ANAHEIM, Calif._The Angels headed toward another close loss on Saturday night until Mike Trout provided an extension. It proved temporary.
Down one run to Detroit in the seventh inning at Angel Stadium, Trout tied the game, 3-3, with one ferocious swing. He sent an errant fastball 431 feet to left-center for his 10th home run of 2017, and his longest. The score remained that way until Bud Norris permitted the go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth to J.D. Martinez _ his second of the night _ and the Angels lost, 4-3.
Right-hander Ricky Nolasco turned in another functional, unspectacular start. He walked as many men as he struck out _ four _ but allowed three runs in six innings, so he was awarded a quality start. Angels manager Mike Scioscia often sings the praises of that statistic.
All three of the runs Nolasco bore scored on home runs.
He permitted two, to raise his 2017 total to 13 home runs allowed, the most in the majors among qualified starters. That total is already half of the 26 he permitted in 2016, though he has made only one-quarter as many starts.
Martinez was the first Tiger to strike, drilling a second-inning fastball to left for a two-run homer. He later beat Norris on a hanging slider he pounded to right. In between, Justin Upton lofted a ball inside the left-field foul pole for a solo shot.
Batting with one out in the fifth, Danny Espinosa ripped a ball to third and sprinted down the line but was thrown out by one foot. That foot forced him into ignominious territory, as his hitless streak stretched to 36 at-bats, the longest in Angels franchise history. At 0-for-35, Reggie Jackson had owned the record.
But the Angels rallied with two outs and Albert Pujols knocked in two runs on a bases-loaded single.
In the sixth, Espinosa ended his streak when he shot a two-out double into left field. Kole Calhoun had walked to begin the inning, so two men were in scoring position for Martin Maldonado. He popped out.
One batter into the seventh, Trout tied it up. He did not make an out on the night.
