Angels swept by Tigers; tumble to 8th straight losing season following 5-3 loss
The Los Angeles Angels were assured their eighth consecutive losing season, falling to Detroit 5-3 on Sunday as the Tigers completed a three-game sweep behind two home runs from Jake Rogers in the first three innings.
The Angels (68-82), playing without injured stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, have lost five straight games and dropped to 4-12 in September.
Rogers had four RBIs as Detroit swept a three-game series at Anaheim for the first time since Aug. 16-18, 1993. The Tigers won for the sixth time in eight games and improved to 3-0 on a California trip that moves on to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland.
Rogers put Detroit ahead with a solo homer in the second and hit a three-run homer for a 5-0 lead in the third. He has 19 homers this season along with a pair of multihomer games.
Joey Wentz (3-11) won for the second time in 16 appearances since May 14, giving up three runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings. Alex Lange pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 29 chances, a day after allowing three runs in the ninth inning of a 10-inning defeat.
Scheduled starter Reid Detmers was scratched by the Angels because of illness. Jimmy Herget opened with a scoreless inning and Kenny Rosenberg (1-2) gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings.
Randal Grichuk hit his 15th homer for the Angels, a two-run drive in the sixth. Angels rookie Nolan Schanuel doubled to extend his club-record on-base streak to 22 games at the start of his career.
TRAINERS ROOM
Angels: Trout, who has appeared in one game since breaking a bone in his left hand July 3, will be with the club on the upcoming trip while he continues to take swings in batting cages. ... 2B Kyren Paris was a late scratch because of thumb soreness. ... RHP Chase Silseth, who was hit on the back of the head by a throw during an Aug. 26 start, continued his recovery with a start for Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday but walked two and gave up two runs with three hits in one-third of an inning.
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (11-8, 3.32 ERA) starts Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team he blocked a trade to at the deadline. RHP Lance Lynn (11-11, 5.94) starts for the Dodgers.
Angels: LHP Patrick Sandoval (7-13, 4.48 ERA) to the mound Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Tampa Bay, which starts RHP Taj Bradley (5-7, 5.56).
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