The Detroit Tigers are hardly in a festive mood heading into their regular-season home finale.
An American League Central Division title seemed like a foregone conclusion, but that’s no longer the case. With second-place Cleveland surging, the Tigers (85-70) are reeling. They have lost eight of their last nine games, including five straight.
They’ll look to salvage the finale of a three-game series against Atlanta on Sunday afternoon after losing in stunning fashion on Saturday.
Spencer Torkelson gave them a 5-3 lead in the seventh inning with a two-run homer. The Braves scored one run in the eighth, then pushed across two two-out runs in the ninth to claim a 6-5 victory.
Detroit manager A.J. Hinch is running out of ways to describe the team’s woes.
“I’m out of words today because I’m tired of talking about it,” he said. “We should stop talking and just get to the baseball. That’s what is ultimately going to get us to a better spot. And we did a lot of that today, a lot of it. And none of us are going home feeling good about it.”
Adding to the indignity is that Atlanta’s No. 9 hitter, rookie Nacho Alvarez Jr., blasted the first two homers of his career. Alvarez also had the game-tying single in the ninth.
“It’s difficult to accept,” Hinch said. “It’s difficult to explain. It’s hard to put into words what’s going on. But I know how much we fought today. I know how well we played. And then just an absolute punch right in the face. It was a frustrating day.”
The Braves (72-83) extended their winning streak to a season-best seven games.
Right-hander Casey Mize (14-5, 3.88 ERA), who will start the series finale for the Tigers, won his first two September starts. In his last outing, Mize got a no-decision as Detroit lost in extra innings to Cleveland on Tuesday.
He gave up three runs on seven hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings while notching eight strikeouts for a second straight start.
“It felt at times everything they hit fell and not so much for us,” Mize said.
Mize has faced Atlanta once in his career, a 2024 outing in which he lost after allowing two runs in four innings.
Right-hander Spencer Strider (6-13, 4.64) will be Mize’s mound opponent. Strider is finishing the season strong after a rough August in which he posted a 10.13 ERA. In his last two starts, he has given up just three runs in 13 innings while recording 14 strikeouts.
He held Washington to one run and four hits in seven innings in an 11-3 victory on Monday. In his lone career against the Tigers, he allowed five runs in five innings of a 10-7 win in June 2023.
First baseman Matt Olson had his seven-game hitting streak snapped on Saturday, but he still drew two key walks. Olson had five home runs and five other extra-base hits during that stretch.
“How he handles everything is unbelievable,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It blows me away how those boring pros play every day and have long, great careers because they don’t ride those crests and have those highs and lows.”
–Field Level Media
