Detroit — The News’ Tony Paul gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 10-9 win over the Royals on Thursday:
One thing I loved
The Tigers’ streak of starting pitchers allowing one run or fewer came to an end Thursday, even though Keider Montero was decent enough in working into the sixth inning.
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ last seven starts, a span in which the rotation has a 1.88 ERA.
Of course, the starters have had a little help from their friends, like third baseman Kevin McGonigle, who showed off his $150-million arm to start things off in the series finale. (Matt Vierling in center field and Riley Greene in left field also had nice defensive plays Thursday.)
All this fine work by the rotation, which figured to be a big strength in 2026, has come while Justin Verlander, back with the Tigers on a one-year, $13-million deal, remains on the injured list with left hip inflammation. There’s still no timetable for Verlander’s return, manager AJ Hinch said Wednesday.
One thing I didn’t
This week, the Tigers got the better of the Royals, but Jac got the better of Joey.
The Tigers had two men thrown out at home plate during the series against the Royals, and probably should’ve had a third if not for a magical hand fake by Javier Báez in Wednesday’s game. All three sends by Tigers third-base coach Joey Cora were aggressive, perhaps overly so, as they all were beaten to home by the ball by a wide margin, including Dillon Dingler in getting thrown out in the fourth inning Thursday.
Of course, give props to Royals right fielder Joe Castiglione, who threw absolute seeds on all three of them, including a 96-mph bullet to get Dingler on Thursday. Wednesday and Thursday’s were Castiglione’s first assists of the season. The Tigers still went on to win both games, of course, in extending their winning streak to six, so in the end, no harm, no foul.
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
Dillon Dingler (5)
Matt Vierling
Spencer Torkelson (3)
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
Riley Greene (2)
Tigers’ uniform tracker
Traditional home whites: 7-1
Alternate home oranges: 1-0
Traditional road grays: 2-5
Alternate road blues: 0-3
Tigers’ ABS tracker
Hitter challenges: 12-for-25 (48%)
Catcher/pitcher challenges: 12-for-14 (85.7%)
Next Tigers game
Game 20: Tigers at Red Sox, 7:15 Friday, Apple TV, 97.1
ICYMI: Yesterday’s Tigers recap
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 19: One thing I loved, one thing I didn’t
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
