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ANAHEIM , Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout couldn’t play on his 27th birthday, thanks to a sore right wrist.Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels made sure the fans in the giveaway T-shirts bearing Trout’s uniform No. 27 still went home in a celebratory mood.Ohtani hit a three-run homer during a seven-run first inning, and the Angels pounded out 13 hits in an 11-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.Trout missed his sixth consecutive game with an injury that will sideline him at least until Friday during the second-longest injury absence of his career — but for one night, his teammates didn’t miss the two-time AL MVP’s peerless bat at the Big A. Rookie catcher Francisco Arcia had a two-run single during their first-inning outburst after Detroit scored two runs in its half of the first.“You like to get right back into the game after you give up a few early, and we carried some momentum there in the first,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Shohei’s homer was a huge hit at the time.”With Trout sidelined, Ohtani moved up to third in the order — and he didn’t disappoint. His 411-foot drive to the opposite field was his third homer in August, and he added a single for his third multihit performance in five games.“I may look like I’m taking easy swings in my at-bats, but I’m swinging pretty hard,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I haven’t really changed my approach. Back when I was in Japan, that was one of my strengths , going to the opposite field.”Justin Upton later added a two-run homer during Los Angeles’ second straight win over Detroit. The Angels haven’t lost a home series to the Tigers since August 2009.Jeimer Candelario hit a two-run homer in the fifth and drove in three runs as the Tigers emerged from their four-game offensive funk, but still dropped to 0-5 on their six-game California trip.The Angels’ first eight batters reached base with six hits, an error and a walk against Jacob Turner (0-1), who lasted just one inning in his first appearance for Detroit since 2012. Turner, a former Tigers prospect who returned on a minor league deal this season, struggled in the rotation spot opened by Mike Fiers’ trade to Oakland.“The big thing was he threw (37) pitches, and we didn’t make some plays,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Believe me, it’s not all on him. He took the beating for it … (but) we played sloppy baseball tonight.”Detroit scored just three runs over 40 innings in the first four games of its trip, but matched that total in two innings against Andrew Heaney (7-7). Candelario had an RBI double in the first inning, and JaCoby Jones added a run-scoring double in the second.Upton snapped a 0-for-15 slump with an infield single in the first. The former Tigers slugger added his 22nd homer in the sixth.HEANEY’S HIGHHeaney set a new career high with his seventh victory , but this one won’t go in the trophy case. He persevered through five rocky innings in his shortest home outing since April 20, yielding five runs and eight hits.“It’s nice to not pitch all that well and get a win,” Heaney said. “It’s nice for the team to get a win.”OUTSTANDING E.Y.Eric Young Jr. made an outstanding defensive play for the second straight night while filling Trout’s spot in center field. The veteran dived to catch James McCann’s sinking liner in the sixth and then made a precise throw to double up Ronny Rodriguez at first.TIME TO THROWOhtani got more good news before the game when the Angels announced the rookie will throw a bullpen session Saturday in the next step in his return from a sprained elbow ligament.“I’ve been waiting for this day,” Ohtani said. “I’ve been very eager to get back on the mound.”ROOKIE RIBBIESArcia’s bases-loaded single gave him 12 RBIs in his first three home starts. That’s a record for any player in the first three home starts of a major league career since RBIs became an official stat in 1920, according to STATS LLC.TRAINER’S ROOMTigers: Blaine Hardy will take another start in the rotation Wednesday in place of Michael Fulmer, who is still recovering from an oblique strain at Detroit’s spring training complex in Florida.Angels: Nick Tropeano was placed on the disabled list for the third time this season with right shoulder stiffness. The right-hander threw five innings of one-hit ball Monday against Detroit, but was pulled after just 62 pitches.UP NEXTTigers: Hardy (4-3, 3.25 ERA) got a no-decision last week despite throwing seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball against Oakland, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He has faced the Angels six times in his career, but in relief each time.Angels: Jaime Barria (6-7, 3.84 ERA) makes the 17th start of his steady rookie season. He got a no-decision last week in Cleveland after throwing five solid innings. JUPITER , Fla. (AP) — The “homer” could follow the “opener” into baseball’s lexicon.Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly says he’d consider rearranging some of pitcher Wei-Yin Chen’s starting dates during the regular season should last year’s atrocious home/road splits continue.“If we’re seeing the same type trend then I think if you have a chance to schedule it — if you have an off-day and you can skip a guy and it lines him up for two home starts instead of one and back in Philly, or wherever it would be — I think you look at it,” Mattingly said.Late last season Mattingly did elect to skip a scheduled Chen start in Philadelphia to have him pitch at home the following day.Rather effective at spacious Marlins Park last season where he pitched to a 5-3 record and a 1.62 ERA, Chen became a completely different pitcher on the road, losing nine of 10 decisions while posting a 9.27 ERA.“Last year, we’re hoping, was an anomaly as far as the road and home,” Mattingly said. “He’s a flyball guy. When he gets in smaller ballparks he may be trying to do something different than that. You’ve got to stay with your strengths and who you are. It’s tougher in Philly and some places where the ball jumps, but you still have to pitch the way you pitch and trying to do something that’s not really your strength gets you in trouble, and it feels like we saw some of that last year.”Miami signed Chen to a five-year, $80 million deal prior to the 2016 season. He’s yet to perform up to that contract.Injuries limited Chen to only 27 combined starts during his first two years with the Marlins. His 3.82 ERA over 33 innings in 2017 marks Chen’s lowest single-season average since making the move from Baltimore to Miami.Through a translator , Chen said he found his home/road splits “kind of weird” but correcting them wasn’t a focus of his offseason.“I tried to work on focusing on the hitters because that’s the only thing you can do,” Chen said.Watching video of Chen’s 2018 performances, new Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. believes he’s identified aspects of the big lefty’s approach that can be tweaked.“Some of it is usage, or I’ll just say lack of command on certain parts of the plate, and some is quality of pitches,” Stottlemyre said.On Saturday night, Chen turned around what had been a disappointing spring. Working after starter Pablo Lopez, Chen allowed only one hit in four shutout innings against Washington.Mattingly praised Chen’s aggressiveness and variance of speeds. Prior to that outing, Chen allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 Grapefruit League innings.
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