Detroit — Just as the Tigers were putting the pressure on and climbing within a whiff of first place, they felt the heat. The White Sox brought it strong and swift all weekend, slugging like they plan to stay right where they are.
Close, a little closer, not close enough — that’s the summary of the Tigers’ pursuit right now. The margins may be narrow but the arms are running low, and the White Sox delivered another withering blow Sunday, pounding out a 7-5 victory to complete a sweep.
Three days ago, the Tigers trailed the White Sox by 2½ games in the AL Central and were virtually tied for a wild-card spot. After the White Sox clubbed three more home runs — by Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, Drew Romo — and seven in the series, the Tigers are 5½ out, 1½ out of the wild card. Not devastating in the middle of August, but disheartening for a team that hadn’t lost three in a row in nearly a month.
The wild card remains a realistic goal. But if the Tigers truly have designs on winning the division, they’ll have to be much better against Central foes. The White Sox (65-58) are 6-3 against the Tigers (60-64) this season and 23-13 against Central rivals. The Tigers are 13-22, by far the worst intra-division record.
They get to step out of the division for a three-game series in Pittsburgh, but nearly half of their remaining 38 games are against the White Sox, Guardians, Twins and Royals. To have a shot, they have to be better protecting their home field, and their home division. These three games were a painful wasted opportunity.
“I know it sucks,” AJ Hinch said. “Sucks for everybody. Doesn’t help us beat Pittsburgh.”
Tougher path
One thing the Tigers are very good at is moving on. But to resume moving up, they need their starting pitching to go deeper and their bullpen to find some semblance of stability. The White Sox do this to lots of opponents, but Troy Melton and Jackson Jobe were knocked around in the first two games, and opener Drew Anderson surrendered a 4-1 lead in this one.
“You can literally see they’ve been doing that all year, they have a team built around power,” Hinch said. “They take advantage of their opportunities and they’re never out of it, because of that two- or three-run home run that can flip the game. They’re a very good team and their record reflects it. … These games can go one way or another and we went the wrong direction, and now the path is a little bit harder. But it’s still there, and we’re still in the mix.”
It has been a streaky rivalry so far, each series a sweep. It still could come down to a four-game series in Chicago in September.
But in the topsy-turvy AL, with six teams — Tigers, Rangers, Orioles, Blue Jays, Guardians, Twins — clustered within a game-and-a-half of the wild card, division games practically count double. The Tigers certainly aren’t your traditional playoff contenders, flailing away early in the season, then trading away their top pitchers. Hinch has said, again and again, they need everybody to contribute. And when they run low on bodies, they have to find somebody.
The search never ends and the chase continues. Without Riley Greene for the short term because of a hamstring injury, and without Kerry Carpenter and Matt Vierling for a longer term, the Tigers keep calling on the kids. For one frenetic inning, it looked like recess at Comerica Park with the youngsters running around.
Desperation? Getting there. Inspiration? Certainly.
Telling weekend
Facing the dire possibility of getting swept, the Tigers knew they had to jump quickly. In the bottom of the second, with two on and one out, up came Brett Callahan, who entered the organization in the most unconventional way — as a 13th-round pick in 2023 out of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
On the first pitch he saw as a major-leaguer, Callahan rocketed a shot down the right-field line. Colt Keith and Zach McKinstry scored as the crowd welcomed Callahan to the show with a rousing ovation. Moments later, rookie Max Clark drove him in with single for a 3-0 lead and the frustration of the past two days seemed to lift.
Not for long. Never for long against the blistering White Sox, who lead the AL in runs, are second in slugging percentage and third in home runs. The Tigers’ pitching staff was tested and Melton and Jobe both struggled in the first two losses. On a bullpen day, the Tigers needed to score plenty to keep up.
“We’re going to need to dig a little deeper,” Hinch said after the 4-3 loss Saturday. “We’re still in the thick of everything and our team knows that. We’ve been clawing at this deficit for the better part of the season. So the threat of deflation should be zero, given the previous behavior of this group.”
While clawing out of that hole — 16 games below .500 — the Tigers have been equal parts methodical and mathematical. They play the percentages more than most, while playing the short game and long game at the same time. The trades of Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize were part of the long game, and there’s no second-guessing here. Against the heavy-hitting White Sox this season, Skubal and Mize obviously would have helped. But against the White Sox or anyone else in subsequent seasons, free agents Skubal and Mize wouldn’t have been here.
While their young prizes rise, the Tigers are trying to make do. Callahan, 24, came up specifically to provide left-handed hitting against Chicago right-handed starter Sean Burke, and then against Pittsburgh’s righty-heavy staff the following three days.
Hinch’s squad keeps hunting for advantages in the narrow margins, and usually find their share. But sometimes it comes down to the big lumber and the big swings, and the Sox swing as forcefully as anyone. This was a heavy blow on what was supposed to be a heady weekend for the Tigers, and although it’s far from fatal, it felt telling.
bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wojo: Tigers were closing in, then White Sox delivered painful socking
Reporting by Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
