After a gut-punch of a loss on Friday night, and a generalized shellacking on Saturday, could the Tigers salvage at least one win from their three-game series in Cincinnati? Well, with the help of some nice home runs — surprise, surprise, in this bandbox — and a feat not seen in a Tiger uniform for almost twenty years, Detroit indeed managed to win a game of the series in an 8-3 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Keider Montero, everyone’s favourite not-quite-a-Mud-Hen, made his fifth start for the Tigers.
His start on April 16 against the Royals was a little shaky, but he’ll usually give you five or six decent innings and keep you in the game… which is what he did today. Notably, he only had three walks all year coming into today’s action. Also notably, in each of his three previous starts before today, he threw 55 strikes. Remember when Khris Davis hit exactly .247 in four consecutive seasons? It’s kinda like that, except not really like that. You’re picking up what I’m putting down, though, at the very least, which is the important thing.
Facing the Tigers today was Rhett Lowder (LOUD-er); his name makes me think he should be co-headling an alt-country music festival with Sturgill Simpson. At any rate, he’s in his first full season with the Reds; he was called up late in 2024 but lost all of 2025 to a forearm strain and, later, an oblique strain. Like Montero, he’ll give you five or six innings and won’t dominate, but will generally keep things under control. He generally doesn’t strike out many and he usually keeps the ball in the yard, but he’ll walk a batter or two.
The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs in the first through a pair of singles and a walk. Kerry Carpenter then laced a double on a low changeup down the right-field line to score Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene and put the Tigers up 2-0.
In the second the Tigers also had two runners on with two out, with singles by Kevin McGonigle and Torres. Alas, those runners were stranded as Colt Keith hit a routine ground ball to second base for the third out.
Nathaniel Lowe and the Reds got a run back in the bottom of the second with a solo home run on the second consecutive knuckle-curve he’d seen. In the bottom of the third TJ Friedl hit a double to left-centre with one out and took third on a bobble by Matt Vierling, and Friday night’s hero, Matt McLain, walked to put runners on the corners. But then Elly De La Cruz struck out and the dangerous Sal Stewart flew out harmlessly to Wenceel Pérez in right, and the Tigers wiggled out of that jam.
The Tigers weren’t so lucky in the bottom of the fourth, as JJ Bleday hit a solo home run to tie the game. Then, leading off the bottom of the fifth, Ke’Bryan Hayes tripled; with one out the Reds took the lead as McLain doubled to score Hayes and put the home team up 3-2. Montero then did a nice job limiting the damage, with a strikeout and a groundout.
Spencer Torkelson led off the sixth off reliever Brock Burke by smoking a double to centre, and one out later Vierling followed with a walk. Jahmai Jones, pinch-hitting for Pérez, walked on four pitches to load the bases. Burke found the strike zone again and Jake Rogers struck out looking; McGonigle followed with a long fly ball to centre which was hauled-in for the third out and the threat had been extinguished.
But the Tigers took the lead in a somewhat unexpected way in the seventh: Torres reached on Hayes’ error at third, and then Hao-Yu Lee, pinch-hitting for Keith, smacked his first major-league home run for a 4-3 Tigers lead.
One out later, Torkelson hit a home run in his fifth consecutive game, tying the franchise record last accomplished by Marcus “Country Strong” Thames in 2008; the dinger put the Tigers up 5-3. Carpenter then hit a triple to right — it’s tough to hit triples in this bandbox of a ballpark, but there ya go — and Vierling punched a fly ball to centre which was plenty deep to score Carpenter for a 6-3 lead.
Before I forget, Montero’s final line went thusly: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K, two home runs surrendered. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible. I don’t know how to feel about it. Vote now on your phones or something, I suppose. Brant Hurter pitched a boring sixth, which is all I could ask from Hurter; Will Vest, looking to right the ship a bit, came out for the seventh and got a flyout, a groundout, and a strikeout, which is precisely what you want to see. A healthy, happy and productive Vest will do a bullpen good.
Torres then put the Tigers up 8-3: after McGonigle walked with one out in the eighth, he hit a 2-run home run to right-centre. I’d love to see him have more extra-base power this season, as it’s been a slow start for him in those regards. Would a five-run lead be enough today, though? (As it turns out: yes. Yes, it would.)
Kyle Finnegan had a mostly-uneventful eighth inning, as he only allowed a single and successfully retired the other three batters he faced. Brenan Hanifee, who was just recalled from Triple-A Toledo (see below), was brought in to pitch the ninth; he gave up a long fly ball with two outs but Javier Báez caught it close to the fence for the final out and the victory.
The Tigers have an off-day on Monday before heading to Atlanta for a three-game series there.
Workin’ on our Roster Moves
Numbers and Observances
- Coming into today’s game, Spencer Torkelson had hit a home run in four consecutive games. The last Tiger to do that was Ian Kinsler in 2016. And we all know what Torkelson did today, but I’ll leave this fact in here regardless.
- How many strikes did Keider Montero throw today? Fifty-six. So close!
- I see that Alex Cora and his coaches “got the ziggy” in Boston yesterday. I love that particular term for a manager or head coach being fired; it’s a Detroit-specific thing, as far as I can tell, and I hope it stays alive in the lexicon.
- This date in Irish history, specifically that of the Easter Rising of 1916, saw the Battle of Mount Street Bridge take place. Nearly two thousand British soldiers, who had landed at Dún Laoghaire, headed towards the bridge and were bravely fought by Irish volunteer forces. A mere handful of well-placed snipers managed to attack the invading British, killing 28 and wounding hundreds more, against only four Irish deaths in the battle.
