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For the most part, the Detroit Tigers have avoided three-game losing streaks. A three-game skid hasn't occurred since the first three games of the season, but after a pair of noncompetitive losses, it threatened to happen May 12 against the Boston Red Sox.
But the Tigers refuse to reflect on the past.
The goal is to win today's game.
"I don't really think that this team functions on anything other than what's in front of us," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said before the May 12 game. "We got our hands full with Tanner Houck. We don't show up today with anything other than attention towards beating him and dealing with their balanced lineup."
The Tigers didn't just beat Houck, they pulverized him in a 14-2 win in the first of three games in the series at Comerica Park, fueled by a nine-run third inning. The Tigers (27-15) scored their 14 runs on 18 hits and three walks, with just four strikeouts.
Houck allowed 11 runs over 2⅓ innings.
The big swing came with two runners in scoring position in the third inning, when Riley Greene hit a single on a ground ball through the right side of the infield. Right fielder Wilyer Abreu let the ball get by him and roll all the way to the wall.
Greene turned on the jets.
He scored on the play for a Little League three-run home run, extending the Tigers' lead to 6-0.
Four batters later, Trey Sweeney hit a traditional three-run home run to right-center field for a 9-0 advantage. He has hit all four of his homers this season off breaking balls, with three of those homers in the past nine games.
The Tigers finished their nine-run third inning when pinch-hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy, a right-handed hitter, replaced Colt Keith, a left-handed hitter, for a favorable matchup with Red Sox left-handed reliever Sean Newcomb.
Malloy made it 11-0 with an RBI single.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
As the Tigers teed off, right-hander Jackson Jobe leaned on his changeup and turned in the best performance of the season in his seventh start.
The 22-year-old allowed one run on three hits and five walks with seven strikeouts across 5⅔ innings, throwing 100 pitches. He set career highs with seven strikeouts and 15 whiffs.
He also threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of 26 batters.
Jobe set the tone in the first inning with two swinging strikeouts, punching out leadoff hitter Jarren Duran with a slider and cleanup hitter Kristian Campbell with a changeup.
In the third inning, Jobe loaded the bases with one out on one single and two walks, but he escaped the jam by retiring Campbell with a lineout and Abreu with a groundout.
At the time, the Tigers only had a two-run lead.
It was an important escape.
Jobe generated 15 misses on 42 swings for a 35.7% whiff rate, doing so with four fastballs, five sliders, two changeups, two sinkers and two curveballs. His fastball averaged 96.8 mph.
Center fielder Javier Báez continues to hit.
The 32-year-old finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs, increasing his results to a .313 batting average and an .808 OPS through 33 games. All three hits were singles.
Báez put the Tigers' ahead, 12-0, with an RBI single in the fourth inning that he flared into center field, then he made it 13-1 with an RBI single in the sixth inning that he bounced back up the middle and into center field.
In the first inning, Gleyber Torres started the scoring barrage with a two-run home run — his fifth of the season — against Houck's first-pitch sinker for a 2-0 lead.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers crush Red Sox in 14-2 win behind explosive nine-run 3rd inning
Continue reading...
But the Tigers refuse to reflect on the past.
The goal is to win today's game.
"I don't really think that this team functions on anything other than what's in front of us," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said before the May 12 game. "We got our hands full with Tanner Houck. We don't show up today with anything other than attention towards beating him and dealing with their balanced lineup."
The Tigers didn't just beat Houck, they pulverized him in a 14-2 win in the first of three games in the series at Comerica Park, fueled by a nine-run third inning. The Tigers (27-15) scored their 14 runs on 18 hits and three walks, with just four strikeouts.
Houck allowed 11 runs over 2⅓ innings.
The big swing came with two runners in scoring position in the third inning, when Riley Greene hit a single on a ground ball through the right side of the infield. Right fielder Wilyer Abreu let the ball get by him and roll all the way to the wall.
Greene turned on the jets.
He scored on the play for a Little League three-run home run, extending the Tigers' lead to 6-0.
Four batters later, Trey Sweeney hit a traditional three-run home run to right-center field for a 9-0 advantage. He has hit all four of his homers this season off breaking balls, with three of those homers in the past nine games.
The Tigers finished their nine-run third inning when pinch-hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy, a right-handed hitter, replaced Colt Keith, a left-handed hitter, for a favorable matchup with Red Sox left-handed reliever Sean Newcomb.
Malloy made it 11-0 with an RBI single.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Jackson Jobe's best start
As the Tigers teed off, right-hander Jackson Jobe leaned on his changeup and turned in the best performance of the season in his seventh start.
The 22-year-old allowed one run on three hits and five walks with seven strikeouts across 5⅔ innings, throwing 100 pitches. He set career highs with seven strikeouts and 15 whiffs.
He also threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of 26 batters.
Jobe set the tone in the first inning with two swinging strikeouts, punching out leadoff hitter Jarren Duran with a slider and cleanup hitter Kristian Campbell with a changeup.
In the third inning, Jobe loaded the bases with one out on one single and two walks, but he escaped the jam by retiring Campbell with a lineout and Abreu with a groundout.
At the time, the Tigers only had a two-run lead.
It was an important escape.
Jobe generated 15 misses on 42 swings for a 35.7% whiff rate, doing so with four fastballs, five sliders, two changeups, two sinkers and two curveballs. His fastball averaged 96.8 mph.
Javier Báez keeps hitting
Center fielder Javier Báez continues to hit.
The 32-year-old finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs, increasing his results to a .313 batting average and an .808 OPS through 33 games. All three hits were singles.
Báez put the Tigers' ahead, 12-0, with an RBI single in the fourth inning that he flared into center field, then he made it 13-1 with an RBI single in the sixth inning that he bounced back up the middle and into center field.
In the first inning, Gleyber Torres started the scoring barrage with a two-run home run — his fifth of the season — against Houck's first-pitch sinker for a 2-0 lead.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers crush Red Sox in 14-2 win behind explosive nine-run 3rd inning
Continue reading...
