Detroit left 11 runners stranded in San Francisco, but multi-hit performances from Kevin McGonigle and Spencer Torkelson provided a silver lining during a critical divisional playoff race.
The Tigers came into Friday night’s game in San Francisco having won five of their last six, all while on the West Coast against the A’s and Mariners. Unfortunately, Detroit couldn’t keep the momentum going.
Despite putting pressure on the bases, the Tigers struggled to get those runners across home plate.
11 hits. 11 singles. Two runs. A 5-2 loss.
Luckily for the Tigers in the playoff race, the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox also lost, so Detroit remains 3.5 games back of the division lead. However, the Texas Rangers won, pushing Detroit back to two games out of the wild card.
And even on life’s toughest nights—like staying up until 1 in the morning to write about a tough Tigers loss—there are stars to be found. That’s why I’m here.
So, let’s take a look at the Tigers’ top three stars from the game, along with some other news and notes from Friday night’s loss.
3rd Star – Zach McKinstry
McKinstry had a crucial game-tying RBI early, one of just two RBIs on the night for the entire Tigers team. Normally, scoring runs gets you high on the stars list, but shaky running on the base paths late made me a bit apprehensive about putting him any higher than third star.
Still, from the nine-hole, McKinstry smashed an inside pitch to the pull side and over the second baseman’s head, scoring Spencer Torkelson from second and tying the game at 2-2 in the second inning.
In the fifth inning, McKinstry took another inside pitch, this time a bit more up the middle but still to the pull side.
2nd Star – Spencer Torkelson
It was a “do your job” type of day for Torkelson, who showed great contact with three hits.
He led off the second inning with an opposite-field single. After being pushed to second base, Torkelson crossed home plate following McKinstry’s single.
In the sixth inning, Torkelson drove another ball up the middle for his second single of the game.
Then, leading off the eighth, Torkelson hit a hard shot to the right side of the infield that forced an off-line throw, giving him his third single of the night.
1st Star – Kevin McGonigle
On base four times, the Giants simply could not contain the rookie phenom.
McGonigle led off with a single, followed by a broken-bat blooper that dropped between the second baseman and right fielder. McGonigle was pushed to third via Gleyber Torres and then brought home by Dillon Dingler, giving Detroit an early 1-0 lead.
Getting on base multiple times is nothing new for McGonigle, and he kept it up with a walk in the second inning.
He wasn’t done there, singling to right-center in the fifth and pushing McKinstry to third.
You may have thought getting on base three times was enough for the rookie, but you’d be wrong. In the seventh inning, McGonigle was back on first base with his third single of the night.
Other News and Notes
Gleyber Torres: Torres singled with one on and nobody out in the first, pushing McGonigle to third. It was otherwise a night to forget after leaving five runners on base and hitting into a double play. Still, Torres kept his hitting streak alive, extending it to five games.
Dillon Dingler: Dingler recorded an RBI groundout in the first to score McGonigle and later advanced to second on a blocked ball that got away from the catcher. He also walked in the seventh but had no hits, snapping his seven-game hitting streak.
Max Clark: After a few rough at-bats to kick off the game, Clark was able to dial in late and push a sinker to the opposite field against a Giants shift and past an outstretched third baseman who was nearly playing the shortstop position. Clark now has a base hit in six of his first seven career games.
Riley Greene: Batting just .147 over his previous 34 at-bats, Greene’s struggles were becoming noticeable. But in the seventh inning, with one on and two out, Greene popped an opposite-field hit, giving him five hits over his last four games. He also walked in the ninth.
Keider Montero: The first inning got the better of Montero when he left a hanging ball right in the sweet spot for Rafael Devers, who uncorked a two-out, two-run blast.
The second inning got even worse. After two walks loaded the bases, Jung Hoo Lee singled to center, scoring two more runs and giving the Giants a 4-2 lead.
Montero settled down over the next two innings, but in the fifth, Willy Adames launched a moon ball into the stands, giving San Francisco a 5-2 lead.
Bullpen: Drew Sommers and Emmanuel De Jesus combined for two hitless innings with three strikeouts.
The Bottom Line
Detroit had 11 hits, but all 11 were singles.
The bigger issue was leaving runners on base. The Tigers stranded 25 runners, including five from Torres and four from Javier Baez.
The Tigers had opportunities. They just couldn’t cash them in.
Defensively, however, the sixth inning brought one of the better plays of the night. Javier Baez made an exceptional backhanded play, twisted his body in the blink of an eye and fired a one-hopper to Torkelson. Torkelson came off first, made the catch and appeared to swipe the runner out as he lunged toward the bag.
The umpire called the runner safe.
Despite the replay showing Torkelson touching the runner and the entire stadium gasping at how good the tag was, the ruling remained due to the verdict “the play stands,” meaning there wasn’t enough to overturn the call.
It was an extremely frustrating call for Detroit.
Ultimately, the Tigers simply couldn’t turn their opportunities into runs.
11 hits. 25 runners left on base. Two runs.
That’s a tough combination to overcome.
