On Aug. 29, 1986, Dick Schofield ended a game against the Detroit Tigers with a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Angels’ win that day erased an early eight-run deficit. It stood as the largest comeback in franchise history for 35 years.
There was no walk-off celebration Thursday, when the Angels matched their historic feat in a 13-10 win over the Detroit Tigers. They slowly chipped away at their deficit before a stunned Comerica Park. They denied slugger Miguel Cabrera his 500th career home run for the third straight game and completed a series sweep in rare fashion, with the offense leading the way.
Trailing 10-2 in the sixth inning, the Angels sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs. Jared Walsh’s RBI double in the seventh inning scored Shohei Ohtani, narrowing the deficit to 10-9. Brandon Marsh walked ahead of a Max Stassi home run in the eighth inning, putting the Angels ahead 11-10.
A sacrifice fly by Ohtani and a solo home run by Phil Gosselin completed the scoring and turned the Angels’ horrific start into a distant memory. Spot starter Jose Quintana allowed six runs in 1 ⅓ innings. Aaron Slegers, the first pitcher out of the bullpen, allowed four runs over the next 3 ⅓.
The Tigers never got another hit against Andrew Wantz, Mike Mayers (4-4) and Austin Warren, who recorded his first major league save.
It was only the second game since the All-Star break in which the Angels (62-61) scored double-digit runs.
Walsh, Gosselin and Marsh each collected three hits. Stassi, Ohtani and David Fletcher had two apiece.
The Angels begin a three-game series against the Indians Friday in Cleveland.