This one kept things interesting, but ultimately the Tigers lost to the Guardians 6-4.
The Tigers were looking to clinch a series win against the Cleveland Guardians nice and early. As we approach the last six weeks of the season, every win really matters, and wins against division rivals matter more than others. The Tigers are inching their way closer to the White Sox, while the Guardians continue to tumble down the AL Central standings. The Tigers would be doing it without Riley Greene, though, as Greene headed to the 10-day IL. Tonight, Framber Valdez was on the mound for the Tigers up against Foster Griffin for the Guardians.
Steven Kwan got a leadoff walk in the top of the first, followed by a Chase DeLauter single. Jose Ramirez was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jo Adell grounded into a double play, but Kwan scored. Angel Martinez then doubled, bringing in another run, and then a wild pitch by Valdez advanced Martinez to third. A strikeout ended the inning, but the Tigers were now working to climb out of a hole. After a lengthy PitchCom-related delay, the home half got underway with Dillon Dingler reaching on an error by Ramirez with one out in the inning. With two outs Hao-Yu Lee doubled, and then a Spencer Torkelson double scored Dingler and Lee.
In the top of the second, Brayan Rocchio singled, followed by a single from Kwan. A groundout ended the inning, though, with no runs scored. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the home half.
The Guardians got a baserunner in the third with a groundball to Kevin McGonigle that he bobbled on the throw. The call wasn’t ruled an error right away, but I’m going to call it that until someone tells me otherwise. On the next play McGonigle got the force-out throw at second tossing to Lee, but Lee’s attempt to get the double play at first failed as the ball drilled into the dirt and Martinez was safe at first. (The McGonigle play was indeed ruled an error). Another groundout to McGonigle kept him on his toes but he did get the final out of the inning. In the home half, Gleyber Torres said “what tie?” as he smashed a solo home run to start the inning. Kevin McGonigle got a one-out walk, but the Tigers ultimately had to settle for just the one run.
Austin Hedges took a one-out walk in the top of the fourth. But his free trip to the base was short-lived as a force out and groundout ended the inning for the Guardians. In the home half, Max Clark got a one-out single. Two outs followed, though, leaving Clark on base.
With one out in the fifth, Ramirez walked. Then Jo Adell homered, pushing the Guardians into the lead 4-3. Martinez singled, but then two outs followed as Valdez kept things from getting any worse. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.
In the sixth, Hedges got a leadoff walk. Then with one out, Kwan walked as well. One out later and that was all she wrote for Valdez. Ty Madden was called in to try and get the final out of the inning and he did just that, getting the Tigers out of the jam. The final line for Valdez was 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 102 pitches. While Valdez pitched to a lot of groundball contact as he typically does, this wasn’t a particularly good outing for him, and the command wasn’t as dialed in as one might hope. In the bottom of the inning Colin Holderman replaced Griffin. Spencer Torkelson got a one-out walk. The Tigers weren’t able to convert the baserunner, unfortunately.
The seventh inning saw things start to get exceptionally ugly. Martinez got a one-out double, and Enmanuel De Jesus came out to replace Madden to face a pinch-hitting Nathaniel Lowe, who he got out. Angel Genao doubled to score Martinez. Hedges then singled to score Genao. They’d settle for the two runs, but the Guardians now held a 6-3 lead. With one out in the home half, Erik Sabrowski came in from the Guardians’ bullpen. He hit James Outman with a pitch, and then with a wild pitch let Outman advance to second. However, two outs followed, leaving Outman stranded and the Tigers still trailing.
With one out in the top of the eighth DeLauter doubled. The Tigers dipped into their bullpen to bring in Tanner Rainey. Ramirez drew a walk, but Rainey got the next two outs to escape the inning unscathed. Hunter Gaddis was the new pitcher in the bottom of the inning, and he gave up a leadoff walk to McGonigle. Two outs followed, then Zach McKinstry singled, bumping McGonigle over to third. Gaddis was done, and Cade Smith was called in. A wild pitch allowed McGonigle to score. Then Max Clark had an epic battle against Smith to really elevate his pitch count, but it ended in a strikeout.
In the ninth, Hedges got a leadoff walk after winning an ABS challenge. It was a three-walk game for Hedges, the first of his career. It didn’t end up mattering as the final out of the inning came up next. The Tigers were now going to need to become the Scrappy Tigs if they wanted to stage a comeback in the ninth, but they’ve done stranger things. Javier Baez got a leadoff single. Then with one out, Torres battled out a single to right field. The Tigers did their best to hustle out a win, but it wasn’t enough as Dingler stared at three strikes in the zone without offering, and McGongile grounded out to end the game. The series was tied 1-1 with the rubber match on the horizon tomorrow afternoon. The Tigers did manage to force Cade Smith to throw a career-high number of pitches, though, so he might not be available tomorrow.
