was on first with two down. With B.J. Upton up, Crawford stole second and then scored on Upton's double to left field.  Longoria followed it up with a walk, and then Aybar singled Upton home, making it 5-4 in favor of the Rays. Navarro collected two RBI by ripping a double to center field and later scored on Gabe Gross' single to right. Gross was caught stealing second to end the inning, but the damage had been done. 

Five two-out runs caused Saunders, who entered the game with a 14-2 record in games following Angels' losses, to fail to make it out of the fifth inning. His line was not very pretty, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits and two walks, while striking out four, in 4 2/3 innings pitched. In the losing effort, Saunders dropped to 9-2 and saw his ERA skyrocket from 2.63 to 3.32. What did Saunders in the most was the fact that he had to work out of the stretch way too often. He allowed four lead-off baserunners to reach in five innings and did not look comfortable working out of jams.

The Rays tacked on five more runs over the last three innings, sealing a big victory over one of the league's hottest and most powerful teams. Longoria, Aybar and Navarro combined to go 9-for-13 with four home runs, nine runs, nine RBI and two walks. Longoria went deep twice.

On a positive note for the Angels, both Matthews Jr. and Guerrero went 4-for-4. Guerrero scored two runs and Matthews Jr. knocked in a run.

This overwhelming victory over one of the league's best pitchers this year gives the Rays the confidence they need as they try to steal the division lead back from the suddenly-hated Boston Red Sox.