DETROIT — There were 24,685 fans who filled Comerica Park on Saturday afternoon, and for 5 2/3 innings, Michael Lorenzen had them on the edges of their seats.
Lorenzen took a perfect-game bid into the sixth in a 7-3 win over the White Sox, retiring the first 17 batters he faced only to allow a hit to Romy González, who had gone 0-for-16 in his career against the Tigers entering that at-bat. Ultimately, Lorenzen exited after 6 2/3 innings to a standing ovation, with Jason Foley entering.
But all too quickly, the game went from a simple pitching masterpiece to a back-and-forth roller-coaster win exemplifying what has helped the Tigers launch their surprise climb from the bottom of the division toward the top.
Lorenzen was charged with two runs, both unearned, after a throwing error on Andy Ibáñez extended the inning against Foley, allowing Gavin Sheets, up next, to crush a bases-clearing double off the center-field fence that put the White Sox in front. But it wasn’t long before the Tigers took their revenge.
In the bottom of the seventh, Zach McKinstry crushed a game-tying homer before doubles from Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson gave the Tigers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Eric Haase added an RBI single, and Zack Short joined the offensive pile-on with a two-run homer in the eighth.
“Baseball is incredible, because it gives you these emotional roller coasters but also a great opportunity to pick up a teammate,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “I don’t know why this sport gives you these opportunities, but I thought our guys did an incredible job of picking up their teammate and winning the game.”
Lorenzen, McKinstry, Greene and Torkelson are four players with the same story. After a slow start to the season, the Tigers, with little fanfare, have embarked on a run of success that has pulled them closer and closer to winning baseball as their key pieces round into form.
Lorenzen pitched to a 7.07 ERA in April; in May, his ERA is 1.95. After batting .271/.318/.458 in March and April, McKinstry has batted .310 with a staggering .481 OBP this month. Greene was batting .234/.293/.327 at the end of April; he’s now up to .292/.355/.436. And Torkelson, who hit a paltry .206/.266/.309 in March and April, has batted .273/.360/.432 in May.
Since starting the season 2-9, the Tigers have gone 22-17. They’re within two games of .500, and with barely a peep, have climbed within two games of first place in the AL Central.
“We’re playing good baseball — everyone’s playing loose,” Lorenzen said. “Everyone shows up with a ton of energy. This is the most energy I’ve seen in a team. A lot of young guys; they bring the energy each and every day, and that’s how you play good, consistent baseball.”
Against the White Sox, Lorenzen pitched 6 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run for the first time in his career. He did so through relentless efficiency, throwing 65 of his 95 pitches for strikes. Leaning heavily on his fastball/slider combo, Lorenzen pounded the strike zone, picking up one out after another via soft contact.
For the Tigers, his result was one-third of an inning and two unearned runs short of ideal. But with the bullpen depleted coming off Joey Wentz’s four-inning start, during which Mason Englert and Tyler Alexander both threw more than 30 pitches in relief, Lorenzen’s start gave the entire pitching staff a lift.
For Lorenzen himself, meanwhile, the outing marked another sign of consistency after a rough start to the year. Lorenzen was hit hard in April but lowered his ERA to 3.44 with three consecutive excellent starts to open May. Five earned runs vs. the Royals on Monday lifted him back to 4.08, but with the gem against Chicago, his season-long ERA is back down to 3.50.
And for the offense, the win was a reminder that the slow start to the year may have been a slump that will pass. Indeed, maybe it already has. Coming back to beat the White Sox, the Tigers looked nothing like the club that started the season 2-9, a team they hope they’ve left behind.
“I can go on forever,” Hinch said. “We had a lot of really good things happen today, and we created them. It wasn’t just something that was given to us.”