Tigers 7-1 Rays (September 25, 2024) Match Report

DETROIT – Parker Meadows and Spencer Torkelson each hit a home run and the Detroit Tigers solidified their AL wild-card chances with a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

Detroit moved 10 games over .500 with its fourth straight win. Detroit is tied with Kansas City (84-74) for second place behind Baltimore in the wild-card standings. Minnesota (82-76) is two games back after an 8-3 win over Miami.

The Tigers play against the Rays on Thursday before finishing the season with three home games against the weaker Chicago White Sox.

“It’s hard to put into words – it’s incredible,” said Torkelson, who scored three runs. “It’s been an incredible couple of weeks.”

Detroit has a 29-11 record since August 10, thanks to ace Tarik Skubal, one of the favorites for the AL Cy Young Award, and a number of young pitchers.

After Skubal threw seven scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 2-1 win, rookie Keider Montero pitched 2 2/3 innings with one run before five relievers combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings.

“You have to choose against this team,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “You either have to face Tarik Skubal or beat whatever they can throw at you. This bullpen has been a big part of what they’ve accomplished.”

Jackson Jobe, Detroit’s most promising pitcher, pitched the ninth inning in his major league debut, striking out Richie Palacios for the final out as the 32,000 crowd chanted his name.

“I don’t know how many people get greeted like that at a major league stadium,” Hinch said. “It was pretty incredible.”

Tampa Bay right-hander Zach Littell (8-10) entered the game with a 20-inning scoreless streak, but allowed two runs in the first inning. He went 4 2/3 innings and allowed three runs and seven hits.

The Rays (78-80) are out of the postseason and need to win their final four games to finish with a win.

“It’s not what we were hoping for this year, but we are where we played,” Cash said. “A successful season is the benchmark for many players in our clubhouse, and they want to finish strong.”

After Montero escaped a pinch in the first inning, Meadows hit Littell’s second pitch for his ninth home run. After two hard-hit outs, Riley Greene doubled and scored on Wenceel Perez’s base hit.

“We knew it was a nine-inning game, but it’s different to take an early lead this time of year,” Hinch said. “We come out of the first inning, which was a lot of work, and then Parker hits the home run.”

The Rays loaded all bases in the second inning, but Junior Caminero increased the lead to 2-1 with his fifth home run in the third inning.

Greene responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

The Rays put two runners on in the sixth inning, but Tyler Holton came out of the bullpen and struck out pinch hitter Dylan Carson.

Torkleson hit a two-run homer against Manuel Rodríguez in the sixth inning and a two-run RBI double against Drew Rasmussen in the eighth.

“It’s a great time to be a Detroit Tiger,” Jobe said.

Next

The teams finish the three-game series on Thursday. Former Tigers RHP Tyler Alexander (6-5, 5.35 ERA) faces Detroit RHP Reese Olson (4-8, 3.49 ERA).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb