Detroit Tigers win with rookies to 7-1 victory over Tampa Bay Rays

Parker Meadows didn’t wait to electrify the crowd.

There was a postseason atmosphere at Wednesday’s game between the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park as the Tigers continue their push for a wild-card spot in the American League. In the first inning, Meadows turned a slider by right-hander Zack Littell into a solo home run to right field on the second pitch.

Meadows’ home run helped the Tigers to a 7-1 victory over the Rays in the second of three games of the penultimate series of the regular season. 32,463 fans were in the stands.

“I know we have to earn it,” manager AJ Hinch said, “and we’re continuing to work at it, but this place can be electric if we can get a postseason game here.”

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The Tigers (84-74) have won four straight games and eight of nine, giving them a 29-11 record in their last 40 games. The latest win keeps the Tigers’ lead over the Minnesota Twins for the final spot in the AL wild-card race at two games. (The Tigers and Kansas City Royals are tied for the second wild-card spot, but the Royals have the edge in head-to-head play.)

“We want it,” Meadows said, “but we’re not going to rush into it. We’re just going to keep playing our game and keep having fun.”

After Meadows’ home run, the Tigers extended their lead to 2-0 with Wenceel Pérez’s RBI single. A double by Riley Greene set up Pérez, all with two outs.

Meadows and Greene, in particular, hit the ball hard against Littell. Meadows’ home run had an exit velocity of 109.6 mph; Greene’s double had an exit velocity of 111.1 mph.

“The game plan was to just be aggressive,” Meadows said. “He’s got a pretty good secondary, so we knew he was going to throw strikes. Just be aggressive. I think we executed that as a team.”

Littell allowed three runs on seven hits and zero walks, with seven strikeouts in 4⅔ innings, and threw 91 pitches. The veteran had not allowed a run in his last three starts over 18 innings – and then he ran into the red-hot Tigers.

In the sixth inning, Spencer Torkelson gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead when he hit a two-run home run against right-handed reliever Manuel Rodríguez. He allowed four consecutive fouls before hitting a slider into left field on the eighth pitch.

Torkelson hit the ball 415 feet with an exit velocity of 108.3 mph. It was his 10th home run in 88 games this season and his sixth in 34 games since returning from Triple-A Toledo in mid-August.

“We need him to be a threat,” Hinch said. “We’re staying patient with him. We’re continuing to encourage him. He’s trying to make subtle adjustments. And then, bam, you see the impact he can have. He’s kept his great demeanor. He’s kept his competitiveness. And he’s one strike away, which is pretty awesome.”

An RBI double by Torkelson, who hit the ball down the third base line, increased the lead to 6-1 in the eighth inning. Zach McKinstry scored on the extra-base hit from first base. Later, Dillon Dingler increased the lead to 7-1 with an RBI single.

Meadows led the Tigers with three hits, followed by two hits from Greene, two hits from Torkelson and two hits from Dingler.

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Jackson Jobe makes MLB debut

Right-hander Jackson Jobe, the most promising pitcher in baseball, made his MLB debut out of the Tigers’ bullpen in the ninth inning, defending a 7-1 lead.

“It was crazy,” Jobe said. “I don’t think I’ve fully grasped it yet. With that crowd and the position the team is in, I can’t describe it any better. It was really special.”

He retired three of the four batters he faced: Christopher Morel (groundout to third base), José Caballero (force out to shortstop) and Richie Palacios (flyout to center field). With one out, Ben Rortvedt hit a 99 mph fastball to center field for a single.

Seven of the 22-year-old’s nine throws were strikes.

“There was no detailed scouting report,” Jobe said. “For me, it was basically just trusting my stuff and attacking the zone. That’s what I did.”

According to MLB Pipeline, Jobe is the sixth best young talent in baseball.

Keider Montero starts

Right-hander Keider Montero pitched in his 18th game of the season and was in the starting lineup for the 16th time. The 24-year-old allowed one run on four hits and two walks in 2⅔ innings, threw 55 pitches and had two strikeouts.

Montero walked two runners in the first inning and had all bases loaded in the second inning. In the third inning, he allowed a solo home run to Junior Caminero on a fastball off the first pitch.

“I wanted to get as many zeros as possible,” Montero said in Spanish, translated by team staffer Carlos Guillén. “For me it was important to release those runners so that my team was in a good position to score points and win the game at the end.”

The Tigers brought in Montero in the bottom of the third inning to increase their lead to 3-1. Greene scored Meadows home with a single to right field from second base, thanks to an aggressive pass from third-base coach Joey Cora.

Montero was taken out of the game after two outs in the third inning and replaced by left-handed reliever Sean Guenther. The Tigers traded Montero for Guenther to take on emerging left-handers in the Rays’ lineup.

“He was struggling every inning, so I took him out early,” Hinch said. “The pressure is on right now. … I just didn’t see the execution that would make me comfortable leaving him in to get to the middle of the game.”

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.

Detroit Tigers win with rookies to 7-1 victory over Tampa Bay Rays

ByJasper

Jackson Jobe makes MLB debut

Keider Montero starts

By Jasper

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