DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene homered twice and drove in three runs, and the Detroit Tigers beat Baltimore 4-2 on Sunday to take two of three from the Orioles.

Greene hit a two-run homer with two outs in the third off Cade Povich (2-9) and a solo drive in the eighth against Gregory Soto. Greene leads the Tigers with 23 homers. He hit both homers off left-handers after entering the day batting .203 with four homers against lefties.

Detroit (77-73), which began the day 2 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the last AL wild card, has won six of eight.

Baltimore (84-64) dropped its second straight series and scored just six runs in the three games. The Orioles, who have lost six of eight, started the day two games back of the AL East-leading Yankees but in position for the top AL wild card.

Keider Montero (6-6) gave up five hits in five innings and Jason Foley got four straight outs for his 23rd save in 26 chances.

Povich allowed two runs, two hits and two walks in five innings while striking out eight.

Colt Keith boosted the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the sixth against right-hander Jacob Webb.

Adley Rutschman hit a two-run homer in the eighth against Will Vest, Rutschman’s 19th homer this season but first since Aug. 18.

Soto has allowed 30 home runs in his big league career but Greene’s was just the fifth by a left-handed batter.

Baltimore outfielder Heston Kjerstad was activated from the 10-day injured list after recovering from a concussion and went 0 for 2 and Webb was reinstated from the 15-day IL following a bout of right elbow inflammation. Left-hander Cole Irvin and infielder Nick Maton were designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Orioles: RHP Albert Suárez (8-5, 3.39 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game home series against San Francisco on Tuesday night.

Tigers: RHP Seth Lugo (16-8, 2.94) starts for Kansas City on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against visiting Detroit.

— By DANA GAURUDER, Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — One day after breaking up a no-hitter in the ninth inning, Gunnar Henderson homered and doubled to help the Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 on Saturday.

Henderson drove in two runs and scored twice to help the Orioles move within two games of the AL East-leading Yankees. The All-Star shortstop tripled with two out in the ninth for Baltimore’s only hit in a 1-0 loss to Detroit on Friday night.

Corbin Burnes (14-8) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball for Baltimore on Saturday.

“That’s his best start of the year,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He just had everything going tonight.”

The Tigers trailed 4-0 going into the ninth, but Parker Meadows ended Detroit’s scoreless streak at 15 innings with a homer off Seranthony Domínguez. Colt Keith followed with a single, but Domínguez retired Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene on deep flyballs.

Wenceel Pérez struck out, but reached first when the ball got away from James McCann. Spencer Torkelson made it 4-2 with an RBI single before Zach McKinstry grounded out to first.

“We put on a nice fight at the end,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “These guys never quit. We know that.”

The Tigers (76-73) had won five of six. They are trying to track down the Twins (78-70) for the third AL wild card.

Burnes struck out seven and walked one.

“That’s as good as I have seen him in a long time,” McCann said. “That’s what your ace does — he gives you a chance to win big games.”

Beau Brieske tossed a scoreless first inning to become the first Tigers pitcher to start on back-to-back days since Hal Newhouser in 1946.

He retired the first four batters on Friday, but walked the first two hitters on Saturday before Anthony Santander grounded into a 3-6-1 double play. He then struck out Adley Rutschman to record an MLB-record fourth straight start without allowing a hit.

After walking to start the game, Henderson doubled off Ty Madden (1-1) in the third and scored on Cedric Mullins’ base hit.

Baltimore added three runs in the seventh.

With one out, Kenta Maeda hit Emmanuel Rivera with a pitch. Rivera took third on Livan Soto’s double and scored on McCann’s sacrifice fly. Henderson followed with a 106.7-mph line drive into the service tunnel behind the right-field fence.

“It is huge any time you can create some separation late in the game — that’s something we’ve had a tough time with this year,” Hyde said. “Soto gets the huge double, Mac does a great job of getting the ball in play and Gunnar gets a pitch to hit and puts an exclamation point on the inning.

“As you could see from the ninth, you can always use more runs.”

Henderson has 37 homers on the season. He has scored 113 runs, the most by an Oriole since Roberto Alomar’s franchise-record 132 in 1996.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: Hyde said reliever Yennier Cano wasn’t available due to “soreness,” but could pitch as soon as Sunday.

UP NEXT

The teams finish the series on Sunday afternoon in a game moved to 12:10 p.m. because of the Lions-Buccaneers game next door at Ford Field. Baltimore LHP Cade Povich (2-8, 5.91 ERA) will face RHP Keider Montero (5-6, 4.88 ERA).

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Gunnar Henderson tripled just past the glove of diving first baseman Spencer Torkelson with two outs in the ninth inning for Baltimore’s first hit, and the Detroit Tigers held on for a 1-0 win over the Orioles on Friday night.

Beau Brieske and Brant Hurter (5-1) combined to retire Baltimore’s first 21 batters before Adley Rutschman’s eight-pitch walk leading off the eighth.

Brenan Hanifee retired the next three batters and Tyler Holton relieved to start the ninth.

Emmanuel Rivera flied out and pinch-hitter Coby Mayo took a called third strike. Henderson pulled a first-pitch sweeper into the right-field corner for the Orioles’ second baserunner.

Holton struck out Anthony Santander to remain perfect in eight save chances.

Kerry Carpenter, Detroit’s second batter, homered on the third pitch of the game from Zach Eflin (10-9), who allowed five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Detroit (76-72) started the day 3 1/2 games back of Minnesota for the final AL wild card.

Baltimore (83-65) began the night two games behind the AL East-leading New York Yankees.

Brieske, a 26-year-old right-hander, was planned to start as an opener. He retired four batters while throwing 11 of 16 pitches for strikes.

Hunter, a 26-year-old rookie left-hander, struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings while throwing 53 of 71 pitches for strikes. He started 17 of 18 batters with strikes, including his first 14.

Hanifee, a 26-year-old rookie right-hander, relieved after Rutschman’s walk and got a pair of strikeouts around a forceout.

UP NEXT

The teams play the second of three games on Saturday evening, with Baltimore RHP Corbin Burnes (13-8, 3.18 ERA) facing a Tigers opener.

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

 

By ERIC HE
The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — Trey Sweeney had four hits, including a home run, Ty Madden struck out seven and the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 9-1 on Sunday.

The Tigers, looking to make a late rally in the AL Wild Card race, took two out of three in Oakland and are two games above .500.

The A’s, who will play their home games in Sacramento next season ahead of a planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, drew 11,250 fans.

Madden (1-0) and Beau Brieske combined to take a no-hit bid into the fifth, with Madden recording his first career win after Brieske served as an opener in the first. The 24-year-old struck out seven in five innings and held the A’s to one run in his third major league appearance.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Madden was “calm” and a “huge competitor,” delivering when the bullpen was taxed from a 13-inning game earlier in the series.

“He came in and was pounding the strike zone. … It’s nice when he could step up and put up zeros while we were sort of sorting our way through the day,” Hinch said.

Madden’s splitter, which he said was a new pitch for him that he developed in spring training, was zipping Sunday.

“I have a lot of confidence in it right now,” Madden said.

Lawrence Butler’s fifth-inning single was the A’s first hit, and it also extended his career-best hit streak to 18 games. Zack Gelof drove in Oakland’s lone run with a sixth inning single.

Sweeney, who went 4 for 4 with a walk, hit a leadoff homer in the third off A’s starter J.T. Ginn (0-1). Kerry Carpenter drove in Jace Jung later in the inning to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, Sweeney singled home Spencer Torkelson. Detroit tacked on six runs in the eighth charged to Ross Stripling, who gave up four consecutive RBI hits.

Sweeney, who made his major league debut on Aug. 16, said he’s always had confidence at the plate but having four hits certainly helps.

“I was still confident in myself even when I was 0 for 6 the other day,” Sweeney said. “It’s just the way the game goes. I feels good. It was nice to have some fall for me today.”

Ginn, in his second big league start, allowed three runs in five innings, giving up seven hits.

“I definitely didn’t have my best stuff out there today but made some competitive pitches when I had to, left some pitches up in the zone I got hurt on,” Ginn said. “Some days you’re going to have those days, just try to compete and stay in the game as long as you can.”

The A’s have six games remaining at the Coliseum after wrapping up the final game of their second-to-last homestand.

“The closer it gets, the more it comes to realization,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said, adding that the last homestand — from Sept. 20 to 26 — will be “tough.”

Hinch, who made his big league debut with the A’s in 1998, walked up to Mt. Davis — the tarped-off third deck — before the game and called his final moments managing at the Coliseum “bittersweet.” There are no plans so far to open up Mt. Davis for the last game, which is sold out.

“There’s a lot of energy in this ballpark,” Hinch said. “There’s a lot of pride in this ballpark. There’s a lot of history with or without me, but it’s a special place because it was the first time I ever called myself a big leaguer. And there’s only one place that I’ll ever feel that way.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Shortstop Javier Báez, who underwent season-ending hip surgery last week, will rehab in Detroit but plans to spend time around the team the remainder of the season.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Osvaldo Bido (5-3, 3.41 ERA) is scheduled to start the first game of a three-game series at Houston.

Tigers: After a day off, RHP Keider Montero (4-6, 5.47) is scheduled to start on Tuesday at home against the Rockies, who counter with Bradley Blalock (1-2, 5.40).

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joe Musgrove pitched six strong innings and Fernando Tatis Jr. went 0 for 4 in his first game back since June 21 as the San Diego Padres beat the Detroit Tigers 3-0 on Monday.

Luis Arraez had two RBI singles for the Padres, who edged ahead of Arizona and into the NL’s top wild card spot.

Tatis was activated from the 60-day injured list after being sidelined with a stress reaction in his right thighbone. The star right fielder received loud ovations during the pregame lineup announcements and when he ran out to his defensive position to start the game, gesturing to the fans along the way.

He grounded out twice, fouled out and struck out.

Tatis won both the NL Gold Glove Award and Platinum Glove Award in 2023, his first season playing right field.

Musgrove (5-4) was making his fifth start since a 2 1/2-month stay on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. He held the Tigers to three hits while striking out eight and walking two.

The first two batters in the fourth reached before Musgrove retired the side. He put two runners on with two outs in the sixth before striking out Colt Keith.

Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his 31st save.

Tigers opener Tyler Holton went two innings before Brenan Hanifee (0-1) took over. Mason McCoy beat out an infield single with one out in the third and advanced on Hanifee’s throwing error, and then scored on Arraez’s single to right.

Arraez hit another RBI single in the eighth and Manny Machado added an RBI base hit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: Manager Mike Shildt said RHP Yu Darvish (right elbow inflammation) and SS Ha-Seong Kim (right shoulder inflammation) are making progress, but the team hasn’t decided what the next steps are for them. … While Tatis was activated, OF Bryce Johnson was optioned to Triple-A El Paso and DFA’d José Azocar. … LF Jurickson Profar got his first day off since June 22.

UP NEXT

MLB wanted the Padres to take Monday off to break up a long stretch of games, but the team wanted to play on the holiday and take Tuesday off. Tigers RHP Keider Montero (4-6, 5.17 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday night, while the Padres haven’t named a starter.

— By BERNIE WILSON, Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene each hit a two-run homer, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Sunday.

The Tigers (70-68) earned their second series win in the last 13 against Boston and won the season series for the first time since 2017. They trail the Red Sox (70-67) by a half-game for fourth in the AL wild-card race.

Brant Hurter (3-1) pitched five innings of one-run ball for the win. He entered with two on and one out in the second and got Wilyer Abreu to bounce into a double play.

Jason Foley, the fourth Tigers pitcher, got his 20th save with a perfect ninth.

Red Sox opener Cooper Criswell pitched four perfect innings, striking out five. But Rich Hill (0-1) and Zack Kelly faltered.

Jarren Duran’s two-out RBI single lifted Boston to a 1-0 lead in the fifth, but the 44-year-old Hill issued a leadoff walk to Kerry Carpenter in the bottom half. Jace Jung struck out before Torkelson hit a drive to left for his eighth homer.

Greene made it 4-1 in the sixth, lining a two-run homer — his 20th — off Kelly that went just inside the right-field foul pole.

Boston’s search for late-game offense led to Red Sox manager Alex Cora playing Conner Wong in left field for his first appearance in the outfield since college.

UP NEXT

The Red Sox return home for a three-game series with the New York Mets. Neither team had announced their pitching plans for the Labor Day opener.

Detroit flies across the country for a holiday afternoon game against the San Diego Padres. The game comes two days after the Tigers honored their 1984 championship team, which beat the Padres in the World Series in five games. The teams have Tuesday off before finishing the series on Wednesday and Thursday.

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

 

 

DETROIT (AP) — Tarik Skubal allowed one run in eight innings and struck out eight to become the fourth Detroit left-hander with 200 strikeouts in a season as the Tigers celebrated the franchise’s 1984 World Series championship with a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Jack Morris threw the ceremonial first pitch to Lance Parrish, and Skubal (16-4) gave a performance that would have fit onto Morris’ resume. He allowed Tyler O’Neill’s first-inning homer, but Boston only hit three singles after that as Skubal made it through the eighth for the first time.

“It was a little fitting that it was the 1984 night and that’s the deepest I’ve pitched into a game,” he said.

Skubal joined Hal Newhouser, Mickey Lolich and Matthew Boyd as the team’s only left-handers to strike out 200 in a season. He now has 201, and could be a month away from something Morris never did — winning a Cy Young.

“Tarik is a special player,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s anchored this staff all season. He has gotten a lot of attention, but he keeps doing his work. I get to see all of it, not just the eight innings tonight or the routine seven innings, but the dominance, the strikeouts, the low hits, the low walks and the low ERA.”

Tyler Holton pitched the ninth for his sixth save as the Tigers moved within 1 1/2 games of Boston for fourth in the American League wild-card race.

“(Skubal) is amazing — he should probably win the Cy Young,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That means we need to come out tomorrow and win the series.”

Boston’s Nick Pivetta (5-10) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in six innings.

After O’Neill’s homer, the Tigers took the lead with two runs in the second.

Spencer Torkelson hit a one-out single and Zach McKinstry extended his hitting streak to a career-best 11 games with a double. Trey Sweeney hit a fly ball to left ball that Rob Refsnyder couldn’t play against the wall, driving in two with a double.

Hinch credited his third base coach, Joey Cora, with the decision to send McKinstry to the plate.

“We’ve talked all year about being aggressive,” Hinch said. “There have been a few outs at home, but you have to take risks to make those plays. That’s part of our identity.”

Alex Cora said he wasn’t surprised that Joey Cora — his older brother — made the decision to send McKinstry to the plate.

“They took a gamble with the runner at third — that third base coach is very aggressive,” Alex Cora said, never mentioning his brother by name. “We knew that coming in, of course. Not every third base coach would send that runner, but he makes decisions based on catching people off guard.”

The Tigers got a pair of singles in the seventh, but both Ryan Kreidler and Parker Meadows were picked off first. Meadows was caught by 44-year-old Rich Hill, the only player on either roster who was born when the Tigers last won the World Series.

Kreidler made up for his mistake in the eighth, retiring Triston Casas with a jump throw from foul territory behind third.

Skubal didn’t even expect to be on the mound for the eighth.

“It was a special night, with the 1984 team in the ballpark, and the crowd was incredible,” Hinch said. “They were giving him a standing ovation after the seventh, and I was trying to say ‘No, no, you’re going back out there for the eighth.’ ”

UP NEXT

The teams finish the three-game series on Sunday with Detroit RHP Ty Madden (0-0, 1.80 ERA) making his second start against RHP Cooper Criswell (5-4, 4.34).

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran homered in the 10th inning as the Boston Red Sox rebounded after squandering a four-run lead and beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Friday night.

The Tigers trailed 4-0 heading in the eighth inning, but rallied and forced extra innings by scoring three times in the eighth and once in the ninth.

But, Rafaela’s 14th homer off Shelby Miller (6-8) scored Nick Sogard and made it 6-4 with one out in the 10th. Duran, who doubled in his first two at-bats, hit Tyler Holton’s first pitch 431 feet into the right-field stands to make it a three-run game at 7-4.

Chris Martin pitched the 10th for Boston, allowing the automatic runner Riley Greene to score on a groundout before earning his second save.

Connor Wong doubled and homered for the Red Sox (70-65), who moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Tigers (68-68) for fourth in the American League wild-card race.

Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run homer off Brennan Bernardino in the eighth inning to rally the Tigers and end Detroit’s 21-inning scoreless drought.

Zach McKinstry led off the ninth with a single off Kenley Jansen and stole second. Colt Keith struck out before Jake Rogers tied the game with a double to left.

Jansen (4-2) picked up the win.

Red Sox starter Tanner Houck allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six in six shutout innings

Tigers starter Casey Mize allowed four runs on six hits and a walk in six innings. He gave up four doubles and a homer in his first start since a hamstring strain on June 30.

Duran’s early doubles helped Boston to a 2-0 lead. He scored in the first and moved Romy Gonzalez to third in the third, where he scored on Wilyer Abreu’s sacrifice fly.

Houck hit Rogers and Greene in the third, but escaped the inning without harm.

The Red Sox moved out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth when Tyler O’Neill walked, stole second and scored on Wong’s double.

Detroit didn’t get a hit until McKinstry led off the fifth with a single, but he was thrown out trying to take third on Parker Meadows’ base hit to right.

Wong made it 4-0 with a homer in the sixth.

UP NEXT

The teams play the second game of the series on Saturday — the day the Tigers honor their 1984 World Series champions. Detroit ace LHP Tarik Skubal (15-4, 2.58 ERA) will face RHP Nick Pavetta (5-9, 4.61).

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Spencer Torkelson hit a three-run homer during a five-run seventh inning, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep and drop the majors’ worst team to 31-101.

Parker Meadows led off the seventh with a homer off Jared Shuster (1-3) that tied the game at 2-all. Jace Jung hit a go-ahead RBI single before Torkelson greeted Justin Anderson with a 439-foot drive to center field that made it 6-2.

The White Sox have lost eight of nine and recorded their 31st blown save, the most in the majors.

Torkelson finished 3 for 5, falling a triple short of the cycle.

Detroit right-hander Ty Madden gave up two runs, one earned, in five innings in his major league debut. The 24-year-old allowed four hits and three walks.

Sean Guenther (1-0) worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings for his first career win, and Tyler Holton handled the ninth for his fifth save.

— By GAVIN DORSEY, Associated Press

 

 

The post The Metro: New ESPN documentary revisits former Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

By SARAH TROTTO
The Associated Press

CHICAGO — Andy Ibáñez homered and had three RBIs as the Detroit Tigers sent the Chicago White Sox to their 100th loss with a 9-4 victory on Sunday.

Andrew Vaughn doubled, homered and had two RBIs for the White Sox (31-100), who need to go 12-19 to avoid tying the 1962 New York Mets, who were 40-120-1, for the modern major league record for most losses in a season. Chicago will fall short of the all-time record held by the Cleveland Spiders, who finished 20-134 in 1899.

In MLB history, only the 1916 Philadelphia A’s, who were 29-100-1, reached 100 losses in fewer games than the White Sox.

“Obviously, no one wants to lose 100 games, especially with still a month to go,” White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon said. “But we’re going to keep coming here every day, getting our work in and keep just going out there and trying to win some ballgames.”

Colt Keith had three hits and three RBIs for the Tigers, who have won four of five.

Chicago has lost 100 or more games six times in franchise history and in consecutive seasons for the first time. They went 61-101 last season under manager Pedro Grifol, who was fired Aug. 8. Chicago is 3-11 under interim manager Grady Sizemore.

“Everyone in that locker room is aware of the record and how frustrating it is, absolutely,” Sizemore said.

The White Sox dropped a club-worst 106 games in 1970. Their worst winning percentage is .325, when they went 49-102-1 in 1932.

Bryan Sammons (1-1) allowed a run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings for Detroit to earn his first big league victory.

Cannon (2-8) gave up five runs and eight hits in four innings for the White Sox.

“We know where we are at. We know it’s not good,” Chicago left fielder Andrew Benintendi said.

Benintendi and Vaughn hit back-to-back doubles off opener Beau Brieske to put the White Sox ahead 2-0 in the first.

Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter doubled, reached third on center fielder Dominic Fletcher’s fielding error and scored on Keith’s single to cut the lead to 2-1 in the third. Chicago had four errors.

Vaughn hit his 15th homer, a solo shot, off Sammons in the third to increase Chicago’s lead to 3-1.

Zach McKinstry singled, stole second and scored on Parker Meadows’ triple to make it 3-2 in the fourth.

The Tigers scored three runs in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. Carpenter, Keith and Jace Jung hit consecutive singles to tie it before pinch hitter Ibáñez grounded into a fielder’s choice and Trey Sweeney singled to bring in the other runs.

“As we’ve gotten younger, a little more athletic, we’ve gotten a little bit better and the wins have come,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Everybody is chipping away at doing their part because we do want to have a winning team.”

Ibáñez hit a two-run homer off Enyel De Los Santos in the seventh and Keith added a two-run double in the eighth for the Tigers who are now a game away from the .500 mark at 65-66.

“That’d be a big goal for us to achieve,” Keith said about Detroit reaching .500. “I’ve been saying for a while that this team has a lot of potential. We’ve just got to be more consistent and you see us being consistent the last couple weeks, playing good baseball.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Alex Faedo (right shoulder strain) was reinstated from the paternity list and placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday.

White Sox: CF Luis Robert Jr. and C Korey Lee were out for rest, Sizemore said.

UP NEXT

RHP Ty Madden is expected to make his major league debut for the Tigers in Monday’s series finale against the White Sox and RHP Davis Martin (0-2, 3.22 ERA). Madden is 3-5 with a 6.98 ERA between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. Detroit will have to make a corresponding move to add Madden to the 40-man roster.

CHICAGO (AP) — Tarik Skubal earned his major league-leading 15th win, and the Detroit Tigers handed the Chicago White Sox their 99th loss with a 13-4 victory on Saturday night.

Matt Vierling, Colt Keith and Zach McKinstry homered for Detroit, which won for the third time in four games. Keith and Jake Rogers each had three RBIs, and Vierling scored three times.

Skubal (15-4) struck out eight in five innings. He was charged with three runs and eight hits.

Corey Julks had three hits for the White Sox, who moved closer to setting a franchise record for most losses in a season. Chicago dropped a club-worst 106 games in 1970.

The major league record for most losses in a season belongs to the Cleveland Spiders, who went 20-134 in 1899. The 1962 New York Mets hold the modern record of 120 losses.

Ky Bush (0-3) yielded five runs and eight hits in three innings for Chicago in his fourth career start.

The White Sox fell to 3-10 under interim manager Grady Sizemore, who replaced the fired Pedro Grifol on Aug. 8.

Vierling opened Detroit’s four-run third inning with his 15th homer. Andy Ibáñez walked and scored when Bush tumbled off the mound on Keith’s groundout.

Bush stayed in the game and yielded an RBI double to Rogers and a run-scoring single to Parker Meadows.

The White Sox responded with three runs in the bottom half against Skubal. Julks, Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn each hit an RBI single.

But the Tigers began to pull away with four runs in the fourth, helped by Touki Toussaint issuing three consecutive walks to begin the inning. Rogers’ two-run single lifted his team to a 9-3 lead.

Keith and McKinstry each hit a two-run homer off John Brebbia in the ninth as fans began to boo.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Casey Mize (left hamstring strain) allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings in a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo.

UP NEXT

RHP Jonathan Cannon (2-7, 4.26 ERA) will start Sunday for the White Sox. Detroit had yet to announce a starter.

— By SARAH TROTTO, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a two-run double and Dansby Swanson homered to lift the Cubs over the Tigers, 3-1, on Tuesday night.

Bellinger went 2-for-4 to lead Chicago. Javier Assad (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings for the Cubs, allowing just one run on six hits and striking out seven.

“I thought it was Javy’s best start in a while, maybe since coming off the injured list,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Getting ahead of hitters more consistently, more execution, fewer bad misses. Curveball to left handers got him some strikeouts tonight. The two-seamer got some strikeouts tonight. Multiple pitches (were) working, and I think that’s what led to the good outing.”

Tyson Miller, Drew Smyly and Porter Hodge threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings, each allowing a hit, to close the game. Hodge earned his second save.

Detroit fell despite strong performances at the plate by Dillon Dingler and Spencer Torkelson. Dingler hit in the Tigers’ lone run with an RBI single and added a triple. Torkelson was 4-for-4.

Tigers reliever Bryan Sammons (0-1) took the loss with three runs scored on four hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Chicago’s offense was mostly stagnant for the first four innings. With two runners on base, Bellinger doubled in the fifth to put the Cubs ahead 2-1. It was a similar scenario to Bellinger’s previous at-bat in the third, when he grounded out with runners on first and second.

“Obviously, I was pretty disappointed I wasn’t able to get the job done,” Bellinger said regarding his first attempt at batting in a run. “I felt decent that at-bat and said I just wanted to make the adjustment. Same situation, man on first and second with one out, so stay within my approach. (Ian) Happ and (Michael Busch) Buschy did a great job of getting on again, so I tried to get the job done.”

Swanson hit a solo home run in the sixth, his 10th of the season, to left-center field to extend the lead.

Detroit’s series opener at Chicago was Tigers shortstop Javier Báez’s first game at Wrigley since he was traded by the Cubs to the New York Mets in July 2021. The 31-year-old Báez spent his first 7 1/2 seasons in the majors with Chicago, helping the franchise to a historic World Series championship in 2016. He went hitless in four attempts with four strikeouts. He was greeted with a standing ovation prior to his first at-bat.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long is rehabbing both a left hip labral repair and a right elbow sprain. … RHP Casey Mize is scheduled to pitch on a rehab assignment with AAA Toledo on Saturday. The former first overall pick has been out since June 30 with a left hamstring strain. … RHP Reese Olson, who has been recovering from a right shoulder strain, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday. … OF Wenceel Pérez last played on Aug. 9 against San Francisco due to a left oblique strain and is expected to start a hitting progression this week.

Cubs: Chicago announced Tuesday it had designated RHP Héctor Neris for assignment and called up RHP Jack Neely from AAA Iowa. Neris posted an 8-4 record and 3.89 ERA in his first season with the Cubs this year, but blew five saves. Neely was Chicago’s No. 18 prospect and was acquired at the deadline from the Yankees.

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Jameson Taillon (8-7, 3.62 ERA) is set to start for Chicago in the second game of the series, while the Tigers had yet to announce a starter.

By GAVIN DORSEY, Associated Press

 

By NOAH TRISTER
The Associated Press

It was an exciting weekend for the Detroit Tigers, who took a couple games from the New York Yankees — the latter in walk-off fashion in the Major League Baseball Little League Classic..

More importantly, the first of those victories included the return of Spencer Torkelson, whose next few weeks could say a lot about how much longer Detroit will remain mediocre.

The Tigers haven’t made the postseason since 2014, matching the Los Angeles Angels for baseball’s longest active drought. A lot went wrong to prolong Detroit’s rebuild, particularly the failure to land any future standouts when trading Justin Verlander back in 2017. But the fact is, the Tigers have had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft twice since then, and neither pick did enough to change the team’s fortunes.

In 2018, Detroit picked Casey Mize, who is 9-19 with a 4.28 ERA in 55 career starts. He’s been worth 3.5 wins above replacement according to Baseball Reference. Paul Skenes has been worth more WAR than that in just over three months with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 2020, the Tigers selected Torkelson, who seemed to be progressing well enough when he hit 31 homers in 2023. But a year later, he started so poorly he was sent down to the minors in early June. He came back up and hit a double and a triple Saturday.

Detroit is only three games under .500, and it’s easy to imagine how much better they could be if Mize and Torkelson were performing the way other recent No. 1 overall picks — Skenes, Adley Rutschman and Royce Lewis, to name a few — have been able to. After declining to trade Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal at the deadline, the Tigers have a chance to be relevant in 2025.

The question is whether they can upgrade what’s been one of the game’s weaker offenses, and more production from Torkelson would be a big help.

Trivia Time

Torkelson was the fourth No. 1 overall draft pick out of Arizona State. Who were the others?

Anyone’s Race

Remarkably, the top six teams in the major leagues are separated by just one game. Philadelphia is 73-51, a half-game ahead of Baltimore, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at 73-52. Cleveland and Milwaukee are 72-52.

Not only do the AL East, AL Central and NL West have tight division races, but the chase for first-round byes could be compelling as well since only the top two division winners qualify. It’s anyone’s guess which division winner will be forced into a best-of-three series in the National League. In the American League, Houston (67-56) has some catching up to do against the AL East and AL Central leaders, but there’s enough time for the Astros to snatch a bye, and they’ve won 10 of their last 11.

Line of the Week

A tip of the hat to Philadelphia’s Weston Wilson, who became the first rookie in Phillies history to hit for the cycle Thursday night.

But the honor goes to Juan Soto for his three-homer game two nights earlier for the New York Yankees in a 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Comeback of the Week

Down to their last out Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers tied the game at Boston on a three-run homer by Wyatt Langford. Then Jonah Heim led off the 10th with a two-run shot to lift Texas to a 9-7 victory. The Red Sox had a win probability of 97.3% at one point, according to Baseball Savant.

The defending champion Rangers will need an even bigger comeback to make the playoffs, however. They’ve lost 10 of their last 14 and are currently 11 games under .500.

Trivia Answer

Rick Monday (1965 by the Athletics), Floyd Bannister (1976 by the Astros) and Bob Horner (1978 by the Braves).

By DAVE HOGG
The Associated Press

DETROIT — Akil Baddoo’s pinch-hit double in the 10th inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.

The teams were playing for the fifth time in eight days. The Tigers won two of three in Seattle and beat the Mariners 15-1 on Tuesday night.

Detroit trailed 2-0 with two out in the bottom of the eighth, but Matt Vierling doubled off Yimi Garcia and Kerry Carpenter hit his third homer in two games to tie the score. Carpenter, who came off the injured list before Tuesday’s game, had struck out in his first three at-bats.

Tyler Holton (5-1) held Seattle scoreless in the top of the 10th and Collin Snider (2-2) walked Justyn-Henry Malloy to start the bottom of the inning. Zach McKinstry struck out trying to bunt, but Baddoo hit for Jake Rogers and hit a deep fly ball over the head of Victor Robles to win the game.

Mariners starter Bryan Woo allowed four singles and didn’t walk a batter in seven scoreless innings. He has pitched twice against the Tigers in seven days, not getting a decision either time despite allowing three runs in 13 2/3 innings.

Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz pitched a perfect ninth to set a franchise record with 12 straight hitless outings.

With only two healthy starting pitchers, the Tigers have been forced to use their bullpen to cover nine innings multiple times a week. Beau Brieske opened against the Mariners before Bryan Sammons took over in the second.

Detroit only got one runner into scoring position against Woo, and he struck out Carpenter with runners on first and second to end the third.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead off Sammons in the fifth when Dylan Moore scored on Jorge Polanco’s base hit.

Robles struck out to start the eighth, but reached first when Will Vest’s pitch eluded Rogers. Robles took second on a groundout before Randy Arozerana hit a hard grounder back to the mound.

Vest chose to throw to third, but Robles beat the throw to put runners on the corners. Cal Raleigh walked, loading the bases for Julio Rodriguez.

Rodriguez injured his left leg ducking away from an inside pitch, but stayed in the game after attention from the training staff. He blooped an RBI single to left before being replaced by a pinch runner.

Shelby Miller replaced Vest and got out of the inning with the score still 2-0.

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The teams finish their three-game series on Thursday afternoon, with Seattle RHP Bryce Miller (9-7, 3.46 ERA) facing another Tigers bullpen game.

By EMILY OHMAN

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Michael Conforto scored on Mark Canha’s sacrifice fly with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night after being no-hit through six innings.

Canha lifted a 2-2 fastball from Shelby Miller to deep left to score Conforto, who had walked. Heliot Ramos led off the inning with a grounder up the middle that Tigers second baseman Colt Keith misplayed for an error. It was the Giants 10th walk-off win this season.

“It was a really special moment for me,” said Canha, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and was traded to the Giants from the Tigers at the deadline. “Just awesome, awesome feeling. Couldn’t have asked for more for my first day home. I grew up coming to this place. It means a lot to me. Special, special stadium. I kind of got goosebumps last night when we got in.”

Tyler Rogers (2-3) retired all three batters he faced to get the win.

The Giants didn’t get much offense going over the first six innings against the combination of Beau Brieske and Kenta Maeda. San Francisco’s only runner came in the first inning when Ramos walked. Even after the slow start, the Giants rallied to win their third straight and 11th in 14 games. “We have so many nice pieces on this team that just bring so much to the table,” said Canha. “So many good hitters and good pitchers. It’s just a matter of coming out and competing every night.”

The Tigers jumped to a 1-0 second-inning lead after a standup leadoff double from Gio Urshela and Ryan Vilade’s sacrifice fly.

Despite looking suddenly uncomfortable and pitching firmly in the 80 mph range for the majority of the second and third innings, San Francisco’s Robbie Ray worked through the jam and kept the Tigers from scoring again until Javier Báez stole third and scored on a throwing error by Giants catcher Curt Casali in the fifth.

Maeda pitched 4 2/3 innings after taking over for Brieske in the fourth, notched two strikeouts and allowed two runs. Jason Foley (3-4) took the loss.

Ray had seven strikeouts in six innings. He allowed five hits and two runs in his fourth game since returning from Tommy John surgery. “I felt great,” Ray said. “I didn’t have any fatigue afterwards. I still felt strong in that last inning.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Both INF Matt Vierling and SS Javier Báez were designated day-to-day following Thursday’s loss to the Seattle Mariners. Báez was removed from Detroit’s starting lineup Thursday due to neck soreness but started Friday. Vierling, who was having back spasms and was pulled midgame in the series finale against the Mariners, sat out Friday. …RHP Casey Mize began injury rehabilitation in Triple-A Toledo.

Giants: INF Wilmer Flores was ruled out for the season on Aug. 6 to undergo surgery for right-knee tendinitis. Canha is expected to help play first base in Flores’ absence. …2B Thairo Estrada is expected to take batting practice on the field in the near future and is probable to return before the end of the month.

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RHP Logan Webb (9-8, 3.42 ERA) will take the mound for the Giants on Saturday. Detroit will throw another bullpen game and has not yet announced a starting pitcher.

Ramírez hits 243rd homer for Cleveland, passes Albert Belle as Guardians beat Tigers 5-0

By DAVE HOGG

The Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — José Ramírez moved past Albert Belle into sole possession of second place on the Cleveland career home run list with his 243rd, hitting his third in two games to help the Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers 5-0 on Tuesday.

Josh Naylor hit a first-inning homer off Alex Faedo (5-3) and Ramírez hit a two-run drive in the eighth against Jason Foley. The 31-year-old Ramírez has spent his entire 12-year big league career with Cleveland.

Hall of Famer Jim Thome tops the Cleveland home run list with 337, part of a 22-year career that included 612 homers for six teams.

Brayan Rocchio added a ninth-inning homer off Joey Wentz.

Lane Thomas went 1 for 4 in his Guardians debut, going 1 for 4 and scoring on Ramírez’s home run. Thomas was acquired Monday from Washington.

Cleveland has won three straight and six of eight.

Gavin Williams (1-3) and four relievers combined on a four-hitter in Cleveland’s 10th shutout this season, the 11th against the Tigers. Williams allowed two hits in five innings with eight strikeouts and one walk in his first win since Sept. 17 against Texas in his final start last year.. He had been winless in five starts this season.

Tim Herrin, Nick Sandin, Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase followed with an inning each The Tigers were held to four hits or fewer for the 15th time.

Cleveland won the season series 7-6 and sent the Tigers to their seventh loss in 10 games.

Daniel Schneemann had an RBI double in a rainy fifth inning that included a delay for the grounds crew to work on the infield,

Detroit grounded into inning-ending double plays in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

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Guardians: RHP Ben Lively (9-6, 3.44) starts Thursday’s opener of a four-game series against visiting Baltimore.

Tigers: Host Kansas City on Thursday in the start of a four-game series.

DETROIT (AP) — José Ramírez homered twice to give him 26 this season and had an RBI double, providing plenty of offense for Tanner Bibee and the Cleveland Guardians in an 8-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

Ramirez’s second homer was No. 240 of his career, tying him with Albert Belle for second in Cleveland history behind Jim Thome’s 337. He has 25 multihomer games, one shy of the totals of Thome and Belle.

Bibee (9-4) kept the Tigers scoreless until they opened the seventh inning with three straight hits, including Dillon Dingler’s RBI double in his major league debut. That chased Bibee, who gave up two runs on seven hits in six-plus innings.

All-Star Josh Naylor, who was rested the previous three games, hit a three-run homer off in the three-run sixth that put Cleveland ahead 7-0

The AL Central-leading Guardians made a move on the eve of trade deadline, acquiring outfielder Lane Thomas from Washington.

Cleveland, whose winning percentage trailed only Philadelphia’s, is in the market for starting pitching.

Detroit, meanwhile, is expected to deal at least one player to bolster a contender’s rotation.

Right-hander Jack Flaherty was scheduled to start the series opener against the Guardians but was scratched. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said it would wrong for Flaherty and the Tigers to pitch him a day before the deadline.

The Tigers will also have to decide if it makes sense to trade All-Star Tarik Skubal, who is 12-3 with a 2.35 ERA. Dealing the 28-year-old Flaherty, who has a $14 million, one-year contract and can become a free agent, seems to make sense for a fourth-place team still trying to rebuild.

Flaherty is 7-5 in 18 starts with a 2.95 ERA. Since making his major league debut with St. Louis in 2017, he is 49-39 with a 3.64 ERA.

Detroit did make several moves before the game, including putting shortstop Javier Báez on the medical emergency list to attend to family matters.

Beau Brieske (1-2) got just two outs and gave up three runs and five hits in the first inning.

Detroit selected the contract of Bryan Sammons from Triple-A Toledo and the 29-year-old lefty gave up five runs and four hits over 7 1/3 innings in his major league debut.

UP NEXT

Cleveland RHP Gavin Williams (0-3, 4.50) is expected to pitch Tuesday.

SOUTHPORT, Conn. (AP) — Most Comcast subscribers will be able to watch their favorite sports teams again after it reached an agreement with their distributor.

Comcast and Diamond Sports announced Monday that 15 regional sports networks will be available on Thursday after being blacked out for three months. The Bally Sports networks were no longer available to Comcast subscribers on May 1 due to a contract dispute.

Under the agreement, subscribers to Comcast’s Xfinity Ultimate TV package will gain access to the Bally RSNs. Additionally, Xfinity Ultimate TV customers will be able to stream Bally’s content on the Bally Sports app.

Comcast is Diamond Sports’ third-largest distributor. Diamond Sports has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Texas since it filed for protection last March. It has a reorganization plan before the court, but details are still being worked out.

“With certainty on our distribution, we are focused on finalizing an agreement with the NHL and resolving our ongoing negotiations with the NBA,” said David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond Sports. “We are mindful that time is of the essence with basketball and hockey seasons fast approaching.”

Baseball teams affected by the blackout were the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels.

“We appreciate Diamond Sports working with us to reach a solution that returns the Bally Sports RSNs to our Ultimate TV customers in a way that reflects the changing video marketplace for local sports,” Greg Rigdon, president of content acquisition for Comcast, said in a statement. “We look forward to making these networks available on August 1, so customers can enjoy watching their favorite teams again.”

Financial terms of the agreement with Comcast were not disclosed.