ANAHEIM — It happened again.
Right-hander Kirby Yates gave away a one-run ninth-inning lead in the Angels’ 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
The Angels have now lost eight times when leading after eight innings. Yates has been responsible for three of those. He’s also taken the loss in four games that were tied when he entered.
The Angels had a 1-0 lead after six innings from Reid Detmers and two from right-handers Ryan Zeferjahn and Sam Bachman.
Yates started the ninth by hitting Dillon Dingler with a pitch. He got an out and then he walked Riley Greene. After a second out on a fly ball, Yates gave up a two-run double to Hao-Yu Lee.
The Angels had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, when they got two runners on with no outs. The Tigers’ infielders made two slick plays to record the final two outs of the game, though.
The Angels (38-60) wasted a solid outing from Detmers.
Detmers is expected to be one of the more attractive pitchers on the trade market in advance of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline, but he had posted a 7.40 ERA in his previous four starts.
The Angels are under no pressure to trade Detmers, 26, because he’s under control for two more years. Their best strategy would be to set a high price for him and see if anyone meets it. Had Detmers continued to struggle as he did leading up to the All-Star break, suitors might have been reluctant to commit the kind of prospect capital the Angels would like to acquire.
Detmers likely has three more starts before the deadline, and if they all look like this one, the Angels will be able to keep a high price tag on him.
For the season, Detmers has a 4.16 ERA, with 130 strikeouts and 35 walks in 114⅔ innings. That includes six scoreless innings against the Dodgers last month, an outing that could be significant to any National League contender.
Facing a Tigers team that is also fighting to show its management that it can be in the race, Detmers had little trouble.
The Tigers never had more than one baserunner in an inning against Detmers. The only times they had runners in scoring position were when he gave up doubles in the third and fourth innings. Both times Detmers struck out the next hitter.
The Angels pulled Detmers after just 86 pitches, turning the game over to a bullpen fresh from the All-Star break.
Zeferjahn worked a perfect seventh, with two strikeouts. Bachman retired the side in the eighth, striking out three left-handed hitters on changeups.
Yates couldn’t get the job done.
Although he ultimately took the loss, the hitters share the blame for managing only one run. They didn’t score after pushing home a run in the first.
They were facing right-hander Troy Melton, a product of Canyon High in Anaheim. Melton, who made his major league debut last year, had never pitched at Angel Stadium as a major leaguer.
In the first inning, the Angels loaded the bases with one out, but the only run they scored was on a groundout.
The Angels had a great opportunity to blow the game open in the third, when Mike Trout led off with a double and then Nolan Schanuel walked. The next three hitters made outs, including strikeouts for Jorge Soler and Jo Adell.
Zach Neto led off the fifth with a single, but he was caught stealing.
More to come on this story.