Field Level Media
May 28, 2018
James McCann crushed his third career grand slam and the Detroit Tigers romped past the Los Angeles Angels 9-3 in the opener of a four-game series on Monday afternoon at Comerica Park.
McCann went 1-for-3 and scored two runs in addition to his fourth homer this season. Leonys Martin also homered for the Tigers, who have won four of the last five games after a five-game losing streak. Everyone in the lineup got at least one hit.
Matthew Boyd (3-4) gave up just two hits while tossing five-plus scoreless innings for Detroit. He walked three and struck out four.
Mike Trout hit his major league leading 18th homer in the ninth, while Albert Pujols and Andrelton Simmons had run-scoring doubles for the Angels. Tyler Skaggs (3-4) gave up five runs on six hits and struck out five in five innings.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia and catcher Martin Maldonado were ejected in the seventh inning by home plate umpire Mark Rippenger for arguing balls and strikes. Scioscia is one win away from reaching the 1,600 mark for his managerial career.
The Tigers pushed across a run in the second. Goodrum, who later came out after the third inning due to heat exhaustion, led off with an infield single, advanced to third on John Hicks' single up the middle and scored on JaCoby Jones' double-play grounder.
McCann's long ball broke the game open in the third. Dixon Machado drew a leadoff walk and advanced on Nicholas Castellanos' single. An infield single from Jeimer Candelario loaded the bases before McCann drilled a 92-mph fastball over the left-field wall.
Martin made it 6-0 against Akeel Morris in the seventh when he barely cleared the right-field wall with his sixth homer. The Tigers added another run in the inning on a McCann walk with two outs and Victor Reyes' triple. Reyes, who replaced Goodrum, notched his first career RBI.
Pujols' RBI double off Buck Farmer in the eighth ended Detroit's shutout bid. Simmons made it 7-2 with his double.
The Tigers got those runs back in the bottom of the inning on Jose Iglesias' RBI single and Machado's run-scoring double.
--Field Level Media