Detroit Tigers fail to overcome rough fifth inning in 11-3 loss to the Angels

Detroit Free Press
Dana Gauruder |  Special to the Detroit Free Press

The banged-up Detroit Tigers starting staff could have used a strong outing from its lone remaining veteran, but Jose Urena failed to deliver once again.

The Los Angeles Angels clubbed three homers off Urena during a five-run fifth and cruised to a 11-3 win on Friday night.

Urena, who was charged with seven runs on seven hits in 4 ⅓ innings, lost for the third time this month. Daniel Norris gave up three more runs in the sixth.

With Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull on the shelf, the Tigers have no choice but to hope Urena can work through his struggles.

Shohei Ohtani led the Angels’ offense with a pair of homers.

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Walks, long balls haunt Urena

Urena was coming off a disastrous outing on Saturday, when he surrendered a season-high eight runs in 1 ⅔ innings to the Chicago Cubs.

He lasted longer on Friday but he continued to issue walks and leave too many pitchers over the heart of the plate. Urena walked three Cubs and gave up three more to the Angels. All of those baserunners scored.

Urena left Justin Upton stranded in the first after Upton led off with a bloop double but the Angels pushed across their first run the next inning. Max Stassi walked, advanced on a wild pitch and scored when Urena left a sinker up in the zone, allowing Kean Wong to slash a single.

A four-pitch walk to Upton and a hanging slider that Taylor Ward lashed for an RBI double made it 2-0 in the third.

The Angels then knocked him out of the game in the fifth with their home-run barrage. Luis Rengifo took advantage of a sinker that hung over the plate for his first homer this season. Ohtani hit a two-run bomb and, after a walk to Ward, Jared Walsh ambushed a Urena changeup to finish his night.

Ohtani wows with his bat

Ohtani was the winning pitcher in Los Angeles’ 7-5 win on Thursday, as he limited the Tigers to one run in six innings.

The two-way star did his damage at the plate on Friday. Ohtani’s homer off Urena came on a 2-2 fastball that he lined over the right-center field wall with an exit velocity of 114 MPH.

He blasted a changeup to the opposite field off Joe Jimenez in the eighth for his 21st homer of the season.

Earlier in the day, Ohtani announced that he’d take part in the annual Home Run Derby at Denver’s Coors Field on July 12.

Goodrum injures finger

Shortstop Niko Goodrum departed in the sixth inning after spraining his left index finger.

Goodrum tried to make a diving stop on Phil Gosselin’s bouncing single and came up grimacing. He jammed the finger on his glove hand while making hard contact on the outfield grass.

He was replaced by Harold Castro.

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