Just terrible.
After a wild doubleheader yesterday with split results, the Tigers were hoping to take the rubber match on getaway day. On the mound for the Tigers was Dietrich Enns, and the Nationals turned to Jake Irvin. Enns had a tremendous first outing with the Tigers, so expectations were somewhat elevated.
In the top of the first the Tigers got things going right away. Colt Keith took a leadoff walk, then Gleyber Torres followed him with a single. Then, with two outs, Spencer Torkelson hit a three-run homer to dead center.
Zach McKinstry followed with a single, but a groundout ended the inning. While a three-run lead in the first might had felt like a solid start, it very quickly unraveled for the Tigers. CJ Abrams took a leadoff walk. James Wood then singled. With one out Nathaniel Lowe walked to load the bases. An Alex Call single then scored two runs. And right on the heels of that Paul DeJong homered to score three runs. Riley Adams got a two-out single, but no additional runs scored. However the Nationals were up 5-3 at the end of the first.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the second. In the home half, Wood hit a one-out solo home run. Two outs followed, but the Nationals continued to widen the gap.
Gleyber Torres got a leadoff walk in the top of the third, but three consecutive outs left him stranded. Alex Call started the home half with a ground-rule double. But three runs wrapped up the inning scoreless.
In the top of the fourth, the Tigers were three-up, three-down. With one out in the home half, CJ Abrams got a single, then almost immediately stole second. Then Wood singled to score Abrams, but got thrown out at second himself trying to leg out an extra base. At the end of four the Nationals were up 7-3.
Top of the fifth was another lacklustre inning for the Tigers, without a baserunner. In the bottom of the inning, Lowe reached on a fielding error by McKinstry. That was the end of the night for Enns, who was replaced by Brenan Hanifee. Enns’ final line for the night was 4.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR on 83 pitches (including what happens next). Woof. Alex Call reached on a fielder’s choice, and while Lowe should have been out at second, Baez mishandled the ball, and everyone was safe. A wild pitch allowed both baserunners to advance, then Brady House singled to score two runs. Riley Adams then reached on a fielding error by McKinstry. Two outs followed, but with three errors in the inning, the Tigers really had no one to blame but themselves here.
Riley Greene took a one-out walk in the top of the sixth, but was then eliminated by a force out off the bat of Spencer Torkelson. A lineout then ended the inning. Bailey Horn was next out of the Tigers’ bullpen and gave up back-to-back singles to Wood and Amed Rosario. Nathanial Lowe grounded into a double play, and a groundout ended the inning.
Cole Henry replaced Irvin after six innings. Parker Meadows got a one-out single, then Colt Keith got a two-out single, moving Meadows to third. A Gleyber Torres single then brought Meadows home. Wenceel Perez followed that up with a single to score Keith.
That was it for Henry, who was replaced by Jose A. Ferrer, who got the final out of the inning, but the Tigers did gain two runs, putting the score at 9-5. Carlos Hernández was out of the Tigers’ pen in the home half, and gave up a two-out walk to Riley Adams and a single to Jacob Young, but then pitched out of the jam.
Brad Lord came in for the Nats in the eighth. With one out, McKinstry was hit by a pitch, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Dillon Dingler walked, followed by a Meadows singlet that scored McKinstry. Baez then hit a groundout that scored Dingler. They’d have to settle for the two runs, but it brought them much closer to tying the game.
James Wood got a leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth. A wild pitch allowed him to advance to second. Then, a pinch-hitting Luis Garcia Jr. singled, bringing Wood home. Garcia stole second. An Alex Call single scored Garcia. Will Vest came in to get the final two outs of the inning and stop the bleeding but the score was 11-7.
Kyle Finnegan came in for the ninth to finish off the Tigers, and he did just that, getting the Tigers out in order.