Brief rally falls short as Detroit Tigers fall to New York Yankees, 4-1; Recap

Detroit Tigers (59-71) vs. New York Yankees (62-68)

When: 6:40 p.m. Monday.

Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.

TV: Bally Sports Detroit (and MLB Network for out-of-market viewers).

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit (Tigers radio affiliates).

Starting pitchers: Tigers RHP Reese Olson (2-5, 5.29 ERA) vs. Yankees RHP Luis Severino (3-8, 7.26 ERA).

• Box score

WHO’S THE NEW GUY: Playing time about to increase for Detroit Tigers catcher Carson Kelly. Here’s why

Tigers lineup:

2B Zach McKinstry
LF Riley Greene
3B Matt Vierling
1B Spencer Torkelson
RF Kerry Carpenter
DH Miguel Cabrera
CF Parker Meadows
SS Javier Báez
C Carson Kelly

Who to follow: Evan Petzold, Free Press Tigers beat writer.

Game notes: The Tigers kick off a new series on Monday with the New York Yankees, who’ve had a wretched August.

The Yankees maintain sky-high standards, but this summer they just haven’t been able to capture the magic, posting a record of 10-15 in July and 7-17 in August while watching the wild-card race slip out of sight.

To be fair to the Yankees, they play in easily the toughest division in the MLB, the AL East, where the Yankees are the only team under .500. But no matter how you spin it, this isn’t your father’s Yankee team. The season started going downhill for the Yanks when last year’s MVP, Aaron Judge, sprained his toe and was placed on the injured list on June 4. The Yankees struggled mightily after the injury and have failed to recapture their previous form, even since he returned at the end of July.

The Tigers will be facing Severino, who is having far and away the worst season of his career. Severino spent the first portion of the season on the injured list but just hasn’t been himself this year. In 15 starts this season, Severino has allowed five or more earned runs on six occasions, including one game with nine earned runs and three games with seven earned runs apiece. However, Severino is coming off one of his best outings of 2023. In his most recent appearance, Severino allowed just one hit and zero runs in 6⅔ innings against the Washington Nationals. The Tigers should prove as a good test to see if Severino has recaptured his mojo or just had one good outing.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will start rookie Reese Olson, who has been hit hard in both his last two outings. Olson has struggled at times this year, but it’s not for a lack of talent or nasty stuff, especially his slider. But his last outing against the Chicago Cubs provides a good insight into what we’ve seen from Olson. In 4⅔ innings, Olson struck out seven batters and at times made guys look silly, but also issued three walks and allowed six earned runs.

Olson is still just 24 and was fast-tracked to the MLB. He spent the second half of last year with Double-A Erie and then just a few months with Triple-A Toledo in 2023 before being called up in June. He’s still inexperienced, and the last few months of the season are a great opportunity for Olson to try and get comfortable at the MLB level and work out some of the kinks.