Rookie Griffin Canning tossed 5 1/3 solid innings to earn his first major league win Tuesday night, when the visiting Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 5-2 in the opener of a three-game series.
The Angels snapped a two-game losing streak. The Tigers have alternated losses with wins in each of the past seven games.
Canning (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out seven in his second career start. The 2017 second-round draft pick had a one-hit shutout through the first five innings before tiring in the sixth, when he yielded hits to three of the four batters he faced.
Luke Bard retired all five batters he faced before Ty Buttrey tossed a perfect eighth. Hansel Robles earned his third save with a one-hit ninth.
Reigning American League Rookie of the Year Shohei Ohtani batted third for the Angels and went 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout in his season debut. Ohtani, who split his time between the mound and the field last season but underwent Tommy John surgery Oct. 1, will be limited to designated hitter duties for the rest of 2019.
First baseman Albert Pujols, meanwhile, went 0-for-5 and remained one RBI shy of becoming the fifth player in history to reach 2,000 RBIs. He is 0-for-10 since recording his 1,999th RBI with a solo homer in the sixth inning Saturday.
The Angels scored the only runs they'd need in the third, when David Fletcher (single), Ohtani and Andrelton Simmons (single) all collected RBIs against Tigers starter Daniel Norris (1-1).
Kole Calhoun lofted a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Simmons delivered another RBI single in the ninth. Fletcher also had two hits.
Nick Castellanos (triple) and Miguel Cabrera (single) chased Canning with consecutive RBI hits in the sixth. Cabrera was the only Detroit player with two hits.
Norris allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two over five innings.
--Field Level Media
LA Angels | Detroit | |
Griffin Canning | Player | Daniel Norris |
Win | W/L | Loss |
5.1 | IP | 5.0 |
7 | Strikeouts | 2 |
4 | Hits | 5 |
3.38 | ERA | 5.40 |
LA Angels | Detroit | |
David Fletcher | Player | Miguel Cabrera |
2 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 2 |
.400 | Avg | .500 |