Javier Báez, a two-time All-Star, put the Detroit Tigers in front with a go-ahead single in the top of the 10th inning, but in the bottom half of the extra inning, the shortstop gave away his team’s momentum with his MLB-leading 23rd error.
The Angels scored two runs in the bottom of the 10th.
The throwing error allowed the Los Angeles Angels to tie the game at four runs, and the Tigers lost, 5-4, on Magneuris Sierra’s walk-off bunt single on the first pitch after manager A.J. Hinch gathered left-hander Andrew Chafin and his defense around the mound to game plan with runners on the corners.
The Tigers (51-85) dropped their fourth game in a row.
TOUGH BREAK:Michael Pineda misses bonus, ineligible for playoffs after Tigers cut him
To begin the bottom of the 10th, Taylor Ward — the free extra innings runner — moved up to third base on Matt Duffy’s deep flyout to right field. On the next pitch, Andrew Velazquez hit a grounder to Báez.
With Duffy running, Báez yanked the throw to catcher Eric Haase and the Angels evened the score at four runs. An ensuing wild pitch pushed Velazquez to third base, and a six-pitch walk to Chad Wallach added a runner on first base.
Sierra, who entered with a .177 batting average in 36 games, bunted a first-pitch sinker down the first-base line for the walk-off win.
Late-innings drama
The Tigers summoned right-handed reliever Joe Jiménez, instead of left-handed closer Gregory Soto, from the bullpen to face Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Luis Rengifo with the game tied in the bottom of the ninth.
Jiménez worked around a two-out single from Luis Rengifo and sent the contest to extra innings. The Tigers rewarded his effort in the 10th inning, as Báez delivered a clutch single into right field on a slider outside the strike zone.
After Jiménez’s ninth, pinch-runner Kody Clemens — the free runner on second base — advanced to third base on a two-strike single from Eric Haase against right-handed reliever Ryan Tepera in his second inning of work. With runners on the corners and two outs, Báez had the chance to tie the game.
He received four straight sliders from Tepera, all down-and-away and outside the zone. He swung through the first two pitches, watched the third for a ball and punched the fourth into right field.
He received four straight sliders from Tepera, all down-and-away and outside the zone. He swung through the first two pitches, watched the third for a ball and punched the fourth into right field.
Clemens scored from third base for a 4-3 lead.
Spare the E-Rod
Three solo home runs nearly spoiled left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez’s strong finish, but the Tigers’ offense supported him by tying the game, 3-3, in the top of the eighth inning. He completed seven innings and gave his team a chance to win.
Rodriguez, in his fourth start since returning from the restricted list, fared better against the Angles than in his previous outing against the Seattle Mariners. Last Thursday, he allowed six runs (five earned runs) over four innings in a 7-0 loss.
In Anaheim, Rodriguez got off to a rough start.
In the first inning, Trout drove a first-pitch 90.2 mph fastball — Rodriguez’s fourth pitch of the game — for his third home run in the past three days. The ball traveled to straightaway center field with a 109.2 mph exit velocity, and based on Rodriguez’s immediate reaction, he knew he had just given up Trout’s 31st home run.
Trout is batting .299 with seven homers in 18 games since returning from the injured list.
The scoring continued with two outs in the second inning. Rodriguez fell behind 2-0 in the count to Mike Ford, who smoked an elevated fastball over the right-field wall. He put the Angels ahead 2-0, and Adell increased the margin to 3-0 with his solo shot on Rodriguez’s two-strike cutter.
Entering Tuesday, Rodriguez hadn’t conceded a home run against any of his 375 four-seam fastballs this season. In Tuesday’s game, though, two of his 38 four-seamers were crushed for home runs.
The rest of the way, Rodriguez dominated the Angels.
He retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced.
Rodriguez gave up three runs on five hits over seven innings, throwing 60 of 90 pitches for strikes. He didn’t issue a walk and recorded three strikeouts. He threw 38 four-seamers (42%), 26 cutters (29%), 13 changeups (14%), 11 sinkers (12%) and two sliders (2%). His seven swings and misses came on five four-seamers and two changeups.
Finding some offense
For the eighth inning, the Angels turned to left-hander José Quijada.
A one-out mistake — hitting Willi Castro with a two-strike fastball — proved costly for Quijada, as Victor Reyes doubled two put two runners in scoring position for Báez. Right-hander Jimmy Herget, a better matchup with Báez, took over on the mound.
Báez swung at a first-pitch slider down the middle and grounded out to third base, but moving the ball forward was more than enough. Willi Castro scored to tie the game, 3-3, with two outs in the eighth.
The Angels intentionally walked Harold Castro in favor of a matchup with rookie Spencer Torkelson. Torkelson swung at four straight pitches — fouling two of them — and struck out swinging at a slider down and away for the third out.
For their first two runs, the Tigers scored in the fourth and sixth innings.
Torkelson, who finished 1-for-4, sent a middle-middle 96.5 mph fastball back up the middle and into center field for an RBI single in the fourth. It was the 23-year-old’s first hit since returning from Triple-A Toledo. In the sixth, Báez’s groundout to third base (on a slider in the strike zone) scored Willi Castro.
Right-hander Mike Mayers started for the Angels, marking his fourth start this season and the seventh start of his MLB career. He has pitched 195 games from 2016-22, primarily operating out of the bullpen.
Facing the Tigers, Mayers allowed two runs on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.