The Tigers woes continued on Wednesday. The lineup continued to struggle badly to string hits together, and the pitching staff gave the opposition another large early lead to work with. Not the recipe for success as this brutal homestand finally nears an end. The Yankees got a good outing from Gerrit Cole and blasted four home runs to take the series with a 6-2 victory, their first series victory in 11 tries. The Tigers will try to salvage the final game of the four-game set on Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers got out to another rough start in this one. The plan was for Brendan White to get through the top of the Yankees lineup and perhaps collect somewhere between three and six outs, depending on how it went, with Joey Wentz taking over from him and running with the ball from that point. It did not go well.
White looked good for a few moments. He punched out DJ LeMahieu on a fastball right down the middle that the veteran infielder swung through, and then Aaron Judge whiffed on another fastball down and just out of the zone away. Pitching is easy!
Then things immediately fell apart. White walked Gleyber Torres, who promptly stole second base. Giancarlo Stanton lined a single the opposite way, and it was 1-0 Yankees. White hit Anthony Volpe as his command disintegrated, and Harrison Bader ripped a single to left to load the bases. White drilled Everson Pereira to force in a run, and the Tigers had to go get him, putting Wentz in earlier than anyone anticipated. The lefty managed to get a pop-up to end the inning, but after four straight losses, this was not an auspicious beginning.
The Tigers went in order against Gerrit Cole, and Wentz came back out only to surrender a one-out solo shot to LeMahieu, and then walked Judge. He bounced back, getting Torres to flyout and then punching out Stanton, but it’s tough spotting better teams the lead every night.
The Tigers got a Matt Vierling single and no more, and Wentz gave up another run in the top of the third. Jake Rogers got the home team on the board with a solo shot off of Cole in the bottom of the third, his 16th on the season, and it felt momentarily like the Tigers would make a game of it. They really did not make a game of it, however.
Wentz surrendered back-to-back homers to Torres and Stanton in the top of the fourth, and the Yankees cruised from that point on with a 6-1 lead.
The lefty did get some defensive help out there as Parker Meadows flew across the Comerica Park lawns to run down this shot off the bat of Oswaldo Peraza.
Wentz settled down and eventually turned the ball over to Jose Cisnero with two outs in the sixth. The veteran reliever, now on waivers and awaiting his fate in that regard, punched out Stanton to start his outing.
Wentz ended with 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 SO and three home runs allowed. I see a life of bullpen work in Mr. Wentz’s future.
After Riley Greene grounded out to open the bottom of the sixth, Spencer Torkelson turned on a Cole heater and bombed it to left for his 24th home run on the year. 6-2 Yankees. Unfortunately, that scored held up the rest of the way.
Cisnero got the Yankees in order in the seventh, and Gerrit Cole’s day was done in the bottom half as Ian Hamilton took over. That briefly lent hope of a comeback but it would not materialize. A two-out Andy Ibánez walk was all they’d manage against Hamilton.
Tyler Holton handled the top of the eighth with his usual speed and success, but with the top of the order up in the bottom half, the Tigers really needed something to start with Akil Baddoo, Greene, and Torkelson. Instead they went in order and this one was basically over.
Jason Foley hadn’t pitched since Sunday, so he took the top of the ninth, stranding Torres after a one-out double. Hamilton struck out McKinstry and Vierling for the final two outs of the game to finish his outing in style.
It’ll be up to Matt Manning to silence the Yankees bats on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET. Clarke Schmidt will get the start for the Yanks.