After a forgettable end to August, the Detroit Tigers will aim for a memorable September when they kick it off looking to even their three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
The month started well for the Tigers, as they won four straight games (beginning July 31) and outscored their opponents 40-7 in that stretch, including two straight shutouts. The streak sparked a 9-3 run that pulled the Tigers within a game of .500 by nearly mid-month.
Then the spiral began, with Detroit dropping 13 of its next 16 games, culminating in an 11-1 loss to the Twins in the series opener on Monday to fall to 63-74.
“We have to execute better on the mound, and obviously we need to handle the ball better,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said after the game. “Tonight was a really bad night. You can pick any aspect; we got outplayed. It’s a bad feeling going back to the hotel after a game like that. Across the board, we didn’t do our job.”
A struggling offense has been an issue. Detroit has been limited to one run or less in four of its past five games, and in the fifth game scored only two runs but beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, 2-1.
“In the past, we’d just kind of grind away,” said right fielder Zach McKinstry, who pitched the eighth inning with his team down by eight runs on Monday. “… That hasn’t been the case lately.”
The Tigers hope the return of left fielder Riley Greene can boost them. Greene, who is batting .273 with an OPS of .816 this season, has been out three weeks with a right hamstring strain. The team is batting .206 in his absence.
“Doesn’t suck to have an All-Star back in your lineup, and the energy he brings, and the presence he brings and the stability,” Hinch said of Greene, who is expected to be activated ahead of Tuesday’s game. “But it doesn’t have to just be him. We can pick up the pace in multiple areas of the batting order.”
Troy Melton (7-3, 1.86 ERA) will take to the mound on Tuesday for Detroit. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Twins, who will eye a third straight win as they try to stay in the race for the third and final wild-card berth in the American League.
Minnesota (66-72) sits 3 1/2 games back, with three other teams between them and the Cleveland Guardians (69-68), who hold the No. 3 spot.
Ryan Jeffers helped spur the Minnesota offense on Monday with a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot in the fifth that pushed the Twins’ lead to 5-0.
“It wasn’t a great August for me. I felt like I was putting … a good process together but just didn’t have great (at-bats), great results,” the catcher said. “We’ve been working through stuff … and I think we found some good momentum, and the results kind of speak for themselves.”
Minnesota will go with reliever Andrew Morris (4-7, 3.82 ERA) as its opener in a bullpen game. The rookie right-hander, who is turning 25 on Tuesday, will face the Tigers for the second time in his career. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits in a no-decision, one-inning appearance on June 10.
–Field Level Media
