For the first time since July 2019, the Detroit Tigers have scored six or more runs in four consecutive games.
Their nine-run effort — on 13 hits and four walks with only eight strikeouts — proved to be just enough for the Tigers in Sunday’s 9-8 victory over the Texas Rangers in the series finale at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The Tigers (50-78) won two of three games.
“Well, we won the series, so you always take that out of it,” manager A.J. Hinch told reporters in Arlington. “The end result is always key. We won the series. We played very well. Obviously, the last couple innings got away from us, and we didn’t do ourselves a lot of favors, but we got the last out and we’re going home on a happy flight.”
The Rangers scored three runs in the eighth inning off right-handed reliever Alex Lange and three runs in the ninth off lefty closer Gregory Soto, who entered in a non-save situation. Corey Seager hammered two home runs, including a two-run shot in the ninth, giving him a career-high 28 homers.
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Grasping a 9-8 lead, righty Joe Jimenez, arguably the Tigers’ best reliever, replaced Soto with a runner on first base and one out to face home-run threat Adolis Garcia. Bubba Thompson, pinch-running for Nathaniel Lowe, stole second, but Jimenez struck out Garcia. Kole Calhoun then flied out to center to end the game.
“I didn’t give him a lot of time to warm up,” Hinch said. “He came in and did exactly what you hope. … I’m proud of him because he’s been asked to do a lot of different things. Up seven at the end, going into the Lange inning, Joe Jimenez probably doesn’t think he’s going to pitch, but he kept his edge and was able to come in and do his part.”
Harold Castro paced Detroit’s offense Sunday, finishing 2-for-4 with a career-high five RBIs. Jeimer Candelario finished 2-for-3 with and double, a homer and two RBIs, while Kerry Carpenter and Kody Clemens each drove in one run.
Rangers starter Kohei Arihara, a 30-year-old right-hander making his 14th MLB start, surrendered six runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts, throwing 55 of 86 pitches for strikes.
The Tigers notched double-digit hits for the 34th time this season and posted three runs in the second inning, one run in the third and two runs in the fourth against Arihara, then three more runs in the sixth against multi-inning left-handed reliever Brock Burke.
“Our record is our reality,” Hinch said. “We are a better club than how we’ve played as a whole. We showcase it now and then, and we’re trying to find the consistency to do it. I think that reflection is for later. It’s nice to win a series. Now we’ll go home for a couple tough series (against the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals).”
An RBI double from Carpenter on a seventh-pitch cutter started the scoring, bringing Eric Haase home scored from first. Candelario followed by smashing another cutter for a two-run home run, his 12th of the year to break a tie for the team home-run lead with Javier Báez.
Báez, meanwhile, went 1-for-3 with one walk and one strikeout, though he was involved in turning two of the Tigers’ three double plays. He left the game in the seventh inning due to back stiffness. Candelario was 5-for-12 (.417) with three doubles, two homers, two walks and zero strikeouts in the three-game set with the Rangers.
After Candelario’s blast, the Tigers upped the lead to 4-0 in the third inning. Haase (single), Carpenter (single) and Candelario (walk) loaded the bases with two outs. Clemens drew a full-count walk for the team’s fourth run, but Akil Baddoo lined out to strand the bases juiced.
Baddoo finished 0-for-4 with one strikeout, the only Tigers starter without a hit or RBI.
Two more runs scored in the fourth, when Castro had his first of two big swings. There were two runners in scoring positions — Greene (single) and Victor Reyes (double) — and one out when the Rangers replaced Arihara with lefty reliever Brett Martin. Castro drove the second pitch of Martin’s outing for a two-run double and a 6-0 advantage.
Castro doubled again in the sixth with one out against Burke in his second of two innings. This time, he drove in three runners: Greene (nine-pitch walk), Reyes (two-strike single) and Báez (four-pitch walk) to make it 9-0.
“I think sometimes guys need opportunity in order to succeed or fail,” Hinch said of Castro crushing lefties. “This is an opportunity for Harold, and he’s stepped up and had some really good at-bats. … The way the game ends, those at-bats seem bigger and bigger when you look back at when we were able to pad our lead.”
Win, lose or Drew
Right-hander Drew Hutchison entered the sixth inning without allowing a run, but the Rangers tagged him for a pair of runs and chased him with solo home runs from Seager and Lowe.
Hutchison, in his 12th start of 2022 (and 93rd of his seven-year MLB career), gave up two runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts across 5⅓ innings. He lowered his ERA as a starter this season to 3.68.
Coming into the sixth, Texas had just two hits against the former Ranger, both by Leody Taveras — a single in the second and a double in the fifth. Also, leadoff hitter Marcus Semien reached on Candelario’s fielding error in the first inning.
Seager and Lowe hit back-to-back homers with one out in the sixth. Seager, a three-time All-Star who signed a $325 million deal with the Rangers in the offseason, tagged a fastball for his 27th homer; Lowe unloaded on a changeup to straightaway center for his 22nd homer.
For his 88 pitches (57 strikes), Hutchison threw 43 four-seam fastballs (49%), 32 sliders (26%), seven changeups (8%) and six sinkers (7%). He registered eight swings and misses and seven called strikes. The Rangers averaged an 85.2 mph exit velocity on 17 balls in play.
Chipping away
The Rangers chipped in three runs in the bottom of the eighth, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 9-5 heading into the ninth. All three runs were scored on right-handed reliever Alex Lange, who threw 26 pitches and was responsible for two hits, one walk and two wild pitches.
Lange has struggled to throw strikes since the All-Star break, with nine walks in 15 innings after conceding just 16 in 35⅓ innings before the break.
The inning started with Semien’s leadoff single and Seager’s walk on the seventh pitch of his plate appearance. Garcia grounded out for the second out, but the contact to the right side of the field was enough to score Semien.
Calhoun eyed a sinker that failed to sink and hit a two-run home run. His 12th long ball this season cut Texas’ deficit to four runs. A missed catch error by Lange extended the inning, but he avoided further damage.
Soto conceded three runs on three hits and one walk while recording one out in the ninth, throwing 18 pitches without generating a whiff. Ezequiel Duran drew a four-pitch walk with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Semien’s 20th double for a 9-6 margin.
Then, Seager made it 9-8 with his 28th homer.