TheDetroit Tigers tied up their biggest series of the season with a walk-off win.
Thanks to a walk-off single from shortstop Kevin McGonigle, the Tigers (63-72) beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Comerica Park in Detroit. The win snaps a two-game losing streak and gives the Tigers a chance to win the series in the rubber game on Sunday.
Tigers starting pitcher Keider Montero pitched really well against the Dodgers before allowing three hits in the sixth inning, including the game-tying RBI single from first baseman Freddie Freeman. The righty allowed one run on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts over 5⅓ innings.
It was Montero's first start since Aug. 18, as the Tigers gave the righty extra rest last week to manage
his workload.
The Tigers; lineup had little answer for Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who struck out 10 batters through five innings and allowed only one run despite facing traffic in the third inning. That was when second baseman Gleyber Torres drove in left fielder Javier Báez with an RBI double, though the Tigers fell short in the inning after wasting a bases-loaded, one out opportunity.
On the mound: Keider Montero solid in return
Montero needed only 10 pitches to set down the three future Hall-of-Famers at the top of the Dodgers' lineup, getting designated hitter Shohei Ohtani to strike out, Freeman to fly out and forcing a groundout off the bat of shortstop Mookie Betts.
Montero found similar success in the second inning before allowing a two-out, 10-pitch walk to right fielder Kyle Tucker. Montero then struck out Teoscar Hernández to end the second before needing just 10 pitches to get three outs in the third (while allowing a bloop single to Ohtani in the process).
After clean frames in the fourth and fifth innings, Montero allowed a leadoff double to Dodgers center fielder Alek Thomas in the sixth inning, bringing the top of the order back up. A groundout from Ohtani then moved Thomas to third before Freeman tied the game with a one-out, RBI single, and then a subsequent single from Betts marked the last batter Montero faced.
Lefty reliever Tyler Holton replaced Montero in the sixth and walked third baseman Max Muncy to load the bases with one out, giving the Dodgers a chance to take their first lead of the game. Holton then got Tommy Edman to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, stranding two runners.
Lefty Andrew Sears, pitching in his first home game as a Tiger, commanded the Dodgers' lineup allowing just two baserunners over 2⅔ innings. He handed the ball to closer Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth, who escaped when Báez ran down a Hernández fly ball that was a few feet away from giving the Dodgers the lead.
At the plate: Tigers bats show up late
The Tigers got their first baserunner in scoring position when center fielder Max Clark, batting from the No. 9 position, moved Báez over to second base on a bunt with no outs in the third inning (with Clark himself reaching on a fielding error by Muncy). Torres then sent a shot into right-center field, scoring Báez from second base and appearing to score Clark from first.
But Clark was sent back to third base after the ball was ruled to have bounced over the yellow line on the right-center field wall, marking Torres’ hit as an automatic double. What looked like a 2-0 lead for Detroit quickly reverted back to 1-0.
the Gley way 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/1Qk8s9wQLd
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 29, 2026
It was a consequential call, too, as the Tigers ended up stranding the bases loaded after McGonigle’s one-out walk. Third baseman Hao-Yu Lee (popout), designated hitter Dillon Dingler (strikeout) and catcher Eduardo Valencia (strikeout) each had RBI opportunities in the third, but all came up empty.
Snell struck out 10 batters and allowed just one run through his five-inning start. All those strikeouts stacked up a high pitch count, however, with the two-time Cy Young Award winner hitting the 73-pitch mark through four innings (with his counterpart Montero at 51 through the same mark).
The Tigers almost pounced on Snell in the fifth after a leadoff double from Clark and a two-out walk from McGonigle. But on Snell’s 99th and final pitch of the day, he struck out Dingler on a fastball to escape the inning unscathed.
Báez, who had just wrapped up the top of the ninth inning with a potentially run-saving catch in left-center field, led off the bottom of the inning with a double to the left field corner that put the winning run on base. A Clark bunt then moved him over to third base with one out, while consecutive walks to Torres and Lee brought up McGonigle, who finished off the game with his single to left-center field.
Next up: Ohtani on the mound?
The Tigers play their last game of their three-game series against the Dodgers on Sunday, Aug. 30. Tigers lefty Framber Valdez (8-9, 4.35 ERA) is expected to pitch against Dodgers righty Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 3.02), who will either start or pitch in bulk relief of Ohtani. The two-time reigning National League MVP hasn't pitched since July 3, though the Dodgers have not officially named their starter for the series finale.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kevin McGonigle walks it off for Tigers with clutch RBI vs Dodgers
