The Angels nabbed the first two from the Tigers but took a 2-6 loss in the final game of the series.
The Angel offense was held to just four hits and two runs on the night, with the two runs coming in a bottom-of-the-ninth rally attempt. Tigers rookie Armando Galarraga silented the Angels’ bats for his 8 1/3 innings of work. The only runs came in the ninth when the Angels attempted to rally for a big come-from-behind win, but could only produce two runs off Macier Izturis’ two-run shot. Vlad also sat out his second game in the last four.
Joe Saunders failed to get his ninth win of the season after giving up five runs on seven hits through five innings. Five hits and three runs came in the first inning alone. Four of the runs came off the bat of Marcus Thames, who had two two-run homeruns, in the first and then the fifth. Justin Speier pitched the sixth and seventh innings, giving up two hits and another run. Bootcheck and Oliver then finished off with a scoreless inning apiece.
The loss highlights the troubled Angel offense. In their last nine, they are batting just .179 as a team. They have been shut down in 53 of their last 60 innings, but have still won four of their last six with great thanks to the pitching staff. They remain 2 1/5 above the A’s and have tonight off before hosting the Jays tomorrow.
