ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Justyn-Henry Malloy hit an inside-the-park homer in the fourth inning, Carson Kelly added a three-run homer and the Detroit Tigers snapped their four-game losing streak with a 7-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
The Angels trailed 7-1 entering the ninth inning before Zach Neto hit a three-run homer and Jo Adell added a two-run shot, all with two outs against Shelby Miller.
Tyler Holton came on and calmly struck out Nolan Schanuel to secure his second save and Detroit's third victory in nine games, while the Angels' six-game winning streak ended.
“You can't complain about a win, especially with how things have gone,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “We're going to get out of here with a win, get on a plane, have a happy off day. We obviously needed the win, no matter how it comes.”
Casey Mize (2-6) pitched scoreless three-hit ball into the sixth inning for the Tigers, earning his first victory in 12 starts since April 21. Mize left abruptly with a leg injury, but Detroit still prevented Los Angeles from sweeping a homestand of at least seven games for the first time in 20 years.
Mize thinks his leg was cramping, but Hinch said the Tigers will run more tests to be sure.
“Zeros are good, so the scoreboard was good for us,” Mize said. “Tough weekend here for us, so obviously I wanted to do my part. I'm happy with my outing, but the run support early allows me to just go attack the strike zone, and we played really good defense.”
Miller's disastrous ninth inning started when he hit leadoff batter Taylor Ward in the helmet with a 93-mph fastball. Ward left the game as a precaution, but manager Ron Washington said he didn't have an injury or symptoms of a concussion.
Ward was hit in the face by a pitch from Alek Manoah last June, and he didn’t play again in 2023.
“He's fine, thank God,” Washington said. “I think (pitchers) have been going up and in on him a lot throughout the season. Today, one just got away. I got an apology from A.J. and Shelby. They didn't try to do that on purpose. I never thought they did, but ... you never want to see that, ever.”
Malloy drove in two runs when his line drive to deepest center field eluded Mickey Moniak at the wall and bounced away, allowing the rookie to belly-flop into home without a throw. It was Detroit's first inside-the-park homer since 2021, and the first at Angel Stadium since Tommy La Stella hit one for the Angels in June 2019.
“That run felt like a mile,” Malloy said with a grin. “That felt so long. ... It's always a fun play, (but) I don't know the last time I ever hit one, and I think everyone saw me tackle home. That was hilarious. Ran out of gas.”
Tyler Anderson (7-8) allowed six runs and seven hits in his second-shortest start of the season for Los Angeles. Anderson has been the Halos' best starter this season, but he lasted just 4 2/3 innings and struck out only two against Detroit.
Andy Ibañez hit a leadoff triple and scored on Mark Canha’s long flyout in the first, and the Tigers turned three double plays in the first five innings.
Kelly connected in the fifth inning off Andrew Wantz, who had just relieved Anderson.
Mize left with one out in the sixth inning, possibly due to cramping after he tried and failed to stretch out his leg, and the Angels immediately rallied for their first run off Alex Faedo.
“They didn't quit, they kept coming, but Mize did a good job,” Washington said. “T.A. just couldn't hit his spots, and they had a pretty good approach against him. We just kept coming, and we finally broke through. Just didn't do enough.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: Brandon Drury made his first appearance since June 18, striking out as a pinch-hitter in the sixth and grounding out in the ninth. The veteran had missed the previous nine games with an unspecified illness, although he had been at the ballpark each day.
UP NEXT
Tigers: The 10-game road trip continues when Tarik Skubal (9-3, 2.32 ERA) takes the mound Tuesday in Minnesota to open a three-game series.
Angels: José Soriano is expected to return from a nearly three-week absence with an abdominal infection to start the opener of a road series against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
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