DETROIT - Matt Shoemaker pitched one-hit ball into the eighth inning in his hometown ballpark, Albert Pujols drove in one run and scored another, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0 Thursday.
"It's incredibly special," Shoemaker told reporters of pitching in his hometown. "It means a lot."
The Angels began the day trailing Minnesota by one game for the second American League wild-card spot, with Texas also a half-game ahead of them.
Angels catcher Carlos Perez got a big assist in the win, too. Two of them, in fact, as he picked off Anthony Gose at first base and later threw him out trying to steal second.
Shoemaker (6-9) went to high school about 30 minutes from Comerica Park and attended Eastern Michigan University. He dominated the Tigers in his first game in Detroit, permitting just a single by Gose in the third.
Shoemaker walked one and struck out five in 7 1/3 innings.
