Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
LA Angels 12, Detroit 2
When: 10:05 PM ET, Thursday, May 28, 2015
Where: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Temperature: 69°
Umpires: Home - Adam Hamari, 1B - Will Little, 2B - Phil Cuzzi, 3B - Gerry Davis
Attendance: 32261

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- One of the American League's weakest offenses erupted for one of its most productive performances of the season.

Designated hitter Albert Pujols, left fielder Matt Joyce and catcher Chris Iannetta combined for three home runs and eight RBIs, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 12-2 rout of the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night at Angel Stadium.

Entering the game, the Angels ranked last in the American League in batting average, on-base percentage and on-base-plus-slugging percentage, and next-to-last in extra-base hits.

"We have some guys who can drive the ball and put some runs on the board," Joyce said. "It was just a matter of getting everybody on the same page and being consistent."

Los Angeles broke a two-game losing streak while ending Detroit's two-game winning streak.

Pujols hit his 529th career home run and ninth of the year, a two-run drive, in the bottom of the first inning. Joyce added his second in two games and third of the season, a solo drive, in the second. Iannetta concluded the Angels' scoring with a grand slam in the seventh, his third homer of the season.

Left-hander C.J. Wilson (3-3) was the main beneficiary of the offensive surge. Wilson conceded one run and a career-low two hits in six innings. He struck out seven, walked five, hit one and generated seven groundouts while throwing 107 pitches.

The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against right-hander Buck Farmer, making his season debut and just the third start of his major league career after being recalled from Triple-A Toledo.

Shortstop Erick Aybar led off by lining a single into right field. One out later, Pujols propelled Farmer's 82 mph sinker into the stands down the left field line for a homer.

"If he gets that pitch down," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said about Farmer's sinker, "it's probably a ground ball."

Joyce extended the margin to 3-0 an inning later with a shot into the right field bleachers.

The Tigers broke the shutout in the third after loading the bases with two outs against Wilson. Catcher James McCann singled but was forced out on shortstop Jose Iglesias' fielder's choice grounder. Designated hitter Rajai Davis and second baseman Ian Kinsler walked with two outs, loading the bases.

Wilson hit first baseman Miguel Cabrera on the right foot to force home Iglesias, but he defused the threat by inducing left fielder Yoenis Cespedes to take a called third strike on a 91 mph fastball.

Los Angeles responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Second baseman Johnny Giavotella lined a triple down the left field line and scored on Aybar's squeeze bunt. Aybar left the game with a tight left hamstring and was replaced at shortstop by Taylor Featherston in the top of the sixth.

"I can't stress how important he is to our club," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said about Aybar. "We have to err on the side of caution with him.

"Erick on the DL? That's not our expectation, but we will definitely make sure he's 100 percent before he gets back into our lineup."

In the bottom of the sixth, the Angels turned three hits, a walk, a fielder's choice, a groundout and a wild pitch into three runs. Joyce singled to bring Pujols home before being replaced by pinch runner Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Third baseman David Freese scored on first baseman Grant Green's groundout, and Nieuwenhuis came home on a wild pitch.

Iannetta's grand slam led a five-run seventh inning. It was his first as an Angel and his first since May 13, 2009, when he played for the Colorado Rockies.

Farmer (0-1) induced nine groundouts in his five-plus innings and retired 10 successive batters between the second and fifth innings. However, the right-hander allowed seven runs and nine hits, including two home runs, while walking one and striking out one.

"We didn't rea
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Detroit   LA Angels
Buck Farmer Player C.J. Wilson
Loss W/L Win
5.0 IP 6.0
1 Strikeouts 7
9 Hits 2
12.60 ERA 1.50
Hitting
Detroit   LA Angels
James McCann Player Matt Joyce
2 Hits 2
0 RBI 2
0 HR 1
2 TB 5
.500 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Detroit 5 0 6 .161 18 11 2 5 0 0
LA Angels 13 3 27 .382 14 2 11 4 0 0