Should Detroit Tigers call up MLB’s No. 2 prospect Kevin McGonigle?
On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold invites Chris Brown of “Tigers Minor League Report” to debate when the Tigers should call up their No. 1 prospect.
The Detroit Tigers‘ offense bailed out their starter Jack Flaherty, who flailed through five tough innings, but the Kansas City Royals’ offense was ultimately too much to handle.
Despite coming back from a five-run deficit, the Tigers dropped their last game of the series to the Royals with 10-8 loss on Sunday, Aug. 24, at Comerica Park in Detroit.
The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Tigers, who now head to Sacramento to start a three-game series against the Athletics on Monday, Aug. 25.
It was a loss that showcased some of the best facets of the offense, namely good baserunning and tenacity at the plate. But it also showed some of the biggest problems facing the pitching staff, with starter Jack Flaherty pitching one of his worst games of the year and the bullpen unable to preserve a hard-earned lead.
Flaherty struggles through five innings
Outside of the third inning, Flaherty pitched rather effectively.
But that third inning had a game’s worth of big hits for the Royals, saddling Flaherty with another blow-up start.
He gave up his first run of the game in the third inning off a two-out RBI double from Royals right fielder Mike Yastrzemski. The hit split the gap in left-center field, scoring catcher Luke Maile (who reached one at-bat earlier on a single) from first base. Yastrzemski then scored from second on an RBI single between shortstop and third base from Bobby Witt Jr., who recorded at least one RBI in all three games against the Tigers.
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino then crushed a 429-foot home run over the right-field fence, giving the Royals a 4-1 lead. The fifth run came courtesy of designated hitter Salvador Perez, who drove in third baseman Maikel Garcia with an RBI double, and the sixth run came off an Adam Frazier double that drove in Perez from second. It amounted to six runs on seven straight hits — all with two outs in the inning.
“What looked like a simple single on a 1-0 pitch just turned into hit after hit after hit,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “They pieced together hard-hit balls that turned into hits and damage, and it was relentless.”
Flaherty bounced back in the fourth and the fifth innings, giving up no runs and only one hit in both, but allowed two hits to lead off the sixth inning before exiting the game. Both of those runs scored on a Kyle Isbel single against Tigers reliever Tyler Holton in the next at-bat, closing the book on Flaherty and tying his season-high with eight earned runs in five innings pitched.
“We scored eight runs, that should be a win,” said Flaherty after the game. “I’ve just gotta do a better job.”
Tigers bats come alive in middle innings
Down 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers started their first comeback of the afternoon. A one-out walk from left fielder Riley Greene was followed by a Dillon Dingler single, putting runners on first and second base. Zach McKinstry was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases for right fielder Jahmai Jones, who cleared the bases with a double to center field making the score 6-4.
“No one needs to go out and hit the five-run homer, no one needs to try to get it all back immediately,” said Jones. “When we’re out in the dugout, out on the field, every person trusts the guy next to him to get the job done.”
Consecutive strikeouts from shortstop Trey Sweeney and second baseman Javier Báez ended the inning, but not before the Tigers clawed back to a two-run deficit.
That became a one-run deficit one inning later when center fielder Wenceel Pérez led off the fifth inning with a solo home run to right field, his 11th of the season. Designated hitter Kerry Carpenter followed that with a single dumped into right field, a soft hit that knocked Lugo out of the game.
With two outs and lefty reliever Angel Zerpa pitching, Dingler tied the game with a double to left-center field, scoring Greene from first base. It was a hit reminiscent of the night before, when catcher Jake Rogers’ RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning score Zach McKinstry from first base.
McKinstry did the clutch hitting in this game, however, giving the Tigers a 7-6 lead by driving in Dingler from second with a two-out flared single that glanced off the glove of Garcia at third base.
Tork and Greene hit bombs
Down 10-7 in the bottom of the seventh, first baseman Spencer Torkelson blasted a solo home run, marking his 28th home run of the season. He’s now three home runs away from matching his career high, set in 2023. Greene was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, putting the tying run at the plate with one out, but a hard lineout from Dingler and a long flyout from McKinstry ended that opportunity.
Greene smoked a home run on the first pitch he saw from Royals starter Seth Lugo in the bottom of the second inning, giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead and Greene his 31st home run of the season. The home run also gave Greene his 95th RBI of the season, keeping him in second place among American Leaguers behind Seattle’s Cal Raleigh (102).
More bullpen struggles
With the Tigers holding a 7-6 lead, Holton came into the game with two runners on and immediately allowed one to score on the Isbel single. A poor throw from Greene allowed Isbel to advance to second base, where he would eventually score two batters later on a wild pitch after moving up to third on a sacrifice bunt.
Now with a 9-7 lead, the Royals made it 10-7 on a seventh-inning solo home run from Garcia that came off reliever Brenan Hanifee’s first pitch of the game. Hanifee then allowed the next three batters on base, one on a hit-by-pitch to Perez, one on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Frazier and the third on a walk to Jonathan India, though none of the runners crossed the plate after Hanifee got the last two batters out on groundouts.
Relievers Tommy Kahnle and Rafael Montero, who have struggled in recent outings, pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively — though Montero walked two batters in his one inning pitched.
The Tigers return to action on Monday against the Athletics, with lefty ace Tarik Skubal (11-3) getting the nod against righty J.T. Ginn (2-5).
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
Next up: Athletics
Matchup: Tigers (77-54) vs. Athletics (66-63), series opener.
First pitch: 10:05 p.m. Monday, Aug. 25; Sutter Health Park, Sacramento.
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Probable pitchers: Tigers — LHP Tarik Skubal (11-3, 2.32 ERA); Athletics — RHP J.T. Ginn (2-5, 4.95 ERA).