Curtis Granderson talks home runs and playoff focus for Tigers
Former Tigers OF Curtis Granderson breaks down one of his most memorable hits, shares optimal mentality to have in playoffs on “Days of Roar” podcast.
The Detroit Tigers lost to the Chicago Cubs, 6-1, on Saturday, June 7.The Cubs hit five home runs to even the three-game series at a game apiece.
The Chicago Cubs hit five home runs: Seiya Suzuki in the first and eighth innings, Michael Busch in the fifth, Pete Crow-Armstrong in the seventh and Matt Shaw in the seventh.
Those five homers produced six runs.
The Detroit Tigers stood little chance Saturday, June 7, at Comerica Park, losing 6-1. The Cubs’ offense looked locked in from the first pitch, ready to attack breaking and offspeed pitches, whereas the Tigers’ offense appeared lifeless for most of the game, despite six hits and two walks.
Although the Tigers (42-24) find ways to win on most days, the offense has slumped over the past 21 games, dating back to May 16. Entering Saturday, the Tigers ranked 25th in batting average (.228) and 24th in OPS (.673) among the 30 MLB teams during that stretch, which is a significant decline from hitting .261 with a .758 OPS over their first 44 games.
The struggles continued in Saturday’s game.
The lone run for the Tigers came in the fifth inning, when Zach McKinstry hit a triple off right-hander Jameson Taillon and scored on a bouncing grounder to the hot corner, thanks to his aggressiveness on the bases.
That cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Tigers missed scoring opportunities early.
In the first inning, the Tigers stranded Gleyber Torres on second base after a single when Kerry Carpenter grounded out and Riley Greene struck out swinging. In the fourth, Torres delivered another single, but the Tigers stranded him again, as Carpenter flew out, Greene struck out swinging and Spencer Torkelson flew out.
They also missed a scoring opportunity late.
The Tigers had runners on the corners with one out the eighth inning, thanks to back-to-back singles from Jahmai Jones and Parker Meadows, but Torres popped out against left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar and Colt Keith lined out against right-handed reliever Daniel Palencia.
Greene finished 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, bringing his MLB-leading total to 85.
Taillon, who owns a 3.54 ERA in 13 starts, allowed one run on three hits and one walk with five strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 84 pitches. A pair of relievers were responsible for three hits and one walk, but the Tigers didn’t score in the final two innings.
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Five home runs
The Tigers implemented their opener-bulk reliever pitching strategy.
Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton started and completed 1⅓ innings, then right-handed starter Keider Montero entered out of the bullpen for the next 5⅔ innings, allowing four runs on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts.
The Cubs scored five runs off Holton and Montero.
In the first, Suzuki hit Holton’s changeup at the bottom of the strike zone for a solo home run. In the fifth, Busch destroyed Montero’s first-pitch changeup — a pitch call catcher Jake Rogers regretted, even though Montero left the ball over the middle of the zone — for a two-run home run.
The Cubs took a 3-0 lead with their first two homers.
In the seventh, Crow-Armstrong hit Montero’s curveball for a solo home run, and Shaw hit Montero’s slider for a solo homer. Both pitches were located at the bottom of the zone.
Right-handed reliever Chase Lee replaced Montero in the eighth inning. He allowed Suzuki’s second homer of the game on a down-and-in sweeper for another solo shot.
The final three homers made it 6-1.
All five home runs occurred on non-fastballs.
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