Angels 5, Tigers 2: Brad Ausmus victorious in return to Detroit

The Detroit Tigers dropped the first game of their series against the Los Angeles Angels by a 4-2 mark, giving former Tigers manager Brad Ausmus a win in his return to Comerica Park.

The Angels drew first blood on a David Fletcher RBI single in the third inning, adding two more in the same frame to jump out to a 3-0 lead. The Tigers offense would remain dormant for much of the first five innings, with them registering just one hit and two total baserunners.

The Tigers showed signs of life in the sixth inning, with a JaCoby Jones leadoff double sparking a bit of a rally. Nicholas Castellanos hit an RBI triple, extending his hitting streak to 10 games, and Miguel Cabrera drove in a run to cut the Angels’ lead to 4-2. Detroit’s offense, however, would fall silent again and fail to do any further damage as the Angels coasted to victory.

Pitching notes

Daniel Norris, following stronger starts in his last two outings, came back down to earth. After smooth smooth sailing through first two innings, he allowed three consecutive base hits to begin third inning and gave up three runs before getting out of the inning. His velocity was down a bit, largely sitting in the 87-89 mph range, occasionally registering at 90 mph. He allowed a fair bit of contact, with just five swings and misses on his 90 pitches (55 strikes, 45 balls).

Eduardo Jimenez made his major league debut for the Tigers on Tuesday night, working a seventh inning in which he surrendered a scorching double to Mike Trout while retiring the other three batters he faced.

Griffin Canning, the Angels’ top pitching prospect, made his second career start. Save for the rough sixth inning that removed him from the game, he turned in a solid performance, giving up four hits and striking out seven Tigers batters over 5 ¹⁄₃ innings of work, generating swings and misses along the way.

Sho-time

Tuesday saw the 2019 debut of the Angels’ prized two-way player and reigning American League rookie of the year Shohei Ohtani. Coming off of Tommy John surgery towards the end of the 2018 season, Ohtani batted third in the designated hitter’s role. He went 0-for-3, striking out twice and recording an RBI groundout.

On deck

The Tigers will continue their three-game tangle with the Angels on Wednesday night, as Matthew Boyd is set to take the mound against Tyler Skaggs. First pitch at Comerica Park is slated for 7:10 p.m.