The Angels erased an early deficit with a decisive fifth-inning rally, defeating the Tigers 7-1 at Comerica Park. What began as a pitcher's duel shifted dramatically when Los Angeles scored three runs in the fifth to take control.
Grayson Rodriguez earned the victory with five innings of work, allowing 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 5. The right-hander walked 2 and threw 88 pitches to improve to 2-1 with a 7.53 ERA. Rodriguez held Detroit to just two hits through five frames after surrendering Wenceel Perez's second-inning homer.
The Angels broke through in the fifth against Jack Flaherty. Rivero singled to left to score Adell and tie the game 1-1. Neto followed with a double to left that brought Rivero home and moved Walton to third. Grissom then hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Walton, giving Los Angeles a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Flaherty took the loss, falling to 0-7 after allowing 3 runs on 6 hits over 5.2 innings. The Detroit starter struck out 9 but could not escape the fifth-inning damage. Perez provided the Tigers' only offense, going 2-for-3 with a homer and RBI.
Los Angeles added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings. The Angels improved to 21-35 while Detroit fell to 22-34.