ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It had been a rough few weeks for Steven Souza, with one home run in his previous 22 games, but he stepped up with two homers on Wednesday night, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels to end a three-game skid at Tropicana Field.

"The last couple of weeks have been a little rough, and I'm just trying to put it past me and get back to being aggressive and being a threat at the plate," Souza said after his fourth career multi-HR game.

Souza tied the score with a two-run homer in the second inning, and Colby Rasmus and Souza went back-to-back in the seventh off Ricky Nolasco (2-4), who is now tied for the American League lead with 16 home runs allowed already in 2017.

The Rays (24-25) got six strong innings from starter Erasmo Ramirez (3-0), rebounding after Tampa Bay had lost the first two games to Los Angeles (25-24).

"We talked about bouncing back and it was good to see the guys come back after two quiet nights," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We got some big home runs, Souza and Colby Rasmus, two of the guys we might say have been slow the past few days."

Tampa Bay's bullpen pitched well in relief of Ramirez -- Jose Alvarado pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, Ryne Stanek a scoreless eighth, striking out Mike Trout and Albert Pujols with a runner on, and Alex Colome pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save.

Trailing 3-2, the Angels brought Nolasco back out for the seventh and both hitters he faced went deep -- Rasmus with his fifth homer of the season, then Souza with his seventh, giving him his fourth career multi-home run games.

Souza went into the game hitting just .119 in his last 20 games, with six RBIs in 67 at-bats during that stretch.

The Rays had two runners called out on the bases after hits in the sixth inning.

Evan Longoria reached base on an infield single, but the first-base umpire ruled that he made a move toward second as he watched the third baseman and he was tagged out before he returned to first.

Logan Morrison followed with a double but was picked off by the pitcher -- replays appeared to show he was safe and the Rays challenged the call, but the ruling was upheld upon review.

The day after the Angels led off the game with solo home runs from Cameron Maybin and Trout, they had a similarly successful start, as Trout crushed a double to left field and Pujols followed with a two-run homer to left for a 2-0 lead. It was Pujols' sixth home run of the season and the 597th of his career.

Just as Rays starter Alex Cobb did Tuesday, Ramirez settled down after the early lapse, shutting out the Angels for the next four innings and holding them to two more hits along the way.

Ramirez, who was moved out of the bullpen when Blake Snell was sent to the minors, has pitched well in his return to the rotation.

"We were hitting balls hard, just right at people," Trout said of Ramirez. "We had some good at-bats, but just couldn't get through."

The Rays, who hadn't scored in 17 straight innings against the Angels entering the game, bounced back.

Morrison drew a walk in the second off Nolasco, and Souza brought him in with a two-run homer to tie the score. Nolasco went into the game tied for second in the American League with 13 home runs allowed.

"It's one of those where you tip your hat," Nolasco said of Souza's first homer. "Not like it was down the middle. It's the big leagues. It's what those guys get paid to do. They're going to hit and score on us, too."

Tampa Bay took the lead in the third inning. Corey Dickerson doubled and Kevin Kiermaier followed with an RBI double for a 3-2 lead.

The Rays got runners to second and third with two outs, but Nolasco struck out Tim Beckham to end the inning and keep it a one-run game.

NOTES: The Angels made a transaction, placing RHP Alex Meyer, scheduled to start Thursday, on the 10-day disabled list with back spasms and recalling RHP Brooks Pounders from Triple-A Salt Lake City. RHP Daniel Wright is expected to be called up from Salt Lake City to start in Meyer's place Thursday. ... The Rays made a bullpen switch, placing RHP Diego Moreno on the 10-day disabled list with bursitis in his right shoulder and recalling RHP Ryan Garton from Triple-A Durham to replace him. Garton was superb in Durham after being sent down, with a 0.59 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 15 innings. Moreno was 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in five appearances. ... Rays 3B Evan Longoria walked in the third inning for his 543rd career bases on balls, moving him past Ben Zobrist for the franchise record.