Angels fall again to the Tigers

Reporting from Detroit — 

Maybe Mike Scioscia needed to get a little more imaginative with a few other aspects of his team Sunday at Comerica Park.

The Angels manager used what he called a “creative” lineup against the Detroit Tigers, giving sluggers Mike Napoli and Hideki Matsui the day off while using light-hitting Maicer Izturis in the cleanup spot.

The hitters were hardly the culprit at Comerica Park during a 9-4 loss in which the Angels concluded their trip with four losses in six games, hardly the surge they were hoping for as they attempt to catch Texas in the American League West.

Their pitchers were battered, their defense was sloppy and their baserunning was atrocious.

Trevor Bell (1-3) pitched four scoreless innings before unraveling a bit over the final two innings of a start in which he allowed nine hits and six runs --- our earned -- in 5 1/3 innings. Angels reliever Scot Shields then gave up three more runs in the eighth, erasing any hope of a comeback.

Detroit’s Don Kelly and Jonny Damon had run-scoring hits in the fifth, which also included a throwing error by third baseman Alberto Callaspo that contributed to another Tigers run.

Alex Avila’s two-run single past a diving Izturis at second base highlighted Detroit’s three-run sixth.

The Angels had four hits and scored two runs in the sixth but might have inflicted considerably more damage had they not made a pair of outs on the bases.

Izturis tripled past diving right fielder Brennan Boesch and scored on Juan Rivera’s single to center, but Rivera was thrown out trying to go from first base to third on Reggie Willits’ flared single to left field.

Willits advanced to second on the play and scored on Jeff Mathis’ single to center, but Mathis was tagged out after venturing too far past first base on the throw back to the infield.

The Angels pulled to within 6-4 in the seventh when Peter Bourjos doubled down the left-field line, raced to third base when left fielder Ryan Raburn bobbled the ball and scored on Bobby Abreu’s groundout.

But Shields walked the bases loaded with one out in the eighth and then gave up a two-run single to Damon. Boesch drove in another run with a single through the left side of a drawn-in infield.

ben.bolch@latimes.com