Sacramento, Calif. — The Tigers came to Sacramento last August and were unceremoniously and convincingly swept by the Athletics. It triggered a run of eight losses in nine games on the way to blowing a double-digit lead in the AL Central Division.
Different year. Different group. Different outcome.
“Yeah, I like this outcome better than last year,” manager AJ Hinch said.
Still reeling from the late-night trade of ace Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Tigers, on an oppressively hot Sunday afternoon with the temperature hitting 100 degrees, completed the sweep of the Athletics, 11-0, at Sutter Health Park.
“I think we’ve done a good job of keeping our minds off all the news going on off the field,” said Kevin McGonigle. “We’re just worrying about coming in and getting our work in and playing to the best of our ability. We did a really good job of that this weekend. It’s tough losing Skub. He was a big part for me in my rookie season and did a lot of things for me. I looked up to him.
“But I still believe in these guys. We’re going to go out and we’re going to grind and we’re going to play our butts off every game.”
Did someone say don’t let the Tigers get hot?
They are 5.5 games back in the Central Division and 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race with 50 games left.
“We played a really good series in the midst of a lot of different things swirling around us,” Hinch said. “Like I told you, this group is pretty tough. We go through it game by game and we showed a lot of character. I believe in this team and they believe in themselves. We’ve had a lot to deal with over the last couple of months and we just keep chipping away at the hole we dug for ourselves.
“We took a really good step forward in this series.”
They’ve won five straight road series. They are 32-20 since June 1. And they are wearing out the scoreboard. They scored 32 runs in these three games. They scored at least eight runs in five straight games (55 total), something they haven’t done since 1996.
Insanely, that streak in 1996 came in the same calendar span — July 28 to Aug. 2.
“It was nice to see balls fly,” McGonigle said with a smile. “Especially for me. Everyone did a good job of passing the bats to the next guy behind him. Just good team at-bats this weekend.”
The Tigers on Sunday drew nine walks. Against Athletics’ lefty starter Gage Jump, they turned six walks into six runs in the first four innings.
And that started with Gleyber Torres, who walked four times and scored three runs from the leadoff spot.
“Discipline is his calling card,” Hinch said. “He’s got power and he can hit, but he is going to make you throw strikes. With him and Kevin (two walks) at the top, in either order, we make you earn it.”
Spencer Torkelson, who grew up in nearby Petaluma, Calif., and Eduardo Valencia made the A’s pay for the walks.
Torkelson started the scoring with a two-out, two-run double in the first inning. He added an RBI single in the eighth, too, going 7-for-14 with four RBIs in the series.
“He has a ton of damage potential but he’s been putting up some tough at-bats,” Hinch said. “Getting us out of the gate hot today really put pressure on them and it let Keider (Montero) settle in. It almost forced Keider to throw strikes.”
Max Clark, in his third big-league game, walked twice, singled and scored a run. Torres, besides the four walks, cashed in two with a single in a four-run fourth inning.
BOX SCORE: Tigers 11, Athletics 0
Then there was Valencia. He not only caught the shutout, but he delivered a pair of two-run doubles.
“What’s not to like,” Hinch said. “He’s continued to play a very controlled game. His emotions aren’t too high. He cares a lot. He studies a lot and I thought his catching today was excellent.”
It probably shouldn’t go unnoticed at a time when two veteran leaders have been traded — Skubal and Jake Rogers — it’s been a wave of rookies helping to ignite the charge — McGonigle, Clark, Valencia, Hao-Yu Lee and Ben Malgeri.
“I think we are more united,” Montero said through interpreter Carlos Guillen. “We’re more together and we’re just taking it day-by-day just going out and trying to win. We’re in this chase now for a spot in the playoffs. That’s what we are focused on and we are still all in this together.”
Mixing changeups and sliders with firm, 94-mph sinkers and four-seamers, he cruised through six scoreless innings, allowing two hits with just one runner getting into scoring position.
“He moved the ball around a lot,” Hinch said. “It was a tough day to pitch, despite the fact that we didn’t give up any runs. I think those guys had a to grind a little bit with the heat and the elements and even the delay with the umpire.”
Montero didn’t miss a beat after home plate umpire Jeremie Rehak had to leave the game with one out in the fifth after taking a foul ball square off his mask. After a lengthy delay, in which the entire team came off the field and sat in the cooler confines of the dugout, he came back out, hit Henry Bolte with the first pitch he threw, then finished that inning and spun a clean, two-strikeout sixth.
With Skubal gone, and potentially Casey Mize to follow, Montero is moving up a few rungs in the rotation. His reliever days might be over for now.
“I would’ve loved for Tarik to stay,” Montero said. “But at the end of the day, it is not our decision. We can only control what we do between the lines. But he meant a lot to me. He was like a mentor. But it doesn’t matter what my role is, I am always going to attack and do my best.”
Asked if he was scoreboard watching or checking the standings every day, McGonigle gave a firm no.
“Every game matters,” he said. “No matter what the standings are. That doesn’t really matter at all to me. I am just coming out and playing 100 percent every day and trying to do everything I can to help the team. That’s always going to be my mindset.”
It’s working.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Keider Montero cruises as Tigers steamroll Athletics to complete sweep
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Chris McCosky, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
