After a rough day of injury news and in the wake of another messy start from Jack Flaherty, the Detroit Tigers needed to settle things down. Keider Montero was the man for the job, and he got it done with another quality start. Dillon Dingler supplied the power, and the Tigers put together a relatively calm victory on Saturday night in Comerica Park.
Keider Montero has been a godsend to a banged up back of the Tigers’ rotation. More proof will be required, but he appears a more composed and mature
pitcher this year, less prone to the bouts of poor command that have plagued him a bit in a starting role during his first two seasons as a part-time major leaguer. The Tigers needed a pretty one from him today to break out of their road trip funk.
Montero got ahead of Evan Carter and Corey Seager in the top of the first, but was fortunate that a pair of hard hit balls were run down in center and right field. Kerry Carpenter in particular did a nice job running into the gap at the wall to haul in Seager’s drive. A lineout from Josh Jung to Gleyber Torres made it a quick 1-2-3 inning for Montero.
Kevin McGonigle popped out to start the bottom half, but Gleyber Torres reached on a soft tapper toward third. Kumar Rocker was only throwing 91-93 mph out of the gate, which was interesting. Colt Keith paddled an opposite field grounder that Jung at third whiffed on, and the Tigers were in business. Riley Greene smoked a one-hopper into right field, but Ezequiel Duran in right fired home and cut down Torres at the plate with time for catcher Danny Jansen to take the ball from the first base side of home plate and swing around to apply the tag. Not a good send with the strong-armed Duran throwing and the slow Torres running.
So it was runners at first and third with two outs for Dillon Dingler. Fortunately, Rocker’s slider hung up over the plate and Dingler hit an absolute missile to left for a 3-0 lead. Rocker’s velocity started to tick up against Kerry Carpenter, and a high fastball got a pop-up to third to end the inning.
Montero continued to just pound the zone with a heavy volume of fourseamers and sinkers. A pair of quick outs, and then a really nice slider to whiff Alejandro Osuna for his first strikeout ended the top of the second.
Spencer Torkelson flew out to open the bottom half of the second, but Wenceel Pérez singled and stole second base with Jace Jung at the plate in the DH slot. Jung punched out on a slider, but that brought McGonigle to the dish and in a 3-0 count, he slapped a single back through the box to plate Pérez. 4-0 Tigers. McGonigle promptly swiped second easily on a first pitch strike to Torres. The second baseman dumped a blooper into right field, and McGonigle raced around to make it 5-0. Colt Keith bit on a pair of sliders to strike out and send this to the third inning.
Montero committed the cardinal error after getting this run support, walking Duran to start the inning. He got Josh Smith to lift a shallow fly ball to left, but then walked Danny Jansen too. A changeup got a pop out from Carter to McGonigle, and the opportunity to escape a little self-inflicted trouble was there, but Montero would have to get Corey Seager out. He fell behind 2-0, but got lucky on slider right down the middle and Seager lifted a shallow fly ball to Pérez to end the inning.
Rocker’s day was already done, and RHP Cal Quantrill took over in the bottom of the third. The veteran is pretty familiar after his many years with Cleveland. Riley Greene worked a full count, but whiffed on a cutter to start the inning. Dingler grounded out, and Carpenter whiffed over a cutter to send us to the fourth.
Gleyber Torres was out of the game, with Hao-Yu Lee taking over at second base. Torres had something on his left side tighten up on him, presumably an oblique strain. Josh Jung immediately tested him with a soft grounder and Lee took care of it. Montero carved up Joc Pederson and froze him with a sinker to strike three. A first pitch sinker on the inner half up was poorly placed to a free swinging Jake Burger, and he pulled a home run to left to make it 5-1 Tigers. Osuna grounded out to Lee to end the frame.
Meanwhile, in Toledo, Zach McKinstry was preparing for his return to action, playing right field and then moving to second base, while launching a homer.
Quantrill got Torkelson to fly out to open the bottom of the fourth, but Pérez drew a walk and Jung jumped a first cutter, lining a single to right field. McGonigle worked a full count as Quantrill tried to stay away from him. The 3-2 pitch got smoked to left center field, but Evan Carter made a nice play to get from shaded to right field all the way across to the left field wall by the vistor’s bullpen and haul it in on the warning track. Another 380 foot out from McGonigle. Seems like there have been tons of them already. Hao-Yu Lee battled into a full count in his first at-bat, but lifted a shallow flyout to center.
Duran started off the fifth with a solid single. Montero was still only at 55 pitches, pitching efficiently though not getting much swing and miss. He got ahead of Smith 1-2, but a fastball at the top of the zone was lined to left for a single, and suddenly there was a spot of bother. Dillon Dingler came on to settle down his pitcher, and Montero got Jansen to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Just like that it was two outs with a man on third and Carter lifted a routine fly ball to center to end the frame.
The Tigers started to draw a bead on Quantrill in the bottom half. Colt Keith drew a walk, and again we saw a little more aggression on the basepaths as Keith stole second. Riley Greene singled him over to third, and then Dingler popped out. Unfortunately, Carpenter swung 2-0 on a high fastball and grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Montero was still only at 64 pitches to start the sixth. Corey Seager hit another ball hard, but Pérez ran back and hauled it in on the warning track. Jung followed with a single. Montero and Dingler used Pederson’s aggression against him with a first pitch curve that was lifted to Pérez in center. Another first pitch breaking ball to Burger was popped out and Montero was through six and still only at 73 pitches.
RHP Peyton Gray was on for the Rangers in the bottom of the sixth. The 30-year-old West Michigan product has bounced around international and independent ball for years, finally reaching the major leagues this year.
Torkelson fouled off five pitches against Gray, but eventually whiffed on a slider right down the pipe. A couple of good changeups whiffed Pérez as well. Jung fouled off a ton of pitches as well in a long AB, finally got into a full count, fouled off the 10th pitch of the AB, and finally drew a walk. Jace Jung hasn’t done anything in his looks in the major leagues, but he continues to grind out really disciplined at-bats. That brought up McGonigle who had gotten a good look at everything Gray had from the on-deck circle, but Gray’s changeup is really deceptive, and he popped out on the first pitch despite clearly looking for it. On to the seventh.
Osuna grounded out, and Duran got a 3-2 count, but Montero went right after him and Duran ripped a drive to left that Riley Greene had to leap and snare for the second out. Nice play. Josh Smith flicked a little single to right, and A.J. Hinch came out to say thank you very much, going to the bullpen as Montero drew a standing ovation from the Tigers’ faithful. I’d love a bit better breaking ball command so Montero can punch a few more tickets, but he’s attacking the zone aggressively, and no one is doing enough against him to force him out of the zone. He definitely had some nice defense working behind in this one too. Good stuff, and much needed by his club. 6.2 innings, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K, for Montero on the day.
Drew Anderson came in to get the final out of the seventh against Danny Jansen. The Rangers catcher worked a full count but he got kick-changed on a check swing for strike three. Nice job. Anderson appears to be coming around.
Hao-Yu Lee flew out to center to start the bottom half. Colt Keith smoked yet another line drive for a single, but Riley Greene got a meatball and popped out for the second out. Dingler ripped a single to left center, and the Rangers threw the ball in to Seager well off of second base and the Tigers’ catcher read it all the way and stole second base on the play. Carpenter offered at a 1-0 changeup at the bottom of the zone and grounded out to end the inning. LOBster fest for Kerry in this one.
Anderson struck out Carter to start the eighth, but Seager singled, and Jung doubled him over to third. Anderson stayed chill and induced a soft tapper from Joc Pederson. Anderson checked Seager at third and recorded the out at first. Burger took a pair of ugly hacks at two high pitches, ugly enough that Skip Schumacher and the training staff came out to check on him. Anderson then locked him up with a changeup right at the top of the zone for strike three to strand both runners. Not exactly textbook against a free swinging pull hitter, but we’ll take it.
Hard-throwing RHP Gavin Collyer took over from Gray in the bottom of the eighth, quickly popping up Torkelson for the first out. Pérez chopped one over the mound and beat out an infield single for his second knock on the night. Pérez broke for second, but Jung flew out to Osuna down the left field line and Pérez had to retreat to first. McGonigle stepped in looking for his second hit of the night, while Ricky Vanasco warmed up in the Tigers bullpen with a perfect, relatively safe inning in which to debut. Pérez was looking to run again, and he promptly nabbed second base for his second steal and the fourth by the Tigers on the night. McGonigle came out of his shoes on a 2-1 cutter and came up empty. He worked a full count and then yanked a drive just foul down the right field line that got the crowd hyped for a moment. A foul tip into the glove ended the inning and it was on to the ninth.
Instead of Vanasco, Hinch decided just to stick with Anderson in a four-run game. He got a grounder from Osuna, and McGonigle made a nice backhanded play and fired to first for the out. Duran drilled a line drive out to center field, but Pérez made a nice running play on that one. Really good defense from the Detroit Tigers tonight, and we hope for more of it. Josh Smith popped out to end it, and the Tigers are back to an even .500 record.
Dillon Dingler landed the big blow on the night, while the Tigers came up empty on a plethora of chances otherwise. Still it was more than enough with Montero and Anderson posting good outings.
