Finally, the Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels.
Right-hander Casey Mize shoved 5⅓ scoreless innings in one of his best performances before exiting with a cramp in his left leg, rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy dashed around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning, and catcher Carson Kelly blasted a three-run home run in the fifth inning to help the Tigerspull off a 7-6 win over the Angels in Sunday's finale of a four-game series at Angel Stadium.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak.
"You can't complain about a win, especially with how things have gone," manager A.J. Hinch told reporters in Anaheim. "We needed the win, no matter how it comes."
The Tigers (38-46) are 15 games back of the 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.
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What should've been an easy win turned into a nail-biter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, as right-handed reliever Shelby Miller — who entered to protect a six-run lead —surrendered five runs.
Zach Neto cut the Angels' deficit to 7-4 with a three-run home run to left field off Miller's elevated fastball. Jo Adell cut the Angels' deficit to 7-6 with a two-run home run to center field off Miller's middle-middle slider.
Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton replaced Miller for a matchup with Nolan Schanuel, a left-handed hitter who represented the game-tying run.
Holton struck out Schanuel swinging to end the game.
Miller, whom the Tigers signed to a one-year, $3.25 million contract with a team option, owns a 6.23 ERA across 26 innings in 24 appearances in 2024.
The 33-year-old gave up eight runs over 1⅔ innings during two outings against the Angels in the four-game series. He surrendered 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 homer was the highlight of the game.
Malloy — playing in the 22nd game of his MLB career —smacked a middle-middle cutter from left-hander Tyler Anderson to center field with two outs in the fourth inning. Center fielder Mickey Moniak should've caught the ball at the warning track, but instead, the ball bounced off the middle of the wall and caromed toward left-center field.
Moniak jogged slowly to pick up the ball, and by the time 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 at the plate.
It was the first inside-the-park home run for the Tigers since Victor Reyes on Aug. 27, 2021.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead with Mark Canha's sacrifice fly in the first inning, but in the fourth inning, the Tigers tacked on three runs — capped by a rare inside-the-park homer to produce two of those runs —for a 4-0 advantage.
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 smoked a middle-middle sinker for a three-run home run to center field, making it 7-0.
Kelly is hitting .245 with five homers in 48 games this season. He had two hits — a single and a homer — in Sunday's series finale, raising his OPS from .681 to .711.
Casey Mize leaves early
Mize threw 5⅓ scoreless innings, but he exited after his 86th pitch generated a pop out in foul territory.
The 27-year-old felt a cramp in his left leg, but he needs to undergo additional tests before the Tigers determine his status moving forward. Both Mize and Hinch hope the injury is just a cramp, but they're not certain.
"Once he showed that he had what he said was a cramp on the mound, he was coming out of the game at that point because his day was about to end," Hinch said, "and now we'll have to see. We'll get him tested."
Before the injury, Mize worked around three hits and two walks against the Angels.
Mize walked back-to-back batters — Willie Calhoun and Miguel Sanó — to open the second inning, which were his only walks, but he responded by striking out Logan O'Hoppe swinging with a 98.3 mph fastball, his fastest heater of the game. After that, Neto grounded into an inning-ending double play.
He induced double plays in the first, second and fifth innings.
Mize has a 4.23 ERA in 16 starts.
Contact Evan Petzold atepetzold@freepress.comor follow him@EvanPetzold.
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Next up: Twins
Matchup:Tigers (38-46) at Minnesota (47-37).
First pitch:7:40 p.m. Tuesday; Target Field, Minneapolis.
TV/radio:Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Probable pitchers: Tigers— LHP Tarik Skubal (9-3, 2.32 ERA);Twins— RHP Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.41).
