Tigers 2, Athletics 1: Take the Gift

Tigers eke out a win thanks to incredibly sloppy play from the Athletics

The Tigers and the Oakland (for a few more weeks, anyway) Athletics squared off for game two of a three-game set by the bay. Last night was a 3.5 hour marathon game, finally ending in the 13th with a Detroit loss. Both teams emptied their benches and bullpens, only to turn around and play a day game. Cobbling together pitching today was going to be a struggle for both teams.

Oakland started lefty Brady Basso, who they recalled from the minors before the game. He’s only had a few relief appearances this season, but was a regular starter this time out. Matt Vierling struck out but Andy Ibanez smoked a hard single to get things going. He stole 2nd on a pitch in the dirt and advanced to third as the result of a grounder from Greene. Unfortunately, Justyn-Henry Malloy gave a ball a ride but not far enough, flying out harmlessly to end the threat.

The Tigers countered the A’s opener with one of their own, Brenan Hanifee. He only faced three batters, allowing a single to the red-hot Brent Rooker. Brant Hurter, the originally listed starter, interestingly came on to get the final out of the first, which he did without issue.

After a pretty quiet 2nd for both teams, the Tigers opened up the third with a Dillon Dingler bloop double that just kind of…died in right field. Parker Meadows worked a walk, then Vierling grounded out to third; the A’s got the lead runner but no more. Of course, nothing came of it as Ibanez struck out and Riley lined out. It really seems like the Tigers cannot get key hits with runners in scoring position lately. Of course, the bats have been pretty cold in general, so that follows.

Hurter gave up a deep double to Lawrence Butler that Vierling made a nifty snag on to prevent it from becoming a triple. Hurter rebounded to get the final out, but wasn’t looking particularly comfortable out there.

On the flip side, Basso had settled in, retiring nine straight.

Things got hairy in the bottom of the 5th. Zack Gelof singled and stole 2nd. He advanced on a deep fly out, then scored on a Kyle McCann hit that Colt Keith ole’d with the infield drawn in. It was…not great. However, Dingler made a highlight snag in foul territory to get the 2nd out and Hurter rebounded to end the inning, limiting the damage to a single run.

Tigers finally got on base again in the 6th, when Vierling led off with a single. Two straight flyouts and a strikeout meant Matt was left stranded. A number of Tigers are slumping with the bats right now, and a few of the youngsters just haven’t done much hitting at all since they came up.

The A’s went to their bullpen, bringing in T.J. McFarland. Keith led off the 7th with a single, the 4th Tigers hit of the day. Tork grounded out to third, but the relay throw to 2nd base appeared to be dropped instantly. The ump called Keith out, but the Tigers were confident and challenged it. After a short review, the ruling was changed to an E4 and both runners were safe. Instead of a double play and nobody on, Tigers were gifted a scoring chance. Jake Rogers pinch-hit for McKinstry and worked a walk, loading the bases. Dingler hit a grounder that was a tailor-made double play, but another poor exchange at 2nd meant Dingler had time to beat the throw at first; he was safe, there were still two on, and the game was tied 1-1.

The A’s brought in Michel Otañez to try to escape the jam, while the Tigers pinch-ran Ryan Kreidler for Dingler. Meadows hit a shallow fly ball which froze Daz Cameron initially and he then had to slide coming in to make the catch; the misplay allowed Torkelson to score from third. Kreidler caught the A’s napping and stole 2nd easily to put himself into scoring position. Vierling then drew a 4-pitch walk. Jace Jung pinch-hit for Ibanez but struck out to end the inning. 2-1 Tigers, mainly thanks to some poor A’s defense.

Hurter’s day was done after 5.1 innings of 1-run ball. Another fantastic outing. Ricky Vanasco relieved him and quickly dispatched the A’s in the 7th.

With one out, Malloy got an impressive double deep to the track in left center field. The squander would not be denied, though, as Keith struck out and Tork popped out, slamming his bat in frustration. Tork on this road trip through the 8th inning: 1-21, 2 walks, 9Ks. Tigers really will have to look at getting a different 1B for next season or at least building some alternatives into the roster, because he’s not cutting it.

Sean Guenther had the bottom of the 8th and quickly retired the first two batters. Rooker hit a sharp ground ball right at Jung…who just whiffed on it. A lot of defensive fails on both teams today. Guenther shook it off to get out of the inning, preserving the lead. Like Hurter, he’s been a breath of fresh air in the bullpen.

Kreidler worked a walk in the top of the 9th. With two out, he got caught stealing…except that the throw clipped him a bit and A’s second baseman Gelof dropped the ball, allowing Kreidler to scoot in safely. Yet another wild gaffe, which was immediately followed by a wild pitch, getting Kreidler over to third. Didn’t matter though, as Vierling struck out on a pitch well outside the zone.

Guenther stayed out there for the 9th. He got a deep fly out, then was relieved by Jason Foley. He immediately gave up a single to former Tiger Tyler Nevin. Another former Tiger, Daz Cameron, grounded out to third and juuuuust beat out the double play. No rally for the A’s this time, however, as Foley dusted Gelof to earn his 21st save of the season.

Tigers win, and they play the rubber match tomorrow at 4:07 p.m. ET. The A’s will start a solid but unexperienced right-hander in J.T. Ginn, while the Tigers will have another mix and match day, likely with Ty Madden pitching in the long man role.

BOX SCORE

• The Detroit Tigers top prospect, and the top pitching prospect in baseball, RHP Jackson Jobe, has been promoted to Triple-A Toled o. It’s still unlikely the Tigers give him a start or two at the end of the month since he doesn’t have to be added to the 40-man roster until December 2025.
• Happy 51st birthday (what??) to everyone’s favorite foreign exchange student, Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie).
• Today’s the anniversary of the first ever Miss America pageant, hosted by Atlantic City (naturally) in 1921.