The Detroit Tigers’ late comeback is not enough in the 2-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles
Tigers radio analyst Bobby Scales on the Tigers’ hitting strategy
Detroit Tigers radio analyst Bobby Scales II will be a guest on “Days of Roar” on Sept. 10. Listen to the entire show and subscribe wherever podcasts are available.
The Detroit Tigers have done it again.
A trio of pitchers, including right-hander Ty Madden as the primary relief pitcher, limited the Baltimore Orioles to one run in the first six innings, but it all fell apart in the seventh inning when right-handed relief pitcher Kenta Maeda stepped onto the mound for only the third time in 17 days.
Maeda – who has a 6.07 ERA in 105⅓ innings – was penalized by the Orioles for three runs in that inning, with Gunnar Henderson’s two-run home run being the highlight.
The Tigers lost to the Orioles 4-2 in the second of three games in the series at Comerica Park on Saturday. 33,513 fans were in the stands, creating an electric atmosphere as the Tigers (76-73) continued their battle for the final American League wild-card spot, still 2½ games behind the Minnesota Twins.
“It’s a lot of fun to play in front of such a big crowd,” said first baseman Spencer Torkelson, who finished 2-for-4 and drove in a run in the ninth inning. “It’s what you dream about, especially when they’re supporting you. I’m really grateful for the fans.”
JEFF SEIDEL: Is this heaven? No, baby, it’s the Motor City with the towering lions and surprising tigers
For the Orioles, right-hander Corbin Burnes – who started the All-Star Game for the AL team – threw seven scoreless innings with two hits and one walk with seven strikeouts and 97 pitches.
The four-time All-Star, also winner of the 2021 National League Cy Young Award, dominated with all four throws: cutter, changeup, curveball and slider.
“He’s one of the best in the game for a reason,” Torkelson said. “You have to take your hat off to him. He controlled every single one of his shots and kept us off balance.”
Parker Meadows ended the Tigers’ scoreless streak after 15 innings with a solo home run against right-handed reliever Seranthony Domínguez in the ninth inning.
Meadows threw a fastball into right center field with the second pitch, narrowing the gap to 4-1.
“We put up a nice fight at the end and made it interesting,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Our guys aren’t going to give up. We know that. They showed that time and time again and we put up a nice fight at the end. We just didn’t have enough.”
Colt Keith hit a single to keep the pressure on the Orioles, but Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene flew out to the warning track in center and right for the first and second outs, respectively.
Wenceel Pérez swung for what should have been a third out, but he got to first base when the wild pitch slipped away from catcher James McCann.
Spencer Torkelson then hit a two-strike single through the gap between first and second base that scored Keith and made it 4-2. The single put runners on the corners for pinch-hitter Zach McKinstry, who scored the game-winning run.
McKinstry was taken out of the game by a groundout to first base, ending the game.
“You have to slow down,” Torkelson said. “The fans get loud, the situation is big. You automatically speed up. You have to slow down, take a deep breath and then not try to do too much. I fell into that trap right on the first shot, trying to tie the score. And then I took a step back – get the job done, keep the line moving.”
Kenta Maeda fights
In the seventh inning, the Tigers called on Maeda when they were trailing 1-0.
“We were pretty tight in the bullpen and needed someone to last until the end,” Hinch said. “We thought Kenta would get caught up in the split. … We thought the split would be a little different, he could come up in the order once, and he wanted to.”
Ryan O’Hearn struck out with momentum and Emmanuel Rivera fell behind with two strikes on the first two pitches, but later Maeda lost control of a sinker that hit Rivera in the elbow and put a runner on first base. Livan Soto followed with a splitter on the first pitch that brought in a double to right field.
The Orioles had runners on the corners for McCann, the ex-Tiger, who flew out to left field. But Rivera caught up and scored a 2-0 lead without a play at the plate, only because Pérez missed the cutoff man on his throw from left field.
The mistakes of Maeda and Pérez took their toll on the Tigers.
Henderson hit a middle-middle sweeper for a two-run home run to right field, giving the Orioles a 4-0 lead with two outs in the seventh inning.
It was Henderson’s 37th home run in 147 games.
( MUST LISTEN: Make“Days of Roaring” Your Detroit Tigers podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple,Spotify) )
Mass reliever Ty Madden
The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, but that wasn’t entirely Madden’s fault.
Madden should have struck out Henderson with a fastball that he placed inside the strike zone, but home plate umpire Lance Barksdale ruled the pitch a ball and not a strike. The incorrect call came with two outs.
Three pitches later, Henderson hit a double into right field. Four pitches later, Cedric Mullins brought Henderson home with a line-drive single into center field for a 1-0 lead.
Otherwise, Madden put in a good performance as a bulk reliever against the Orioles. The 24-year-old allowed one run on three hits and one walk in 3⅔ innings, threw 69 pitches and had two strikeouts.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show, “Days of Roar,” every Monday afternoon on demand on freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And check out all of our podcasts and the daily speech recap at freep.com/podcasts.
