Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers Series Recap, AL Central standings

Riley Greene stopped the bleeding by throwing out a runner at the plate for an inning-ending double play. Lorenzen got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fifth inning, stranding Greene, Baez, and Urshela, and it was the end of his outing.

Reese Olson pitched into the seventh inning before the Tigers’ bullpen took over with one out. Unfortunately, Olson’s stellar day resulted in a loss on his record, as he just couldn’t get any production from his offense.

The Tigers showed no offense in the 7th, threatenedbut failed to score in the 8th, and were once again shut down in the 9th. The Rangers took game one 1-0.

Game Two:

Casey Mize and Jon Gray faced off in game two. Mize was making his first start at home in over two years, his first since undergoing Tommy John Surgery. Both starters retired at the top of the opposing teams’ batting order. Gray struck out the side. Mize continued his strong start by striking out two in the 2nd and once again completing a 1-2-3 inning. Kerry Carpenter tripled to lead off the bottom of the 2nd inning but was left at third as the Tigers threatened but failed to score.

Mize stranded a runner in the 3rd as he kept the Rangers scoreless through three innings. Finally, in the bottom of the 3rd, the Tigers put a run on the board, drawing first blood. Greene walked with one out and would score from first on a Zach McKinstry single… with a little help from Ranger outfielder Evan Carter, who committed an error on the play.

Mize threw another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth inning, which ended with a spectacular play by Javy Baez at shortstop—one of the best plays you’ll see this season.

Texas would score their first run in the 5th, as Duran brought home Smith, who had led off the inning with a leadoff single. Later that inning, the Rangers took the lead thanks to Marcus Semien, who had a big series. Semien’s two-out RBI single scored Duran to make it 2-1 in favor of the defending champs.

The Tigers themselves had a quick comeback in them as someone who also had a great series brought home the tying run in the 6th. Kerry Carpenter’s RBI double made it a tie game again with the equalizer that made it a 2-2 ballgame. That was the final inning for Texas’ starter Jon Gray. His final line: six innings pitched, three hits, two runs, two earned runs, three walks, and seven strikeouts.

In his final inning of work, Casey Mize struck out two and retired the Rangers in order. His final line: six innings pitched, five hits, two runs, two earned runs, no walks, and six strikeouts. Not a bad return to Comerica Park for the former first-round pick.

The Tigers scored the winning runs in the 8th inning with a pinch-hit RBI single that scored McKinstry. The insurance run came on a wild pitch that plated Vierling with Wenceel Pérez at the dish. That made it 4-2, which was the final score.

The Tigers’ win on Tuesday was the series equalizer.

Game Three:

Wednesday’s match-up was Cy Young candidate Tarik Skubal vs. former AL Central rival Dane Dunning. Skubal found himself in big trouble early as he committed a throwing error, allowed a single, and walked a batter to start the game. If you ever wondered why many teams put their best hitter in the cleanup spot in the lineup, the 1st inning of Wednesday’s match-up was a perfect example. It looked like Skubal was in big-time danger with Adolis Garcia at the plate with no room for error. Fortunately, the only damage done by Garcia was a sac-fly. That was the only damage done by the Rangers in a stressful 1st inning. Greene walked, but it was wasted when Torkelson grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play. After hitting the leadoff batter in the 2nd, Skubal got a double play and made Langford a strikeout victim to make quick work of Texas in the top of the 2nd inning.

Detroit muscled up to tie the game to start the bottom half of the 2nd inning courtesy of Kerry Carpenter, who hit a solo bomb to right field. Carpenter was mic’d up and said that it may have been the best swing of his career.

Carpenter got the pitch he was looking for and didn’t waste it—one of hopefully many “Plakata” home run calls from Carlos Pena this season. The bats stayed relatively quiet until the sixth inning, when Garcia brought Semien home with a double. He and Seager would score on a single from catcher Jonah Heim, giving the Rangers a 4-1 lead.

Dunning started the 6th inning but was replaced after a Torkelson leadoff double. He scored on an E6, making it a 4-2 ballgame. Once Torkelson scored, Dunning’s final line was official: five innings pitched, three hits, two runs, one earned run, four walks, and five strikeouts.

The Tigers continued to cut into the Rangers’ lead in the 7th. Parker Meadows, who had a miserable start to the season, led off the inning with a solo home run to right-center field, a much-needed shot in the arm for the young Detroit outfielder.

That blast made it 4-3. The Tigers continued to rally in the 8th, as Javy Baez tied the game when he singled, bringing home Matt Vierling to make it 4-4.

Unfortunately, that did not last. Josh Smith’s RBI double in the 9th made it 5-4 and was the winning run, as Kirby Yates slammed the door shut through the pouring rain in the bottom of the 9th. The Tigers couldn’t rally against Yates, and the Rangers took the series lead.

Game Four:

The series wrap-up featured a highly anticipated debut. Jack Leiter, son of Al Leiter, made his MLB debut for the Rangers, and Kenta Maeda started for the Tigers in game four. Marcus Semien started the game with a bang as he homered to get the ballgame started.

Corey Seager followed it up with a single, but Maeda got a double play and a ground out to limit the damage. Jack Leiter’s major league career got off to a great start as he struck out Riley Greene on three pitches to begin his afternoon and MLB career.

Canha was the first big leaguer to get a hit off of Leiter. Carpenter struck out, and Torkelson walked, putting two on with two outs in the first. Matt Vierling wasted that opportunity by flying out, and Leiter stranded two by getting out of a jam in his first inning of work. The Rangers added to their lead in the second inning as Smith walked to lead off the inning, Langford doubled to bring him home, and Langford scored on a Jonah Heim two-run home run.

Texas took a 4-0 lead into the home half of the 2nd, but their lead didn’t last long. Leiter walked Keith and gave up a single to Urshela, and Keith scored on a Javy Baez RBI double.

Urshela scored on a Carson Kelly groundout. Baez was brought home on Greene’s triple, and Greene scored thanks to an RBI single from Mark Canha. The Tigers’ big four-run inning tied the game, but the Rangers wasted no time responding.

After striking out Evan Carter, Maeda gave up his third home run of the game, this time to Adolis Garcia, who gave the Rangers their lead back.

Maeda struck out Smith but walked Langford and gave up a single to Heim, setting up Duran to give the Rangers a 6-4 lead. In the home half of the 3rd, Leiter completed his first 1-2-3 inning by retiring Vierling, Keith, and Urshela in order. Texas added another run in the 4th after a Marcus Semien leadoff double. He reached third on an error from Vierling in right-center field. Semien scored on a sac fly from Evan Carter, making it 7-4.

The Tigers were able to answer back with another big inning in the bottom of the 4th. Leiter retired the first two batters of the inning before it started unraveling. Greene’s double sparked a two-out rally. Canha walked, and he and Greene scored on Carpenter’s triple. Tork then plated Carpenter with a double to tie the game, making it a 7-7 ballgame. That was Leiter’s final inning of work as he was replaced with two outs and Torkelson at second. His final line: 3⅔ innings pitched, eight hits, seven runs, seven earned runs, three walks, and three strikeouts.

The Tigers’ bats hit the kill switch after the fourth, as they didn’t score again for the remainder of the game. The Rangers broke the tie in the 8th because of defensive blunders from Detroit and added an insurance run in the 9th on a Taveras RBI single. Yates completed a four-out save, and the Rangers took the series, winning three of four. Texas won the series wrap-up 9-7 in a game full of offense.

AL Central standings:

1. Cleveland Guardians: 13-6
2. Kansas City Royals: 12-7
3. Detroit Tigers: 10-9
4. Minnesota Twins: 6-11
5. Chicago White Sox: 3-15