Detroit’s Riley Greene homers twice in ninth, sending Angels to seventh straight loss
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Riley Greene homered to open the top of the ninth inning and capped an eight-run outburst with a three-run shot to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 9-1 win over the Angels on Friday night.
Colt Keith had a solo homer and Javier Báez hit a two-run shot in the inning against Angels closer Kenley Jansen, who opened the season with eight scoreless innings but was pitching for the first time in eight days.
With his three-run shot off left-hander Jake Eder, Greene became the first Tigers player to homer twice in an inning since Magglio Ordonez against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 12, 2007. According to Elias, he is the first player in MLB history to hit two home runs in the ninth inning of a game.
Angels star Mike Trout says he is convinced the bone bruise in his left knee won’t sideline him for an extended period.
Tyler Holton (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to pick up the win.
Jansen (0-1) gave up six runs and six hits in the ninth, as the Angels lost their seventh straight and 15th in the last 19 games.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto crushed Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal’s first pitch of the game for his fourth homer. The Tigers tied the score 1-1 in the seventh on Trey Sweeney’s homer off reliever Ryan Johnson.
Angels starter Jose Soriano yielded six hits in six innings, striking out five and walking one.
Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, gave up one run and four hits in six innings, striking out eight and walking one.
Tempers flared in the bottom of the third when Neto and Skubal exchanged words after the Tigers’ ace blew a 99-mph fastball by Neto for strike three. Both benches emptied, but no punches were thrown.
Key moment: Travis d’Arnaud singled to lead off the fifth inning. It was the last baserunner the Angels had, as Skubal and relievers Chase Lee, Holton and Tyler Owens combined to retire the final 15 batters, eight by strikeout.
Key stat: The Angels have hit safely in 4,000 consecutive regular-season games since being no-hit by Minnesota Twins left-hander Eric Milton on Sept. 11, 1999. That’s the longest active streak without being no-hit in the major leagues.
Up next: Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (1-3, 3.34 ERA) starts against Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-3, 6.65 ERA) on Saturday.
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