Detroit — Blink twice and look where they are. Blink again and see who just left town, and who’s coming.
By whatever means necessary, the Tigers have scratched their way into a playoff spot (for the moment), and by Sunday they could be atop the division. They beat the Guardians 3-0 Thursday to win the series and now welcome the first-place White Sox for three games this weekend.
At 60-61, the Tigers are in a virtual tie for a wild-card berth, 2.5 games behind the White Sox. The Tigers beat the bothersome Guardians by unconventional means with unconventional men, which works just the same. When digging out of a gigantic hole — 16 games under .500, 11.5 games out of first — everyone grabs a shovel. To claw all the way back, this is how you have to do it sometimes, and this is who has to do it.
Here was Keider Montero — ostensibly the fourth or fifth starter but far more valuable than that — hurling a shutout without recording a strikeout. Including the relievers, the Tigers somehow didn’t record a single strikeout, hard to fathom in a victory.
Here was rookie backup catcher Eduardo Valencia, an eight-year minor-leaguer, batting cleanup and clobbering a sixth-inning home run off Guardians sharp rookie Parker Massick. Valencia is from, oddly enough, Valencia, Venezuela, and he and fellow Venezuelan Montero are long-time buddies, combining to fuel a clutch victory.
Here was rookie backup rightfielder Ben Malgeri making running catches and timely throws all game. Here was Spencer Torkelson continuing his hitting tear, while also exhibiting nifty footwork to barely beat Jo Adell to the bag on a throw from catcher Dillon Dingler.
That groundout to lead off the seventh allowed AJ Hinch to turn over a clean slate to Tyler Holton and the bullpen, which did the job. It allowed Montero to leave the mound to a rousing ovation from the Comerica Park crowd of 31,777, but only after everyone winced through a replay review that showed Torkelson toe-touched the base with perhaps a millimeter to spare.
“I kept saying, please be out, please be out, please be out,” said Montero, who allowed three hits and one walk in 6.1 innings, while lowering his ERA to 3.22.
The Tigers don’t have to do much pleading these days because contributors are popping up everywhere, precisely when needed. With Riley Greene out a week or so with a hamstring strain, and Kerry Carpenter and Matt Vierling still sidelined, Hinch improvised by putting the ever-present, effervescent Javy Báez in leftfield. That necessitated a lineup shuffle, with Valencia hitting fourth, ready again. In 44 at bats this season, he has five home runs, a .386 batting average and a 1.254 OPS.
The only other time Valencia hit cleanup was two weeks ago against the Athletics, and he collected two doubles and four RBIs.
“He’s contributed in a lot of ways in short order,” said Hinch, who used Valencia at DH in this one. “He’s calm, which is really, really good to see. The methodical way he goes about his business, we haven’t seen him wowed or overwhelmed.”
When the Tigers and Guardians clash, it’s always more methodical than magical. They’ve been division rivals and playoff rivals for several years now, and while Cleveland’s identity — strong pitching, good defense and baserunning — has been established, the Tigers are reestablishing theirs.
Part of it is youthful athleticism and enthusiasm, after Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize departed at the trade deadline. It starts with the starting pitching, and as two stars exited, two fresh arms returned healthy. Troy Melton has the best ERA (1.46) in the majors but hasn’t thrown enough innings yet to be listed as the leader. Jackson Jobe was terrific in his first start back from Tommy John surgery. Now he gets tossed on the mound Friday in the middle of a playoff chase. In the clubhouse, his smile went ear to ear.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Jobe, 24, said. “I’ve been counting down the days, putting in a ton of work. I feel good. I feel confident. I feel healthy, finally. Excited to go out tomorrow and have fun.”
Don’t mistake their dutiful, one-game-at-a-time demeanor for dispassion. In baseball parlance, they’re having a ball turning themselves around. In the clubhouse, Kevin McGonigle slapped Montero on the back and playfully yelled, “You need more strikeouts!”
The Tigers collected lots of strikeouts with Skubal and Mize but there are plenty of ways to win games (and lose games). The weakness has been the bullpen, no one’s hiding that. No one’s sweating it either, because there’s almost always a bounceback after a letdown.
Holton has been superb, allowing two earned runs in his last 15 outings. Kenley Jansen has struggled with his command but retired the Guardians on three ninth-inning flyouts Thursday. The Tigers’ team ERA of 3.47 is second in the majors behind the Yankees, and the bullpen ranks sixth. To be honest, the relievers haven’t been nearly as consistent as the numbers suggest, and it remains the No. 1 concern and fan complaint.
“The whole thing with bullpens is, we have capable guys,” Hinch said. “Unfortunately for them, the only time they really get noticed is when it’s a rough time. It’s just part of the job description, and the way emotions come at the end of games, the relievers have to wear it.”
And bear it. Through it all, the Tigers’ equilibrium hasn’t varied much, even from those May days when they were 22-38, a record they’re surely sick of hearing about. Their only response has come on the field, now 38-23 since June 1.
“Man, have we been on a rollercoaster,” Hinch said. “I’m very proud, because we come ready to play every day. You don’t see a team that pouts, you don’t see a team that sulks, you don’t see a team that quits. You don’t see a team that gets too enamored with the noise around us, on positive and negative days. It’s been a steep climb, and we’re not at the peak of the mountain yet. But we’re loving every minute of this.”
To get from there to here, everyone has been asked to pitch in, from starters to relievers, from hitters to bench guys. And yet all they’ve really done is get back to even, with a clear shot at the top of the division. The Tigers had lost six straight to the Guardians and won two of there. They’re 3-3 against the White Sox, who have been scuffling of late.
It’s all still there for the taking. Just like the Tigers always figured it would be, if not anywhere close to how they planned it.
Bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
@bobwojnowski
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wojo: Tigers’ remarkable climb continues, with first place in sight
Reporting by Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
