Anaheim, Calif. — Third straight loss to a struggling team with a sub-.500 record. And another stellar performance by a starting pitcher blown up in one meltdown inning.
Justin Verlander and Angels starter Jhoulys Chacin were locked into an unrelenting pitchers’ duel Monday night — both piling up feeble swings and weak contact and putting zeros on the board through seven innings.
But the Angels, limited to one measly single through seven innings, broke it wide open in the eighth and beat the Tigers 5-1 in the first of a three-game set.
Johnny Giavotella, Rafael Ortega and Cliff Pennington opened the eighth with three straight singles off Verlander.