Javier Baez homered and drove in four runs, Tarik Skubal struck out nine in seven innings and the visiting Detroit Tigers pounded the Los Angeles Angels 11-2 on Friday night.
Skubal (6-3) limited the Angels to one run on three hits and no walks. Jake Rogers had three hits, including a solo homer, and scored three runs, while Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter each contributed two hits and two RBIs.
Angels starter Griffin Canning (7-7) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings. He fanned seven and walked one. David Fletcher and Jared Walsh hit solo homers for Los Angeles (68-80).
Canning struck out the first two batters he faced before the Tigers produced the first run of the contest. Carpenter and Miguel Cabrera singled, and Andre Lipcius knocked in Carpenter with a double to right.
Detroit (68-79) scored another run in the second. Rogers singled with one out and advanced when Parker Meadows walked on four pitches. One out later, Torkelson drove in Rogers with a single to left.
Baez made it 3-0 when he led off the fourth with his ninth homer, an opposite-field blast to right-center.
The Angels threatened in the bottom of the inning. Kyren Paris reached on a bunt single and moved to second on a groundout. With two down, Logan O’Hoppe struck out but reached first when the ball bounced past catcher Rogers for a wild pitch. Eduardo Escobar then bounced into a fielder’s choice.
Rogers increased Detroit’s lead to 4-0 in the sixth when he blasted a Canning curveball over the right-center-field wall. It was his 17th homer.
Fletcher broke up Skubal’s shutout bid with two outs in the seventh. He hit a liner that banged off the left field foul pole for his second homer.
With Jhonathan Diaz pitching, the Tigers put the game away with a seven-run eighth inning. Cabrera, Lipcius and Andy Ibanez hit consecutive singles to load the bases. Baez cleared them with a double to left.
Matt Vierling hit a sacrifice fly, Torkelson had an RBI double and Carpenter drilled a two-run single before Diaz was removed. Escobar came in to pitch and prevented any more runs from scoring, then retired the side in order in the ninth.
Walsh socked his second homer of the season in the bottom of the ninth.
Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (oblique) missed his 11th consecutive game as the Angels took their third loss in a row. Detroit won for the fourth time in six games.
–Field Level Media
