Finally, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Los Angeles Angels.
Right-hander Casey Mize pitched 5⅓ scoreless innings in one of his best performances before exiting with a cramp in his left leg, rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy ran around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning, and catcher Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning to help the Tigers to a 7-6 victory over the Angels in the finale of a four-game series Sunday at Angel Stadium.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak.
“You can’t complain about a win, especially with the way things have gone,” manager AJ Hinch told reporters in Anaheim. “We needed the win, no matter how it came.”
The Tigers (38-46) are 15 games behind first-place Cleveland in the American League Central. The three-city, 10-game road trip continues Tuesday, with three games against the Minnesota Twins and three games against the Cincinnati Reds.
What should have been an easy win turned into a thriller with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, when right-handed reliever Shelby Miller, who came in to protect a six-run lead, allowed five runs.
Zach Neto cut the Angels’ deficit to 7-4 with a three-run homer to left field off Miller’s fly ball. Jo Adell cut the Angels’ deficit to 7-6 with a two-run homer to center field on Miller’s middle-middle slider.
Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton replaced Miller for a matchup with Nolan Schanuel, a left-handed hitter who accounted for the game-tying run.
Holton struck out Schanuel swinging to end the game.
Miller, whom the Tigers signed to a $3.25 million, one-year contract with a team option, has a 6.23 ERA in 26 innings over 24 appearances in 2024.
The 33-year-old pitcher allowed eight runs in 1⅔ innings over two outings against the Angels in the four-game series. He allowed three runs in Friday’s game and five runs in Sunday’s game.
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For the first time since 2021
The inside-the-park home run was the highlight of the game.
Malloy, playing in his 22nd career MLB game, hit a short-middle cutter from left-hander Tyler Anderson to center field with two outs in the fourth inning. Center fielder Mickey Moniak should have caught the ball in the warning zone, but instead, the ball bounced off the middle of the wall and headed toward left center field.
Moniak jogged slowly to pick up the ball, and as he picked it up, Malloy was about to step on third base, with third base coach Joey Cora waving his left arm to send him home.
There wasn’t even a play on the plate.
It was the first inside-the-park homer for the Tigers since Victor Reyes on Aug. 27, 2021.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on Mark Canha’s sacrifice fly in the first inning, but in the fourth inning, the Tigers scored three runs, capped by a rare inside-the-park home run that drove in two of those runs, for a 4-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, the Angels replaced Anderson with right-handed reliever Andrew Wantz with two outs. There were runners on first and second base for Kelly, who hit a middle-middle sinker for a three-run homer to center field, making the score 7-0.
Kelly is hitting .245 with five home runs in 48 games this season. He had two hits (a single and a home run) in Sunday’s series finale, raising his OPS from .681 to .711.
Casey Mize leaves early
Mize pitched 5⅓ scoreless innings, but left after his 86th pitch generated a popout in foul territory.
The 27-year-old felt a cramp in his left leg, but needs to undergo additional testing before the Tigers determine his future status. Both Mize and Hinch hope the injury is just a cramp, but they’re not sure.
“Once he showed that he had what he said was a cramp on the mound, he came out of the game at that point because his day was about over,” Hinch said, “and now we’ll have to see. I’ll have him get tested.”
Before the injury, Mize worked three hits and two walks against the Angels.
Mize walked back-to-back batters, Willie Calhoun and Miguel Sano, to lead off the second inning, which were his only walks, but he responded by striking out Logan O’Hoppe on a 98.3 mph fastball, his fastest heater of the game. After that, Neto grounded into a double play that ended the inning.
He induced double plays in the first, second and fifth innings.
Mize has a 4.23 ERA in 16 starts.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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Next: twins
Match: Tigers (38-46) at Minnesota (47-37).
First launch: 7:40 pm Tuesday; Target Field, Minneapolis.
Television/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Probable Pitchers: Tigers – LHP Tarik Skubal (9-3, 2.32 ERA); Twins — Right-hander Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.41).
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