The Tigers went into their second of four games against the Cleveland Guardians tonight, hoping to split the series early and end their growing losing streak. They had Keider Montero on the mound, up against Parker Messick for the Guardians. After a rough series opener on Monday, Detroit definitely wanted to turn things around for the hometown crowd.
Montero got things going exactly the way the Tigers hoped he would, getting the Guardians out 1-2-3. In the home half of the inning, the Tigers did the same,
however, going three-up, three-down to end the inning quickly.
Kyle Manzardo started the second inning with a single, followed by a walk to Travis Bazzana. The Guardians love a bunt, so Angel Martinez laid down a sac bunt to advance both baserunners. A Steven Kwan sac fly then brought Manzardo home, putting the Guardians on the board first. In the bottom of the inning, Riley Greene got a one-out walk, then Spencer Torkelson hit a home run over the wall in left field. Wenceel Perez also singled, but two outs left him stranded. However, the Tigers now had the lead in the game.
Jose Ramirez got a two-out walk for Cleveland in the top of the third, but he was left stranded. In the home half, Jahmai Jones took a two-out walk as well, but much like with Cleveland, he was left stranded to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth, Manzardo got a leadoff walk, then Bazzana homered, bringing in two runs and putting the Guardians back in the lead. Kwan got a one-out walk, continuing his on-base efforts from the previous evening, but the Guardians weren’t able to add any additional runs. The game was still within one run. Riley Greene got a leadoff single to start the home half, and two outs later Hao-Yu Lee singled to put two men on base. In an effort to get Lee out at first, the catcher threw over to first, but it ended up in the field, and Greene was able to get all the way home, to tie up the game. Great work all around for everyone being on the ball with that one. Austin Hedges was charged with an error.
Lee continued to contribute with a crazy good catch and accurate throw over to first to get the first out of the inning in the fifth, in Daniel Schneemann. Dillon Dingler tried for his own highlight reel moment as a pop-up headed behind the plate but he couldn’t quite get his glove on it. The Tigers did get the next two outs, though. In the home half Matt Vierling got a leadoff walk, then with one out, Jones hit into a double play to end the inning.
Montero’s day was done after five innings, with a final line of 5.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 HR on 85 pitches. It was a fairly unremarkable outing for Montero. Could have been better, but last night showed us it also could have been worse. Tyler Holton came in and got three outs in a row. Colin Holderman came in for the Guardians in the bottom of the inning. Greene continued to be the best performer on the team with a one-out single, but the Tigers failed to bring him home, with two outs to leave him stranded.
Steven Kwan got a leadoff double to get the seventh inning started, and he advanced to third on a sac bunt by Hedges. A Brayan Rocchio groundout brought Kwan home and pushed the Guardians into the lead. They’d have to settle for just the one run, but the game was no longer tied. In the home half, Erik Sabrowski was the new pitcher for Cleveland. With one out, Zack Short walked. Two outs followed, though, so the Tigers once again left a man stranded.
A freshly returned Will Vest came in for the Tigers in the top of the eighth, and he got three outs in a row. In the bottom of the inning, the Guardians once again dipped into their bullpen for Tim Herrin, who gave up a leadoff walk to Jones. Then, with one out, Riley Greene was hit by a pitch to send him to first. That was all she wrote for Herrin who faced the minimum three batters and got yanked. Hunter Gaddis replaced him and Colt Keith got a free ball thanks to a pitch timer violation. He ended up grounding into a force out anyway, eliminating Greene. Wenceel Perez walked to load the bases. A pinch-hitting Zach McKinstry came in, and in the Tigers’ best chance of the game, he grounded out to end the inning.
Burch Smith replace Will Vest for the ninth, and gave up a leadoff single to Bazzana. A double play off the bat of Martinez eliminated him, though, and then a truly remarkable catch by Matt Vierling in center kept Steven Kwan from getting on base yet again, and ended the inning. With only a one-run deficit, the Tigers still had a chance to turn things around, but they’d have to do it against Cade Smith. With one out, Vierling singled, followed by a single to Kevin McGonigle. With two on and two out, it was up to Dingler. Alas, he was struck out to end both the inning and the game, and the gap between the top and bottom of the AL Central widens.
