Detroit — The Detroit Tigers are going through a bit of a power surge — at least by their standards, anyway.
In the last two games, the Tigers have hit five homers. Three of them have come off the bat of Jeimer Candelario, one from Miguel Cabrera and another came by way of Eric Haase, whose grand slam against San Diego turned a tie game into a 5-1 lead.
Candelario homered again Tuesday night in a 6-4 loss to the Padres. His five hits in the previous two days are the most hits in any two-day stretch by the Tigers’ struggling third baseman this season. He’s seeing the benefits of taking the All-Star break — and his tough goings at the plate — seriously, Tigers manager AJ Hinch said before the series finale against San Diego on Wednesday.
“(I) gave him three or four days off before leading into the break. He took the whole break and went home and hit on his own and did some things to take care of in the second half,” Hinch said.
The Tigers’ inability to hit the long ball this season is well documented. Their five home runs over the last two games have drawn Detroit’s total on the season to 59, which is still 17 homers behind 29th-place Cleveland.
Haase’s turnaround has resided more in the on-base department than a pure power standpoint — he’s hitting .325/.382/.625 over his last 27 games, with six home runs and six doubles.
“If more guys can warm up and contribute the way that Candy and Haase have, then obviously, we’re gonna have a deeper lineup and a better lineup,” Hinch said. “We’re pretty far behind in the home-run race when it comes to teams, and we’ve put that together in the last few days that have made our team a little bit more interesting.
Chafin won’t make trip
Left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin is the lone player on the Tigers’ roster whose vaccination status disqualifies him from making the trip to Toronto this weekend.
“Me and my wife talked about it, getting it or not getting it, and we decided it’d be best for our family if we didn’t,” Chafin said. “For me, family life and personal life comes before anything. And so we decided as a family that it’s best to go this route, and now we’re going to deal with the consequences.”
Chafin left the door open on getting the vaccine if he were traded to a contender: “If the situation calls for it, maybe” he would get vaccinated, he said.
Back on track
As Tarik Skubal takes the mound on Wednesday amid recent rumors that he’ll be available at the trade deadline, Hinch said that he’s not too worried about the noise impacting Skubal’s game.
“I think nowadays, there’s not a guy who’s not discussed at some level,” Hinch said. “I haven’t spent any time inside talking about it; it’s kind of one of those unspoken things. I guess if it was bothering somebody, they’d come in, but we got a pretty tall task in front of us with some of the guys he’s gonna face (on Wednesday). I don’t think he’s that worried.”
What Hinch and Skubal may be focused on, though, is Skubal’s mechanics. He got back to his early-season ways in his last start against Oakland with no earned runs, two hits and nine strikeouts over six innings pitched, and is looking to duplicate that in Wednesday’s matinee.
“Obviously, mechanics speak to consistency, and when he’s synced up and not doing too much, but doing enough to create some energy down the hill, he’s a different pitcher,” Hinch said.
Hinch said that Skubal’s size — at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds — can be a double-edged sword when it comes to finding his groove on the mound.
“When he gets out of whack, you see him spray the ball. He doesn’t land in the same spot; his front side gets a little bit too big. There’s just a lot of moving parts with him as a big, physical guy,” Hinch said. “Trying to dial it back sometimes impacts his velocity, so it’s always a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game with him.
“But when he’s synced up and throws strike one, the hitters have a hard time adjusting to the slider.”
The gone, the hurt and the healthy
You can officially say goodbye to the hope of Spencer Turnbull taking the mound for Detroit this year.
Turnbull, who turns 30 in September, had Tommy John surgery almost one year ago to the day (July 29) after opening the 2021 season with a 2.88 ERA — and a no-hitter — in nine starts.
“I don’t think Turnbull’s gonna pitch this season, based on where we’re at, based on where he’s at,” Hinch said. “It’s a slow rise. We’d have to have a sprint finish to get him into a game in September. That’s probably not wise for us or wise for him.”
Along with outfielder Austin Meadows and fellow backstop Dustin Garneau (groin), Tigers catcher Jake Rogers (elbow) was one of a few players to take live batting practice off Joey Wentz (shoulder strain) in Lakeland on Tuesday.
Hinch said that Meadows, who is rehabbing after dealing with a variety of injuries sustained this season, still has “no timeline” for return.
“We’re gonna see him on this road trip in Minnesota,” Hinch said. “I think he’s gonna rejoin us so we can see, physically, where he’s at. He’s still in Lakeland, doing a lot of rehab. He hasn’t run yet. We’re gonna hope to initiate that when he gets to us in Minnesota for a few days before we can hopefully get him out playing.
“It bothers everybody that he’s not progressing faster, and we’re getting to the point in the season where we’re gonna have to test him more aggressively for us to salvage the season.”
Around the horn
Right-handed starter Matt Manning (shoulder inflammation) is scheduled to make a rehab start in Toledo on Wednesday. Hinch said that he’s hoping Manning goes five innings.
… Hinch said that the Tigers plan to use their 15th starter of the season this weekend in Toronto and that he’ll announce the player who will be getting the bump on Friday after Wednesday’s game.
… It’s now become official that right-handed starter Alex Faedo (hip) and right-handed reliever Kyle Funkhouser (shoulder) will need season-ending surgeries. Hinch said over the weekend that they would be shut down for the remainder of the year but was uncertain about whether they would require surgery. Hinch said “the hope would be that they would be available” when spring rolls around next year.
On deck: Blue Jays
► Series: Four games at Rogers Centre, Toronto
► First pitch: Thursday-Friday — 7:07 p.m.; Saturday — 3:07 p.m.; Sunday — 12:05 p.m.
► TV/radio: Thursday — Bally Sports Detroit/97.1 FM; Friday — Apple TV+/97.1 FM, Saturday — Bally Sports Detroit/97.1 FM; Sunday — Peacock/97.1 FM
► Probables: Thursday — LHP Tyler Alexander (2-3, 4.05 ERA) vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (3-5, 5.12); Friday — TBD vs. RHP Alek Manoah (11-4, 2.24); Saturday — RHP Drew Hutchison (1-4, 4.84) vs. RHP Ross Stripling (5-3, 3.10); Sunday — RHP Garrett Hill (1-2, 5.57) vs. RHP Jose Berrios (7-4, 5.20)
Scouting report
► Alexander, Tigers: Though he’s been used sparingly for most of the season, Alexander has been g after a shaky first month of the season. He went three scoreless innings his last time out against Minnesota and he has a 1.29 ERA in 10 appearances (21 innings) since the start of June, when he returned from an elbow sprain.
► Kikuchi, Blue Jays: After making an All-Star appearance in 2021, Kikuchi has come back down to earth a bit this season — and that’s especially true for June and July, during which time he’s featured a 7.99 ERA and opposing batting average of .315 and an OPS of 1.139. Making matters even more interesting is that Kikuchi will be making his first appearance in three weeks, as a neck strain has kept him on the disabled list since July 5.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi