DETROIT — The Tigers and Blue Jays continue to play low-scoring duels. Their latest matchup Saturday came down to a pair of speedy plays from big sluggers. Three innings after Eric Haase bolted down the first-base line to beat out a double-play grounder and allow Robbie Grossman to score the tying run, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went airborne sliding into home plate to beat Akil Baddoo’s throw on a Corey Dickerson 10th-inning single, sending Detroit to a 3-2 loss at Comerica Park.
Blue Jays rookie starter Alek Manoah shut down the Tigers for the first six innings, holding Detroit to a Willi Castro hit-by-pitch and a Derek Hill single — both with one out in the third inning. Manoah took the mound for the seventh with a 2-0 lead and a one-hit shutout bid until Jonathan Schoop and Grossman hit back-to-back singles.
Manoah struck out Miguel Cabrera for the third time in as many at-bats, this time on a 95 mph fastball, but Jeimer Candelario’s one-out single scored Schoop and moved Grossman to third. Haase hit a grounder to short but reached a sprint speed of 28.9 feet per second down the line to beat second baseman Marcus Semien’s throw and tie the game.
As well as Manoah pitched, including eight strikeouts, the Tigers got what they wanted out of a piggyback start day, heading into the late innings with a chance to win. José Ureña tossed three scoreless innings on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in his return from the injured list, showing none of the command woes or hard-hit damage that plagued him earlier in the summer. Alejandro Kirk’s sixth-inning solo homer off Tyler Alexander and Bo Bichette’s seventh-inning RBI single off Jason Foley put Toronto in front.
The Blue Jays loaded up their lineup with right-handed hitters against Ureña in anticipation of Alexander following in relief. But their lone lefty hitter, Dickerson, churned out three opposite-field singles, two of them against an infield shift.