CLEVELAND — The Tigers were five outs away from what would’ve been their second doubleheader sweep of the Guardians this season before Cleveland’s offense finally broke through. Brayan Rocchio’s RBI single and Will Brennan’s go-ahead two-run double powered a four-run eighth-inning rally off the Tigers’ bullpen, spoiling Joey Wentz‘s five scoreless innings in a spot start in a 4-1 Detroit defeat.
The Tigers were initially planning to start Matt Manning as scheduled Friday night, but instead used the 27th roster spot for the doubleheader to recall Wentz, who was slated to start for Triple-A Toledo. Though Wentz entered with a 2-10 record and 7.03 ERA with the Tigers this season, one of those wins was in Cleveland on May 8.
Though Wentz wasn’t overpowering, he mixed his cutter with breaking pitches to hold the Guardians to three singles and a Kole Calhoun double. He flummoxed All-Star José Ramírez in an 0-for-3 effort, including two popouts with runners on base. Combine his effort with Tarik Skubal’s six strong innings in the 4-2 win in the opener, and Tigers starters held the Guardians to one run on seven hits over 11 innings for the doubleheader.
Andy Ibañez’s fourth-inning RBI double over Oscar Gonzalez’s head stood as the lone run in the nightcap until the Guardians finally broke out in the eighth, capitalizing on Andrés Giménez’s four-pitch leadoff walk off lefty Andrew Vasquez. José Cisnero induced a ground ball from Gonzalez but lost Calhoun to a one-out walk.
Rocchio, who had six strikeouts and one walk for the doubleheader, lined a game-tying single through the middle for his first ball in play of the day. Brennan’s ensuing drive to center carried over Matt Vierling’s head for two more runs.