SAN FRANCISCO – The final contest of the Detroit Tigers’ nine game West Coast trip had a bit of everything:
A few errors, a clutch double-play, a couple runs in extra innings, which included a pinch-hit flare from Hao-Yu-Lee on the go-ahead run, who might have been the hero on so many other nights, and maybe he was here, too; oh, and a pitcher’s duel – let’s not forget about that.
But, really, this was about the bullpen, the much-maligned – for good reason – unit that’s blown more leads than any other team in baseball.
Well, not at Oracle Park on Sunday, Aug. 9, not this time. All the bullpen did was pitch almost four scoreless innings and give the offense a chance to win it in extra innings, 3-1.
The win gives the Tigers seven straight road series wins, a franchise record, and gives them a 7-2 record for the road trip. They are now two games below .500 and come home for two big series against Cleveland and Chicago.
For a while, it looked like it would end a different way. The Tigers couldn’t figure out Logan Webb, and they couldn’t touch Dylan Smith, a former Tigers’ reliever who made his Major League debut last season.
Webb held them to a single run in eight innings, and Smith struck out the side – including Dillon Dingler – in the ninth.
Troy Melton threw six scoreless innings but labored at times and after a fielding error let the leadoff batter reach first in the seventh, A.J. Hinch pulled Melton for Kyle Finnegan – Melton threw 92 pitches.
Finnegan looked a little sharper but was undone by the errors in the seventh as the Giants eked out a run on Tiger miscues. Drew Sommers got into a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth but coaxed a grounder up the middle which the Tigers turned for a double play.
He gave way to Kenley Jansen, who turned it over to Tyler Holton in the 10th, who retired all three batters he faced.
At the plate
Spencer Torkelson singled in the second and for a while that was it. Tigers hitters struggled to time up Logan Webb’s sinker/sweeper/cutter/changeup mix. He had them rolling over his pitches all afternoon.
Then in the sixth, McKinstry singled (who else?) and took third on a hit-and-run when Kevin McGonigle singled just past Rafael Devers’ glove at first base. Gleyber Torres hit into a double play, but McKinstry scored, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The Giants tied it the seventh on a dribbler that Colt Keith misplayed. The inning started when Keith and Riley Greene miscommunicated on a shallow fly to right field and it fell in between them.
Eduardo Valencia airmailed a throw to second trying to catch Osleivis Basabe stealing. He took third on the overthrow and scored when Keith tried to barehand a soft-hopper – he was playing in to prevent the run.
In all, the Tigers had three bad plays in the inning. They made up for it at the plate in the 10th, muscling across two runs to seal the win.
On the mound
Melton wasn’t as sharp as he’s been, despite the zeros on the scoreboard. The Giants squared up more balls than they had hits, as Melton was helped with some solid defending behind him, including a spectacular throw to the plate to prevent a run in the fourth inning.
Willy Adames singled to start the inning and took third base when Rafael Devers followed with a single. With runners at the corners and no outs, Melton struck out Basabe to set the stage …
… for Drew Gilbert, Adames and Zack McKinstry. Gilbert had singled earlier against Melton when he stepped to the plate. After falling behind 1-2, he smacked a cutter halfway into right field, perhaps a little deeper than that.
McKinstry raced under it, waited, gathered himself, caught the fly ball and rifled it to home plate. Valencia caught the throw – shoulder high – pivoted and tagged Adames on the leg right before he slid home.
Out.
Actually, two outs – and out of the inning. A massive swing.
Finnegan got two outs in relief in the seventh and looked a little better than he had lately. It wasn’t his fault the Giants scored.
Sommers got the last out of the seventh and then got through that eighth thanks to the double play.
Jansen, pitching for the first time since Aug. 1 in West Sacramento, struck out the side in the ninth, and got them all swinging.
Up next
The top two teams in the AL Central, starting with the Cleveland Guardians, of course. And why not?
The Tigers’ turnaround these last couple of months meant they were going to have to face their divisional nemesis at some point and it might as well be now.
The series begins on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The Chicago White Sox come to town Friday, Aug. 14, for a three-game, weekend series.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers end marathon road trip with statement win over Giants in extras
