The News’ Tony Paul gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 5-3 victory over the Yankees on Monday:
One thing I loved
In the battle of 1-1s, Spencer Torkelson was 1A.
Torkelson got the better of Yankees starter Gerrit Cole his first two times up, with a leadoff double in the second inning, and then a two-out RBI single to make it 2-1 in the third inning. More importantly, that two-out single kept the inning alive for Colt Keith to single and make it 3-1 as the Tigers (34-44) won their fourth straight.
It’s been tough sledding for Torkelson most of the season, and especially lately, as he was batting .154 with a .654 OPS in the month of June through Friday. But the last three games, he’s shown some signs of finding some timing. Torkelson has five hits over his last three games.
Torkelson was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2020, and Cole was the No. 1 overall pick in 2011.
Cole came into Monday night’s game with a 1.84 ERA in 14 career starts against the Tigers, but he didn’t make it out of the fifth inning Monday. The Tigers beat him up for five runs on nine hits, four for extra bases.
(One more thing I loved Monday: Dirt cam!)
One thing I didn’t
Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler almost certainly isn’t going to the start the All-Star Game for the American League, and that’s a damn shame. He’s had a dynamite first half, but he still lags well behind in the first phase of fan voting released Monday by MLB.
The Athletics’ Shea Langeliers leads the way with more than 1.4 million votes, while the Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk is running second with over 830,000 votes despite missing more than two months with a thumb injury. The top two in the first phase of fan voting advance to the second phase of fan voting, to determine the game’s starter. The first phase of fan voting ends Thursday, and Dingler has less than 500,000 votes.
Dingler deserves to be the first Tigers catcher to start an All-Star Game since Alex Avila in 2011, but that’s the way it goes when you leave it up to the fans. Dingler, the best all-round catcher in 2026, offensively and defensively, still will assuredly be with the AL team in Philadelphia for the Midsummer Classic on July 14.
Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle is running fifth at his position, and Riley Greene is ninth among AL outfielders.
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
Spencer Torkelson (11)
Kevin McGonigle (21)
Riley Greene (19)
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
Framber Valdez (3)
Tigers’ uniform tracker
Next Tigers game
Game 79: Yankees at Tigers, 6:40 Tuesday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Yesterday’s Tigers recap
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 78: 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
By Tony Paul, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
