DETROIT — The way the Tigers’ homestand unfolded, they’ll take it.
They seemed set for another heart-crushing rally-stopper on Thursday afternoon, with Zack Short‘s broken-bat comebacker setting up what looked like a sure inning-ending double play. But when Gleyber Torres‘ throw from second veered down the line toward the Yankees’ dugout, they had a walk-off error instead. Kerry Carpenter strolled home, and the Tigers claimed a 4-3 victory over the Yankees at Comerica Park.
It wasn’t as tidy as Detroit seemed set to make it for most of the afternoon, with Short’s solo homer spurring a three-run fifth inning for a 3-0 lead that held until Anthony Volpe’s three-run homer off Alex Lange with two outs in the ninth. But considering the Tigers hadn’t held a lead since Parker Meadows’ walk-off homer on Friday — a 49-inning gap without an advantage — they are in no position to be choosy.
It was that kind of homestand for the Tigers, who avoided what would’ve been a four-game sweep to the Yankees. Detroit went 3-7 in that stretch, winning a game each against the Yankees, Astros and Cubs, the latter two in the thick of playoff races. The Tigers led for only one inning out of a 63-inning stretch from last Wednesday to Tuesday. The struggles against New York extended Detroit’s season-long issues with the AL East, a division against which the Tigers are just 6-23 with three games to go in the Bronx next week.
“We talk all the time about hitting the reset button and getting to the next game,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “This has been a bad little stretch.”
Here are four things we learned about the Tigers:
Meadows can make an impact here
The Tigers called up Meadows when the homestand began because they felt he could make a difference on both sides of the ball. By the end, he had his first hit, his first home run robbery, a walk-off homer, a Comerica Park triple, had reached elite-level sprint speed per Statcast (30.0 feet per second) to run down a ball, had steals of second and third base, batted in the middle of the lineup and garnered enough respect for an intentional walk in extra innings on Thursday.
Meadows went 10-for-34 (.294) on the homestand with six RBIs. It was about as seamless of a transition to the big leagues as the Tigers have had in recent years. It’s arguably a template the Tigers can use for other prospects in terms of patience, using extra time to address weaknesses before Major League teams begin to scout and exploit them.
Up-and-coming offense takes a step back
The Tigers still believe in their sweet-swinging trio of Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Carpenter, the latter two of which were heating up heading into the homestand. But while Carpenter kept on hitting, going 12-for-36 (.333) with two homers and eight RBIs, Greene and Torkelson combined to go 11-for-72 with two homers — both Torkelson solo shots — four RBIs, 10 walks and 24 strikeouts.
While Torkelson had some disciplined at-bats that put him in advantageous counts, he struggled to take advantage. Greene struggled to find his timing against fastballs for most of the homestand before a two-hit performance Thursday.
Tork’s defense slumps
Torkelson’s work at first base has saved fellow Tigers infielders from plenty of errors over the past two years, none more than shortstop Javier Báez. But Torkelson could’ve used some help himself after four errors over the homestand, including two miscues in the opener against the Cubs.
Torkelson spent the rest of the week getting extra work digging out ground balls and throws in the dirt, and he seemed back to his usual steadiness by the end of the series against the Yankees after a couple miscues to begin the set. But it reminds us that even Torkelson isn’t infallible on defense.
Baserunning deficit
Given the Tigers’ struggles to plate runs at times this year, they’ve seemed more likely to take chances on the bases. So it was odd to see the Yankees become the aggressors on the basepaths this series, swiping four bases nearly uncontested in Detroit’s 6-2 defeat on Wednesday.
But it wasn’t just that game. The Tigers gave up 10 stolen bases for the homestand without a caught stealing until Carson Kelly threw out Jake Bauers at second base in the second inning Thursday. Detroit nabbed another out on the basepaths by picking off Volpe in the fourth.
“These guys will put pressure on you if you fall asleep at the wheel,” Hinch said. “I like that we responded that way by controlling that.”