The Detroit Tigers flipped the script in the sixth inning.
A leadoff single from Andy Ibáñez, coming off the first multi-home run game of his career, provided the first hit for the Tigers against Chicago Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon. Jake Rogers and Akil Baddoo tossed in singles, as well, to load the bases for the triumvirate in the batting order.
“A seeing-eye single, and then all of a sudden, you relax a little bit,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We were trying to make an adjustment on him the entire day. Success usually helps the adjustment happen.”
The Tigers put together a memorable comeback, thanks to one powerful swing, but couldn’t beat the Cubs in Wednesday’s series finale at Comerica Park. The Tigers lost, 6-4, and dropped two of three games to begin a 10-game homestand, which continues Friday against the Houston Astros.
“Credit for them for hanging in there with two outs,” Hinch said, “but also, we extended some innings that gave them the opportunity.”
Three consecutive singles in the sixth inning put the Tigers (58-69) in a perfect position to chew into a four-run deficit, because Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter — the best hitters on the roster — were due up with the bases loaded as Taillon’s pitch count neared triple digits.
Greene, batting .295 in 91 games, struck out swinging on a down-and-in curveball below the strike zone, and Torkelson, armed with 23 home runs in 125 games, flew out to shallow left field on an elevated sweeper above the zone.
The Tigers were about to squander the bases-loaded opportunity, but Carpenter saved Greene, Torkelson and the rest of his teammates when he swung at Taillon’s down-and-in cutter that stayed inside the strike zone.
“When I stick to my approach in general, I can do some damage,” Carpenter said. “It was the same thing. I knew he had to make a pitch there.”
The ball traveled 381 feet and over the wall in right-center for a grand slam. It was Carpenter’s 20th home run in 84 games this season, and the first grand slam of his 115-game career.
The grand slam tied the game, 4-4.
“It was fun because it brought the team back in the game,” Carpenter said. “That was the most fun part about it. Seeing the guys in the dugout, that’s my favorite part, celebrating with those guys.”
Taillon allowed four runs on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts over 5⅔ innings, throwing 55 of 99 pitches for strikes. His replacement, right-handed reliever Michael Rucker, struck out Matt Vierling on three pitches to end the sixth inning.
How it ended
The Tigers handed the lead back to the Cubs in the top of the eighth inning.
Right-handed reliever Beau Brieske should have recorded three outs against the first three hitters, but he only got two outs because of a defensive mistake. Ian Happ reached safely on an infield single. The single, though, could have been ruled as an error charged to Vierling at third base, who interfered with shortstop Zach McKinstry’s ability to field the ball.
“Almost every run that was scored, there was a walk involved somewhere in the inning,” Hinch said. “They found some holes, but they found holes because the lineup kept moving with a walk. That was frustrating.”
A six-pitch walk to Seiya Suzuki extended the inning, and Yan Gomes ripped a middle-middle 97.7 mph four-seam fastball into left field. The Cubs tested Baddoo’s arm in left field and were rewarded when Happ scored easily for a 5-4 lead.
Cubs right-handed reliever Julian Merryweather struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth inning: Greene (swinging, 99.2 mph fastball), Torkelson (called, 100.1 mph fastball) and Carpenter (84.1 mph changeup).
The Cubs extended their lead to 6-4 with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. Left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez allowed a walk and a single, and a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners into scoring position.
Right-handed reliever José Cisnero took over for Vasquez after the three-batter minimum. The first batter he faced, Nico Hoerner, pumped a second-pitch fastball to the warning track in right field for a sac fly and a two-run advantage.
The Tigers, facing right-handed reliever Adbert Alzolay, put the tying run on first with one out in the ninth, and then runners on the corners, on Parker Meadows’ walk and McKinstry’s single. Although Ibáñez struck out, McKinstry — representing the game-tying run — stole second base with two outs.
But Rogers struck out swinging to end the game.
“They’re all kind of frustrating when we lose, but today was tough,” Carpenter said. “We fought there for a little bit, and they put some good at-bats and made some pitches. It is what it is.”
Scary moment for Skubal
Left-hander Tarik Skubal started his ninth game since returning from flexor tendon surgeries, and in the fourth inning, the 26-year-old took a comebacker off his left leg and fell to the ground.
The hit from Gomes had a 101.6 mph exit velocity.
Skubal received a mound visit from Hinch and assistant athletic trainer Matt Rankin. He threw a few warmup pitches, stayed in the game and completed six innings before departing after 85 pitches.
“You only get to play once every five days,” Skubal said. “When you’re in that moment, you don’t want anything to take away from your time to actually go out there and play. It would take a lot for me to not want to go out there and compete, so I didn’t really ever think I was going to come out of the game.”
The southpaw, who tossed 63 of 85 pitches for strikes, allowed four runs on six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in his six-inning performance. The Cubs scored one run in the second, two runs in the third and one run in the fourth.
A two-out double from ex-Tiger Jeimer Candelario drove in the first run in the second inning. He has 37 doubles (and 18 home runs) in a bounce-back campaign after the Tigers non-tendered him following the 2022 season.
A two-out single from Cody Bellinger scored the second and third runs in the third inning. A two-out single from Madrigal plated Gomes, who hit the comebacker at Skubal’s leg, for the fourth run in the fourth inning.
“Stat lines can be misleading at times,” Skubal said. “I felt like I did a good job competing. The one from Madrigal was a step in front of Akil (in left field), and the one from Bellinger was barely to the left, to where I’m getting out of those innings with nothing. That’s the game.”
Skubal owns a 4.06 ERA in nine starts this season.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.