Tigers Stay Hot, Sweep Cleveland Guardians
Sunday’s series finale against the Guardians felt like a microcosm of the Tigers’ season. Despite a pitching masterclass from Tarik Skubal, the Tigers find themselves behind late. Down to their last strike, Detroit manufactures a run in one of the most unlikely ways possible. A wild pitch from Emmanuel Clase lets Zach McKinstry come in from third to tie it 1-1, and it seemed like the gritty Tigers were destined to win from there. The offense fired on all cylinders in the 10th inning, scoring six runs, including a three-run bomb from Trey Sweeney off Cleveland’s Cade Smith. The comeback completed a sweep of the Guardians and a seven-game road trip as the Tigers are set to face the Rays in a home series starting Monday. Here are my biggest takeaways from the three-game series
The Bullpen Can Keep Detroit in Games
It’s no secret that losing Jackson Jobe, Alex Cobb, and Sawyer Gipson-Long to injuries has meant the Tigers are in need of starting pitchers to complete their rotation. Cobb should be coming back at some point in the next several weeks, but Detroit will likely be in the market for another strong arm before the trade deadline. All in all, this bullpen has been as good as any in baseball as of late. The bullpen allowed just one run all series to the Guardians, who were mostly shut out offensively by the Tigers’ pitching staff. Even when Detroit’s offense runs cold, which is not often, the bullpen can occasionally keep Detroit alive for a chance to strike late.
The Hitting is Coming from Every Part of the Order
Unlike many slugging offenses in baseball, the Tigers don’t rely on the top of the order, or any part of the order, for power. We just saw Trey Sweeney, who was batting 9th, score the go-ahead three-run home run in the series finale. Javy Baez, who is having an amazing comeback season in his own right, has been consistently batting near the bottom of the order. Finally, Dillon Dingler and Wenceel Perez have been finding holes in the defense consistently at the right times. It’s what makes the Tigers so deadly; there are no holes on the roster.
The Tigers Should Consider Using a Run Game
No team in baseball has attempted to steal fewer bases this season than the Tigers. For most of the season, the strategy has worked fine. Where Detroit is conservative in stealing, they are aggressive on the basepaths with the ball in play. In stretches like this current one, however, it may lead to a lack of action for the team offensively. I think the Tigers might need to begin utilizing base stealing to spark some offense when the hitting isn’t there.
