Tigers avoid sweep with a 12-inning win on Peck's first hit
Detroit dropped the first 2 games of a Minnesota series by a combined 26-3 before John Peck's first big-league hit helped force extras in a 11-6 win that closed it out.
Peck's first hit sends it to extras
The Tigers needed 12 innings to walk out of Minnesota with anything. After losing 11-1 on August 31 and 15-2 on September 1, Detroit turned an 11-6 win on September 2 into a series that did not end in a sweep, going 2-3 in the last 5.
Twins1-11Twins2-15Twins11-6Spencer Torkelson went 1-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI, and Javier Báez drove in 3 on a 1-for-1 night that included a double. Drew Anderson started and worked 5.2 innings, allowing 1 earned run with 5 strikeouts, and Kyle Finnegan closed with 2 shutout innings and 3 strikeouts.
John Peck went 2-for-5 with a double and 3 RBI, and the club's own account marked it as his first MLB hit. It came in a series Minnesota had led by a combined 26-3 across the first 2 games.
Recent News
The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen said on Foul Territory that the Tigers are "absolutely on life support right now," adding that "it seems to me like the front office has made the decision to move on and start playing for 2027." He also said the club "clearly banked so heavily on development" this year, and that while "their player development seems to be good, they're going to have to find ways to supplement it."
The record backs the read: Detroit is 64-75, 9 games back in the AL Central with an elimination number of 15. ESPN's Buster Olney noted the split underneath it — the Tigers are 40-33 with Tarik Skubal on the active roster this year and 23-41 without him.
Kerry Carpenter remains on the 10-day IL with a foot injury, but MLB.com reports he was on track to have his walking boot removed this past weekend.
Upcoming
The Tigers are in Cleveland Saturday night to open a series against the Guardians. Framber Valdez (8-10, 4.36 ERA) is set to start; in his last outing on August 30 against the Dodgers he took the loss despite 6 innings, 3 earned runs, 5 strikeouts and only 1 walk. Cleveland counters with Parker Messick (11-8, 2.46 ERA), who beat the Royals on August 30 with 6 innings of 1-run ball, 5 strikeouts and 5 hits allowed.
Messick has been the sharper of the two all year on ERA, and Cleveland sits 3 games back in the division with an elimination number of 21, so there's more on the line for the Guardians. The odds card below will set the market by first pitch, but the gap between these 2 starters' recent lines is the thing to watch before it does.