CLEVELAND — Jason Foley isn’t concerned.
The 27-year-old has been the most consistent high-leverage reliever for the Detroit Tigers throughout the season, but in Wednesday’s 8-7 win over the Minnesota Twins, something uncharacteristic happened.
In the ninth inning, the right-hander surrendered his first home run of the season; that ended a streak of 56 straight appearances without a homer, dating back to Sept. 18, 2022. Even more surprising, the Twins then launched another homer off Foley, just three pitches later.
“One of those days that the stuff maybe wasn’t as sharp as it normally could be,” Foley said. “The sinker probably wasn’t sinking as much. I was probably leaving the ball a little bit too over the middle and being a little too predictable.”
THE FUTURE: Big 3 brewing in Detroit? Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter on fire for Tigers
Foley won’t be making any adjustments, though.
The right-handed reliever has a track record — including an elite 55.9% ground-ball rate this season — of avoiding home runs in his three-year MLB career, averaging 0.4 homers allowed per nine innings over his 123⅓ innings.
His 16.4% fly-ball rate this season is the lowest mark of his career.
“I’m just going to keep attacking the same way I normally do,” Foley said. “Sometimes, that’s just going to happen. I don’t think there’s any reason right now to freak out or make any crazy adjustments.”
In the ninth inning Wednesday, Polanco hit a third-pitch sinker near the middle of the strike zone for a 429-foot two-run home run to center field, then Kepler hit a third-pitch sinker near the middle of the strike zone for a 416-foot homer to right-center.
The homers cut the Twins’ deficit to 8-7.
After allowing a single up the middle, Foley worked out of trouble by inducing a double play to end the game.
“It’s a rarity for him,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Credit to the hitters more than concern from my end, but I feel for him. He came in and got ambushed. It’s part of it, but it’s rare to see that happen to Jason. He’s been so incredible for the whole year”
In 2023, Foley has a 2.56 ERA with 13 walks and 46 strikeouts over 52⅔ innings in 52 games. The two homers in Wednesday’s win marked the first homers against his revered sinker since the 2021 campaign.
His sinker typically generates ground-ball outs.
“I definitely knew I hadn’t given up a home run,” Foley said. “There’s a couple people that told me recently that I’ve been on a long streak of not giving one up. It’s pretty cool, but at the end of the day, I’m trying to get outs.”
Rule 5 draft pick in Toledo
Right-handed reliever Mason Englert, a Rule 5 draft pick in December, has been on the injured list since July 23 with left hip tightness. The 23-year-old has appeared in two games for Triple-A Toledo to begin what should be a lengthy rehab assignment.
He might not return to the Tigers until mid-September.
“We still want to see him stay as strong as he’s been,” Hinch said. “It’s been an encouraging first two outs. The velocity has been good, and his stuff has been a little bit better. He looks a little more fresh, which is good. We’re going to extend him out to two-plus (innings) pretty soon.”
Englert tossed two scoreless innings Wednesday against Triple-A Omaha, the Kansas City Royals’ affiliate. He gave up two hits and one walk with three strikeouts in his 31-pitch performance.
In Wednesday’s appearance, Englert threw 12 changeups (39%), 11 sinkers (35%), six sliders (19%) and two curveballs (6%). He generated six whiffs with four changeups and two sliders.
His sinker — replacing the four-seam fastball in his arsenal — averaged 92.2 mph.
“He had a debut in the big leagues before he debuted in Triple-A,” Hinch said. “That’s a rarity. I think the length of the season is all new for him, and he’s still got yet another month on the back end of this (rehab assignment).”
Before the injury, Englert had a 5.46 ERA with 17 walks and 41 strikeouts across 56 innings in 31 relief appearances in the big leagues. The Tigers selected Englert in the Rule 5 draft from the Texas Rangers.
“We’re still not sure what his long-term role is going to be, whether he stretches back out as a starter next year or continues in the bridge role,” Hinch said, “but Mason has been very good at answering challenges.”
The return of Javier Báez
Shortstop Javier Báez, who hasn’t played since Aug. 11, is expected to join the Tigers before Friday’s doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. He will be activated from the bereavement list.
The 30-year-old, whose grandfather died recently, has been in Puerto Rico with his family for funeral services.
Báez is batting .221 with seven home runs, 18 walks and 103 strikeouts in 109 games this season. He posted a .160 batting average with one walk and 11 strikeouts through eight games in August before landing on the bereavement list.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.