DETROIT (AP) -- Albert Pujols doubled, and
the next three batters hit singles. Then there were a couple walks, some
poor Detroit fielding -- and by the time the inning ended, the Los
Angeles Angels had scored eight runs.
"All I could do was clap and high-five,"
said C.J. Wilson, the Los Angeles starter who was the beneficiary of
that offensive outburst. "And be stoked for my teammates that they
scored that many runs."
J.B. Shuck had three hits and a
career-high four RBIs, and the Angels routed the Tigers again, 14-8 on
Tuesday night. Los Angeles has won seven straight against Detroit by a
combined score of 48-17.
Wilson (7-5) allowed five runs and seven
hits in five innings, and the Angels took advantage of six Detroit
errors on a rainy night.
"It was just an ugly night for us.
Obviously, they hit the ball all over the place and we didn't make some
plays," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We actually swung the bats
halfway decent, but we just played an ugly game. We pitched and played
an ugly game."
Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the third for the Tigers, but he also made two errors.
Rick Porcello (4-5) gave up seven runs
and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings. The Angels scored nine runs off him in
two-thirds of an inning in April. This start looked better at first, but
Los Angeles broke through in a big way in the fifth.
The game was tied at 2 when Pujols hit a
one-out double in the fifth. Mark Trumbo followed with a single, and
Howie Kendrick's single gave the Angels the lead.
They weren't done. Josh Hamilton's
single brought home another run -- Torii Hunter's throw might have been
in time, but catcher Bryan Holaday couldn't handle it on the bounce --
and with runners on second and third, Alberto Callaspo was intentionally
walked.
Darin Downs relieved Porcello and
allowed all three inherited runners to score. He walked Hank Conger to
force in a run, and Erick Aybar's sacrifice fly made it 6-2. Shuck
followed with an RBI single, and a single by Mike Trout brought home
another run.
Pujols' RBI single made it 9-2 and
chased Downs. Evan Reed came on and immediately made a wild pickoff
throw to first for an error, allowing one more run to come home.
The Angels snapped a three-game losing
streak with their highest-scoring game of the season. It was also the
most runs allowed by the Tigers.
Los Angeles is still 10 games out of first place in the AL West.
"We need to do everything right to get
to where we need to get -- to be in the race," Wilson said. "We need to
get lucky. We're so far back right now, it's not even scoreboard
watching. We have to really pull together and get the most out of
ourselves."
Hamilton had three hits after entering the night in an 0-for-15 slump. He also scored three runs.
Cabrera beat out Trout last year for AL
MVP, and each star made his presence felt in the third. Trout drove in
the game's first run with a single, and Cabrera answered with an
opposite-field homer, his 21st.
Wilson threw seven scoreless innings in
his previous start. He wasn't as sharp Tuesday, allowing three runs in
the fifth immediately after his teammates had given him a 10-2 lead.
Shuck made it 11-5 with a sacrifice fly
in the seventh, scoring Aybar, who had walked, stole second and
advanced to third on a throwing error by Holaday.
Los Angeles tacked on three more runs
in the eighth on an RBI single by Aybar and a two-run single by Shuck.
Cabrera made both his errors that inning.
It was the first time all season a team has made more than four errors.
Detroit remains 3 games ahead of second-place Cleveland in the AL Central.
It was raining for much of the second
half of the game, and hardly any fans were left at the end. The game
took 4 hours, 3 minutes.
Although the outcome wasn't in much
doubt, the Angels still struggled to get the final few outs. Ramon
Santiago, who was hitting .163 and had entered as a replacement for
Cabrera, drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to make it 14-7.
A streak of lightning was visible in
the distance when Hamilton caught Don Kelly's sacrifice fly for the
second out, and Victor Martinez grounded out to end it.
"It maybe took a little bit longer, but
we did what we had to," Shuck said. "It was kind of cool -- some pretty
cool lightning in the background to watch."
NOTES:
It was the second-longest nine-inning game in baseball this season,
according to STATS. The Angels have been involved in all three of the
nine-inning games that reached 4 hours. ... Detroit agreed to terms with
two of this year's draft picks, RHPs Jeff Thompson and Chad Green. The
Tigers also came to terms with RHP Joe Jimenez, an undrafted free agent.
... RHP Tommy Hanson (4-2) starts for the Angels on Wednesday night
against LHP Jose Alvarez (1-0) of the Tigers.
