Here we go, Detroit Tigers fans. The final stretch of the season is finally, mercifully, here. And that can only mean one thing.
The race to 99 is on!
That’s 99, as in 99 losses. That’s 99, as in not 100 losses.
Call me crazy but I think they can do it with 21 games left in the season. They have a 54-87 record entering Tuesday, which means they just need to go 9-12 down the stretch. That would be a .429 winning percentage, which isn’t far off from the Tigers’ .383 season winning percentage.
Ugh, that’s a lot of math. My apologies. Never again.
Why does this matter? Well, it’s a little bit about perception because there’s just something different about saying the Tigers were a 100-loss team in 2022, which would be an oft-repeated phrase until Opening Day arrives next April.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT:Tigers shut out for 2nd straight game, 21st time this season in 7-0 loss to Astros
But a 99-loss team? Hmm … just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it? No ugly zeroes, goose eggs or bagels in there. Just two very crooked numbers.
The Tigers haven’t reached the century mark in losses since they went 47-114 in 2019. I’m sure they don’t want to break that streak.
They got their chance to end on a high note — OK, a not-so-low note — Monday against Houston, which kicked off the first of their last two homestands: three-game sets against the Astros and the Chicago White Sox this week, followed by three-game sets against Kansas City and Minnesota at the end of the month.
Even after Monday’s 7-0 loss to Houston, the Tigers have been better at home with a 30-41 record, compared to 24-46 on the road. I asked manager A.J. Hinch before the game if the last couple of homestands could provide some motivation for his team.
“We always want to show our fans a better and better product,” he said. “I mean, our fans have been really good, they’ve been patient. It’s be a trying season. I know it’s been a long stretch but they continue to show up and support us. Their love for Tiger baseball is really deep.”
The 13,054 hearty souls — plus the “announced” 321 dogs on “Bark in the Park” night — who showed up on a chilly night to watch Eduardo Rodriguez get lit up for five runs on 10 hits in five innings are a prime example of fanatical fortitude.
But Hinch knows you can’t just feed fans feel-good lines. They need the kind of sustenance found only in the win column.
“Unfortunately we haven’t provided enough wins for them,” he said, “but sure, when they show up down the stretch as we kind of wind down the home part of the season we’re very appreciative of their time to come out and continue to watch the guys. I think our young guys have given us a little boost of energy and very worthwhile coming out to see us, but we need to perform better for them.”
Infielder Ryan Kreidler and outfielder Kerry Carpenter could play roles in the future. Of course, the main man to watch is Spencer Torkelson. Before Monday, the former No. 1 overall pick had a 1.030 OPS in eight games since returning from Triple-A Toledo. He went 0-for-4 against the Astros, but he hit the ball hard into the outfield twice and missed a homer to center by a few feet. I would cite launch angles and exit velo, but I’m afraid of crossing the math-nerd Rubicon.
Torkelson said he feels he’s back to normal and has stayed disciplined with his approach of hunting his pitch and then putting his best swing on it. But Hinch said he sees more maturity from Torkelson, who turned 23 in August, at the plate and as a person.
Like a lot of young players, Torkelson hasn’t had a normal recent path to the majors because of COVID restrictions and then being sent to the minors this season. But unlike a lot of young players, he was expected to help carry the Tigers on Opening Day without many young peers around him.
“That was a lot to ask,” Hinch said. “No excuse. It’s just part of the growth at the big-league level. He’s still yet to have a normal season.”
As for Torkelson’s maturity as a player, there’s been plenty of that, too, in a way that suggests he might have the right attitude for confronting future struggles.
“Then on the baseball side of it,” Hinch said, “his willingness to make a few more adjustments faster has been notable. You have to be a willing to do it in the game and not just in the batting cages. He’s done a nice job with that. It’s also nice to get some hits. That just settles things around you.”
In this way, Torkelson just might be the kind of player and leader the Tigers need in the future. A guy with mounds of promise and mountains of expectations who is learning to deal with them and find a way to succeed.
I asked Hinch one more thing. I wanted to know if he needs to remind his players to still keep playing hard while they finish up the remainder of the season. They’re pros, but even pros sometimes have a way of letting up when there isn’t much on the line.
“This is a really good team from that standpoint,” he said. “Our character is good, we play hard. We will always wear the English D with the right amount of pride and support. So I don’t have to tell them anything more.
“The level will instill in them motivation to play the game right, be a pro. We’ve got a chance to ruin a couple seasons down the stretch. We’re playing all contenders for the most part. But I never question our guys. They just come out and work hard.”
The Tigers struggled Monday against the American League’s best team. There was a clear difference in talent and execution between a team that’s closing in on 100 wins and one that’s trying to avoid 100 losses.
But effort is another thing, and I never got the sense during Rodriguez’s struggles, or the parade of 11 Astros singles, or Riley Greene and Willi Castro getting thrown out at the plate that this team has quit playing hard or given up on avoiding 100 losses.
Sure, 99 losses would be a small victory. But it’s one this team or any of its fans would gladly take right now.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.