On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Angels opened their series in Detroit by pouring on ten runs in a thrilling victory. Wednesday's game saw a complete reversal. The Angels dropped a 4-0 shutout at the hands of the Tigers, falling to 21-35 and seeing their four-game winning streak come to a screeching halt.
Detroit right-hander Casey Mize opened the afternoon with four dominant innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six batters. The two hits, singles provided by Jorge Soler and Donovan Walton, were the only ones that the Angels managed throughout the contest. Mize did not return to the mound in the fifth despite throwing just 58 pitches after experiencing right groin tightness.
Right-hander Drew Anderson, who earned the victory for the Tigers, followed up Mize with three shutout innings and three strikeouts of his own. Kyle Finnegan, Kenley Jansen and Brenan Hanifee combined to work the final two innings.
On the mound for the Angels was Jose Soriano, who looked to improve upon what has been a career season thus far. The right-hander struggled with control, walking four and tossing 105 pitches before being removed after five long innings.
He allowed seven hits and three runs, bringing his season ERA to 2.65. With just four strikeouts, it was Soriano's first start in which he failed to reach at least five since April 22. He suffered his fourth loss on the season, falling to 6-4.
Things nearly went from bad to worse for Soriano in the fifth inning when Jo Adell misfired the throw back towards the infield after Riley Green drilled an RBI single to right field. The wild throw allowed Green to advance to second before Zach McKinstry drew a walk to load the bases.
Soriano did ultimately manage to escape the jam, striking out Spencer Torkelson. The Detroit first baseman had launched the only home run of the game earlier on, sending a fastball deep to left field in the bottom of the second inning.
Tork 💣 pic.twitter.com/8e6mIWIXR0
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 27, 2026
Veteran left-hander Brent Suter worked the final three frames of the day for the Angels, surrendering an unearned Tigers run in the seventh inning on a wild pitch that got away from Logan O'Hoppe behind the plate.
The main story for Los Angeles, however, was the complete unraveling of a lineup that had caught fire less than 24 hours beforehand. With just three at-bats all game with runners in scoring position, the squad simply gave themselves no chance to stay within striking distance.
Zach Neto, Mike Trout and Vaughn Grissom combined to go 0-9 from the top three spots in the order, taking a big step back from their 6-13 showing in the series opener. Grissom had blasted the key go-ahead grand slam to put the Angels in front in the eighth.
With a chance to win their second consecutive series, the Halos will start right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (1-1, 10.61 ERA) in Thursday morning's rubber match. After allowing seven runs in his first outing of the season, Rodriguez improved slightly during start number two, allowing four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Texas Rangers on May 22. He will face Detroit right-hander Jack Flaherty (0-6, 5.94 ERA).
First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. PT.