The Tigers collected a rare W tonight in their 10-9 win over the Rays.
It’s no secret that the Tigers have had a rough go of it over the past month. They just finished being swept by the White Sox, and the last thing anyone wanted to do after that was face the top team in the AL East. But the Tigers don’t get to make their own schedule, and there was no getting around it. They had Ty Madden on the mound to start the game, up against Griffin Jax for the Rays. The Rays have been inconsistent in the last few
weeks, while they won against the Angels (who so recently swept the Tigers), they also got swept in a three-game series against the Orioles, so it’s anyone’s guess which version of the Rays Detroit would see to start the week.
Kevin McGonigle wasted no time getting things underway with a leadoff single, followed by a single from Dillon Dingler. A one-out double from Riley Greene brought both runners in to put the Tigers on the board early.
Yandy Diaz started the home half with a single, but three outs followed to keep the Tigers in the lead.
With two outs in the top of the second, Zach McKinstry singled, but the Tigers weren’t able to convert the baserunner because McKinstry got caught stealing second to end the inning. The Rays went 1-2-3 in the home half.
Things broke wide open for the Tigers in the third. McGonigle got a leadoff walk, then Dingler homered to bring him home. Kerry Carpenter followed that with a home run of his own. Then, for the first time since 2020, the Tigers went back-to-back-to-back as Riley Greene homered as well. At the end of the inning, the Tigers were up 6-0.
In the home half, the Rays lost shortstop Taylor Walls for undisclosed reasons, who was replaced by Oliver Dunn and also went 1-2-3.
The Tigers had their first three-up, three-down inning to start the fourth. Richie Palacios got a one-out walk in the home half, then one out later Junior Caminero hit a home run. Chandler Simpson followed that with a single, and Simpson is a serious steal risk. Simpson did indeed steal second on a wild pitch from Madden, but his helmet came off as he approached the bag and he was hit in the face when it bounced. He came up bleeding, and that was it for him in the game. One angle actually made it look like he lost a tooth. Ryan Vilade replaced him on the basepaths. Victor Mesa Jr walked, and that was it for Madden. Tyler Holton replaced Madden in a direct Ty-for-Ty swap. Holton got the final two outs of the inning.
To get the fifth going, Dingler got his second dinger of the night against new pitcher Trevor Martin. It’s the first time Dingler has ever had a multi-home run game.
With one out, Riley Greene singled, and then Spencer Torkelson got a free bag after getting nailed in the elbow with a pitch. Colt Keith grounded into a force out, eliminating Torkelson, and then Keith stole second, but the Tigers ultimately left two stranded. With one out in the home half, Diaz singled. The Tigers, however, turned a gorgeous double play to end the inning.
Hao-Yu Lee homered to start the sixth, and an overzealous Tigers fan in the stands might have nabbed it a wee bit early, but it was ruled a home run nevertheless. I want to suggest that the Tigers might want to hold onto a few of these home runs, but what the heck, let’s just go for it. Three outs followed the home run. Brenan Hanifee was the new pitcher for the home half, and he gave up a leadoff walk to Palacios. Caminero then made an ABS challenge to get himself a free walk as well. Ryan Vilade came in and homered, and suddenly the Tigers’ lead wasn’t looking as impressive anymore. Hanifee was done, replaced by Drew Sommers. He gave up a one-out walk to Cedric Mullins and collected the second out of the inning, but his command was all over the place and A.J. Hinch pulled him after facing the minimum three batters. With Kyle Finnegan on the mound, the Tigers did manage to get themselves out of the jam with limited damage and their lead intact.
Carpenter got a leadoff single to start the seventh. Greene walked to put two on. Three outs followed though, leaving the runners stranded. Yandy Diaz singled to start the bottom of the seventh. Palacios then grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Cole Sulser was the new Rays pitcher for the eighth. Lee singled, and then advanced to second on a sac bunt from McKinstry. With two outs, Dingler doubled, bringing Lee home and giving the Tigers another insurance run. Carpenter then doubled right down the third base line to score Dingler. A Greene strikeout ended the inning, but the Tigers had widened the gap. Beau Brieske came in for the home half of the inning and gave up a leadoff walk to Caminero. With one out, Mesa Jr. walked as well. Mullins walked to load the bases and that was it for Brieske. Will Vest came in and gave up a double to Nick Fortes, scoring two runs. A Ben Williamson singled scored two more runs, and suddenly that big lead was not looking nearly big enough as the Rays pulled within one. Diaz reached on a fielder’s choice that left both baserunners safe thanks to some ugly fielding from Lee, who was charged with an error for his bobble. A Jonathan Aranda groundout advanced the runners. By some miracle the Tigers made it out of the inning still clinging to the lead.
Garrett Cleavinger was on for the Rays in the ninth. With one out and an ABS challenge overturn for both teams, a pinch-hitting Jahmai Jones walked. The Tigers failed to add onto their lead in the ninth, so they would need their bullpen to keep the Rays from scoring any additional runs. Will Vest would stay in for the ninth and he managed to get the job done, getting the side out in order and holding onto the lead by the skin of their teeth.
