The News’ Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 6-2 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday:
One thing I loved
To borrow from one Larry David, that two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning was pretty, pretty good. And it saved what might’ve otherwise been a quietly bad offensive night for Detroit.
Because entering that inning, absent Colt Keith’s two-run homer in the bottom of the first, Detroit had managed two hits and not much else on offense. But sometimes all it takes is a trickle to start eventually breaking the dam. Against the Athletics on Tuesday, it began with Zach McKinstry working a two-out walk.
Then Spencer Torkelson ripped a single back up the middle and McKinstry advanced to third. Then manager AJ Hinch pinch hit Ben Malgeri for James Outman, and the chess move panned out. Malgeri delivered an RBI double — make sure to watch the video of it below — moving Torkelson to third and easily scoring McKinstry.
Then Matt Vierling doubled, scoring Malgeri and Torkelson as Detroit opened up a 5-1 lead, quickly becoming 6-1 on a Kevin McGonigle single that scored Vierling.
It’s the sort of inning and rally that Detroit has sorely lacked for many stretches this season, when it rode strong starting pitching and cobbled together two or three runs but couldn’t break through to bigger offensive performances. It led them, in part, to many of these close, late losses.
But not on Tuesday night, as a string of hits — all with two outs, remember — powered Detroit from a 2-1 lead to a 6-1 lead and helped put the game to bed. Detroit wouldn’t need to sweat out another one.
Honorable mention: McGonigle made MLB history on Tuesday night — something we glancingly mentioned on Sunday — reaching base twice for the 53rd time before the All Star break. And that’s not a rookie record, but an MLB record, surpassing a mark set by Aaron Judge in 2017.
But it bears repeating at yet another opportunity just how good he is offensively. It’s not flashy and he’s not some cure-all for Detroit, but he’s been elite at his leadoff role and is such a reliable bat and presence in the lineup.
One thing I didn’t
It’s been a wonky return for Tarik Skubal since his elbow surgery, with good stuff (that most recent start against the Yankees), mixed results (a nine-strikeout loss), and a few specific moments he’d definitely like back (three home runs in an earlier game vs. New York).
And a solo home run to lead off the third inning on Tuesday evening in a close game counts as one of those blemishes.
Sitting on a 3-1 count against Henry Bolte, Skubal left a slider middle-middle that the outfielder knocked out of Comerica Park, 411 feet into the stands. Detroit held a 2-1 lead, still, but Skubal has now given up a home run in each of his first five starts since returning from the injured list, including that three-homer nightmare a few weeks back.
However, he looked very much like Cy Young-winning Skubal against the Yankees last week and he was largely quite good on Tuesday as Detroit beat the Athletics and Skubal picked up the win.
It’s his second in a row as he went five innings, gave up five hits and the one earned run while walking two and striking out nine. The stuff is there, he’s just not quite dialed in, evidently.
It’s not reasonable to expect midseason form from a pitcher returning from an elbow surgery, but Skubal demands much from himself, and definitely better than these mistakes that opposing hitters have punished of late.
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
Colt Keith (11)
Tarik Skubal (6)
Matt Vierling (9)
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
Kevin McGonigle (27)
Next Tigers game
Game 92: Athletics at Tigers, 6:40 Wednesday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Sunday’s Tigers recap
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 91: One thing I loved, one thing I didn’t
Reporting by Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
