Tigers survive 12 innings, beat Twins 11-6 for split
Detroit avoided a fourth straight loss to Minnesota with an 11-6, 12-inning win, but at 8.5 games back the front office is already talking about 2027.
Peck's first hit fuels a 12-inning escape
It took 12 innings, but the Tigers salvaged the finale in Minnesota, beating the Twins 11-6 on September 2 after Drew Anderson worked 5.2 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run with 5 strikeouts, and Kyle Finnegan closed it out with 2 scoreless innings and 3 strikeouts of his own. Spencer Torkelson went deep and drove in 2, Javier Báez doubled and knocked in 3 on a 1-for-1 night, and Max Clark added 3 doubles in a 3-for-4 game. John Peck went 2-for-5 with a double and 3 RBI, and the club's own account marked it as his first career MLB hit.
Twins1-11Twins2-15Twins11-6The win only kept the damage from being total. The Twins had taken the first two games of the series 11-1 and 15-2, and Detroit's win in the finale left the club 2-3 over its last 5 games, a stretch that also included a 2-1 home win over the Dodgers followed by a 6-1 loss to the same club.
The front office turns the page to 2027
Cody Stavenhagen said on FoulTerritoryTV 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." Stavenhagen also said the club "clearly banked so heavily on development" this season, and that while the player development "seems to be good," Detroit is "going to have to find ways to supplement it."
The standings back up the read. At 64-75, the Tigers sit 8.5 games behind the first-place White Sox (73-67) in the AL Central, with an elimination number of 15. Cleveland (70-70) is 3.0 back with an elimination number of 20, and Minnesota (67-73) is 6.0 back at 17. Only the last-place Royals, 10.5 back with an elimination number of 12, sit behind Detroit in the division.
Upcoming
The Tigers are in Cleveland Saturday night, and the pitching matchup favors the home club on paper. Parker Messick is 11-8 with a 2.46 ERA and is coming off a win over Kansas City in which he allowed 1 earned run over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts. Framber Valdez is 8-10 with a 4.36 ERA for Detroit, and in his last start against the Dodgers he gave up 3 earned runs over 6 innings while also striking out 5.
The odds card below will move before first pitch, but the shape of it tracks the two pitching lines: Messick has been the more consistent arm all year, and a Guardians club sitting 3.0 games back of first with real stakes left in September gives Cleveland extra reason to lean on him. For the total to run high, it likely means Valdez's recent bout of hard contact carried over, not that either bullpen got exposed.