Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson received a middle-middle fastball from Los Angeles Angels right-hander Griffin Canning as his first pitch in the second inning on Friday night.
It was a pitch that Torkelson was meant to destroy.
And that’s exactly what he did.
Torkelson, the No. 1 pick in 2020, hit a two-run home run with a 93 mph fastball to left-center field. His home run helped the Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Angels in the second of three games of the series at Comerica Park.
“We’re going to try and close out the series,” said manager AJ Hinch when asked about the wildcard race. “I appreciate the enthusiasm and obviously we’re in a much better position than we’ve ever been and we deserve it but that doesn’t help us win tomorrow so I’ve got to make sure everyone stays grounded and keeps their heads where they are and keeps pushing forward and tries to play games like today.”
How to win: The Tigers haven’t reached .500 this late in the season since 2016
The Tigers (68-66) have won six straight games, as well as 13 of their last 16 games (since Aug. 11). They are just 4½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the third and final American League wild-card spot with 28 games remaining.
“Obviously that’s going to prevail,” Torkelson said, “but it’s good to control what’s controllable. We go about our business every day, do what we can, and at the end of the year we’ll see where we are. When teams start testing themselves and looking to the future, like, ‘Oh, we’re right there, we’re so close,’ that’s when they start applying pressure and losing the character that got them there. I think we’ve got to stick with what we have, keep playing hard, keep having fun and supporting each other, and I think good things will happen.”
Before Torkelson’s hit, rookie Jace Jung worked a 10-pitch walk with one out in the second inning. He managed just two strikes after the first three pitches, only to foul on four of the final seven pitches and then earn his hard-earned free pass.
Canning’s next pitch was a middle-middle fastball to Torkelson that went 408 feet with an exit velocity of 109 mph, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
“That’s huge,” Torkelson said of Jung’s 10-pitch walk. “If he could just get half a home run to do that. That’s a lot for him. He was probably a little exhausted and he was going at it, and I was definitely ready.”
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Torkelson, who hit seven home runs in 65 games this season, has a .333 batting average (14-for-42) with four home runs, four walks and 12 strikeouts in 11 games since returning from Triple-A Toledo.
He finished Wednesday’s win with 2 for 3 and two RBIs.
The Tigers extended their lead to 3-0 when Kerry Carpenter hit a single to right field in the third inning. Jake Rogers, who had issued a walk earlier in the inning, ran home from third base.
Canning allowed three runs on five hits and four walks, with four strikeouts in five innings and threw 93 pitches. The Tigers were bye-bye after the third inning, but three runs were enough to beat the Angels.
“I think we find different ways to win,” Torkelson said. “It’s a really tough lineup. I feel like everyone from one through nine throws solid at-bats, and when that happens, it’s really hard for a pitching staff to deal with that. On the pitching side, I think we throw the ball really well and play solid defense behind it. That’s the recipe for some wins.”
Kenta Maeda keeps Tigers in the lead
Right-handed reliever Mason Englert threw two scoreless innings and showed a vicious changeup to set the tone in the opener, after which right-hander Kenta Maeda took over as the primary reliever.
Maeda allowed two runs (none earned) on four hits and two walks, with five strikeouts in 4⅓ innings and threw 81 pitches, preventing the Angels from scoring until the sixth inning.
“It’s always fun to win,” Maeda said in Japanese, translated by Daichi Sekizaki. “I think we definitely have something special going on. As a pitcher, you know that the hitter is supporting you even if you allow a run. That’s always a good feeling.”
In the sixth inning, Mickey Moniak turned an error – a middle-middle sweeper – into a two-run home run to right-center with two outs. Before the home run, Logan O’Hoppe reached the field safely on a throwing error by shortstop Trey Sweeney.
The runs were unearned due to Sweeney’s rare error, the first of his MLB career.
The Angels cut the Tigers’ lead to 3-2, but Maeda finished the sixth inning and got one out in the seventh, leaving the mound to cheers from the fans.
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Maeda had nine misses in 40 at-bats – a miss rate of 22.5% – with six splitters, two sliders and a sinker. His splitter had a miss rate of 30% and missed the bat six times in 20 at-bats.
“I think my splitter worked well,” Maeda said. “I don’t have an overpowering fastball, so I was able to incorporate different pitches. I think I did that.”
Finish the job
When Maeda retired, right-handed reliever Beau Brieske inherited a runner on first base and one out in the seventh inning. He provoked a flyout, but for the third out, Rogers threw out Jo Adell, who was trying to steal second base.
Brieske got back to work in the eighth.
He bypassed a two-out double by Anthony Rendon. He struck out O’Hoppe with a 98.6 mph fastball, leaving the runner in scoring position.
Right-handed reliever Jason Foley threw a scoreless ninth inning and earned his 19th save.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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