The Detroit Tigers boosted their record to 10-15 after winning Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles. Reaching 10 wins on the 25th game of the season set a “new record” over the past three seasons.
The Tigers, managed by A.J. Hinch for the past three years, earned their 10th win in the 34th game in 2021 and 33rd game in 2022. Slow starts doomed the Tigers both years.
Yet the offense remains very underwhelming, despite the improved record.
“The encouragement is that I think we’re putting together better games,” Hinch said Sunday. “I think we’re playing cleaner baseball. I think we’re giving ourselves a chance (to win). There’s a mishap here, or two, but there’s generally some pretty good decision making going on.”
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Entering Tuesday, the Tigers (10-17) are third in the American League Central, behind the Minnesota Twins (17-12) and Cleveland Guardians (14-15), and ahead of the Chicago White Sox (8-21) and Kansas City Royals (7-22).
“I take great pride that these guys are going to keep the fight,” Hinch said. “We got a lot of work to do. Nine wins versus 10 wins versus 12 wins, I want as many as we can get, but if we play this brand of baseball, the first-pitch strikes is real, the at-bats, while sporadic at times, when we put them together, that’s what I’m happy with right now.”
The Tigers finished 77-85 in 2021 and 66-96 in 2022.
This season, the Tigers have taken nine of their 17 losses by three runs or fewer, and they have scored three runs or fewer in 16 of 27 games. They are 2-14 when scoring three runs or fewer.
“We’re fighting,” outfielder Matt Vierling said. “It’s definitely a little frustrating, I’m not going to lie, but we’re in almost every game we play, and we’re just right there. At some point, those will fall and other things will go our way. If anything, it shows a lot about our team.”
The lack of run scoring remains an issue, similar to 2022.
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The offense has increased its walk rate, from 6.5% in 2022 to an 8.3% walk rate in 2023, but the strikeout rate has gotten worse from 24.1% in 2022 to 26.5% in 2023. The batting average has dropped from .231 in 2022 to .222 in 2023.
Most importantly, the Tigers are averaging 3.26 runs per game, worst in baseball.
First baseman Spencer Torkelson, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick with 513 plate appearances in his MLB career, is hitting .206 with two home runs, eight walks and 23 strikeouts in 26 games. Outfielder Riley Greene, the 2019 No. 5 overall pick with 534 plate appearances in his career, is hitting .234 with two homers, nine walks and 37 strikeouts in 27 games.
Right now, Zach McKinstry is the best player on offense.
“He’s getting towards a full season number of at-bats,” Hinch said of Torkelson. “He’s learning a lot, and he’s learning the hard way. As we get going, the pitch selection is always going to be a big part of it. The growth of him and making adjustments are going to be a big part of it.
“He’s got expectations that we’re trying to temper to make sure that he can have that learning curve at this level. … I realize he’s starting to pile up the at-bats where we hope the adjustments come.”
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The pitching staff has survived with adequate starters (5.11 ERA ranks 23rd in MLB) and better-than-expected relievers (4.40 ERA ranks 20th). The bullpen bounced back from a rough start and has a 2.63 ERA in 16 games since April 13.
Left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez owns a 0.68 ERA with three walks and 24 strikeouts in his past four starts, but the Tigers only won two of those games, losing 4-3 to the Toronto Blue Jays on April 12 and 2-1 to the Orioles on April 23. They beat the Cleveland Guardians, 1-0, on April 18.
The Tigers finally gave Rodriguez run support Saturday, posting five runs in the first three innings for a 7-4 victory in Game 1. Rodriguez twirled five innings of one-run ball.
“I’m never thinking about how many runs we score,” Rodriguez said. “I’m thinking about going out there and putting up zeros. If the game is 0-0 or 10-0, I want to go out there and get three outs. That’s it. That’s the way I think every time I’m on the mound.”
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The offense, despite below-average production from their former top prospects, has created scoring opportunities by drawing more walks.
But the Tigers are hitting .189 (43-for-228) with runners in scoring position, last in MLB. The offense will improve if there are more hits in key situations, and so will the record.
“It’s huge to have that mindset of never give up, keep going, keep fighting,” Vierling said. “That will serve us well down the road. It’s definitely important, especially with the young guys we got and some of the veterans, too. It’s a good trait.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
Next up: Mets
Matchup: Tigers (10-17) vs. N.Y. Mets (15-13), series opener.
First pitch: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday; Comerica Park, Detroit.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Probable pitchers: Tigers — RHP Michael Lorenzen (0-1, 7.07 ERA); Mets — LHP Joey Lucchesi (1-0, 2.19).