Riley Greene made history with two home runs in the ninth inning as the Detroit Tigers erupted for eight runs in the final frame to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 9-1 on Friday night at Angel Stadium. The result marked the Angels’ seventh consecutive loss and extended their downward spiral to 15 defeats in their last 19 games.
Pre-game betting odds listed the Tigers as slight road favorites at -120 on the moneyline, with the Angels coming in at +100. Despite the tight projection, the Tigers closed a contest late to win decisively.
Greene’s power surge began with a solo shot that opened the top of the ninth inning against Angels closer Kenley Jansen. He capped the inning with a three-run home run off left-hander Jake Eder. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Greene became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit two home runs in the ninth inning of a game. He is also the first Detroit player to accomplish the feat in any inning since Magglio Ordóñez in 2007.
Detroit’s offensive explosion also featured a solo homer from Colt Keith and a two-run drive by Javier Báez. The scoring barrage was primarily charged against Jansen, who allowed six runs on six hits in his first appearance over a week. Jansen had previously thrown eight scoreless innings to begin the season but struggled with command and velocity during Friday’s outing.
The game had remained tight until that point. Angels shortstop Zach Neto opened the scoring by launching the first pitch from Tarik Skubal over the wall in left field, giving Los Angeles a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, responded with six strong innings, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out eight and walking one.
Tigers reliever Tyler Holton (2-2) earned the win by pitching a clean eighth inning. Angels starter José Soriano delivered a quality outing, allowing six hits over six scoreless innings, striking out five and issuing one walk. The only run scored off the Angels’ bullpen before the ninth came in the seventh when Trey Sweeney homered off reliever Ryan Johnson to tie the game at one.
Tempers briefly flared in the bottom of the third inning when Skubal struck out Neto with a 99-mph fastball. Words were exchanged, and both benches cleared, though no punches were thrown and order was quickly restored.
Following a fifth-inning single by Travis d’Arnaud, the Angels could not generate further offense. Detroit’s pitching staff retired the final 15 batters, eight by strikeout, to close the game.
Despite the loss, the Angels extended their streak of consecutive regular-season games with at least one hit to 4,000, a stretch that dates back to being no-hit by the Minnesota Twins in 1999.
The series continues Saturday with Detroit sending right-hander Jack Flaherty (1-3, 3.34 ERA) to the mound against Los Angeles right-hander Kyle Hendricks (0-3, 6.65 ERA).
