Don't stop believin'? Tigers face familiar challenge in playoff chase

DETROIT -- Journey’s rock ballad “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become a staple of eighth-inning breaks at Comerica Park, with crowds encouraged to sing along to the line, “Born and raised in south Detroit.”

Whether belief in the Tigers’ playoff chances is still real or something illusory -- like south Detroit, which is technically Windsor, Ontario -- depends on perspective.

With four weeks remaining in the regular season, the Tigers are in nearly the same spot in the AL Wild Card standings as they were at the same point in 2024. They’re 5 1/2 games out entering play Monday, compared with five games two years ago.

Unlike that 2024 club, which had already started its roll, this year’s Tigers continue to struggle to turn the corner. And while a homestand against the AL-best Rays and NL West-leading Dodgers is hardly a golden opportunity for a turnaround, the Tigers aren’t in position to be choosy about wins.

With such a young roster, partly thanks to trades and partly due to injuries, Detroit has already turned an eye toward development, teachable moments and lessons for future contenders. In that sense, a 2-4 homestand was still a valuable experience about what it takes to beat top teams.

After a trio of three-run games against the Rays, the Tigers split a pair of one-run decisions with the Dodgers and seemed headed for a similar fate during Sunday's 6-1 loss at Comerica Park until Teoscar Hernández’s go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning. They didn’t fall behind big until a disastrous three-run eighth inning for reliever Tanner Rainey that included a pair of run-scoring wild pitches, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

“The margins are small,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Nobody likes to hear that when you walk out of town with the record that we have and, you know, losing the series. Losing –- whether they're close [losses] or big –- makes for some sleepless nights. But our guys are grinding. We're learning a lot. We've got some guys taking their lumps a little bit, but we're also a hit or two away from flipping the conversation to a really exciting series win.”

Here are three takeaways from the week:

Offense needs Greene

The Tigers scored nine runs for the six-game homestand; four came in Tuesday’s win over the Rays. They scored one or no runs four times. Facing Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow is a tall task, and the trio combined to allow just two runs on nine hits over 18 innings with 23 strikeouts. But the Tigers' lineup also lacks a focal point; Detroit’s lone home run for the week was Max Clark’s two-run shot off Tampa Bay’s Ian Seymour on Tuesday.

That could change shortly. Riley Greene spent Saturday and Sunday on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo, and could return from the injured list as early as Tuesday in Minnesota.

“Doesn’t suck to have an All-Star back in your lineup and the energy he brings, the presence he brings, and the stability,” Hinch said. “But it doesn’t have to just be him [picking up the team]. We can pick up the pace in multiple areas of our batting order.”

Dillon Dingler went 4-for-20 with seven strikeouts for the homestand, continuing a three-week slump. Kevin McGonigle went 3-for-23, but one hit was a walk-off ground-rule single Saturday. He struck out just three times compared with two walks, the latter of which could be useful with Greene batting behind him in the order again.

Two extremes for Framber

The homestand began and ended with two versions of Framber Valdez. Tuesday’s starter tossed six innings with four runs, three earned, but failed to record a swing and miss, let alone a strikeout. His first-pitch curveball to Teoscar Hernández in Sunday’s second inning was his first whiff since Aug. 17, ending a streak of 102 pitches without a swing and miss.

By the end of Sunday’s outing, Valdez had 13 whiffs, his highest total since July 9, and five strikeouts. His downfall came on a hanging changeup to Hernández.

“Those little adjustments that we made, they worked 99 percent,” Valdez said through translation from Tigers director of Spanish communication Carlos Guillen. “Just one tiny detail, and they took advantage of it. But compared to the result at the end, I feel very good with what we did today, and very good with the adjustments we made.”

Speed game matters

The Tigers have generally limited their aggressive baserunning to taking extra bases on hits, but this week showed hints at a more opportunistic mentality. Saturday’s win came with stolen bases from Zach McKinstry and Hao-Yu Lee along with two sacrifice bunts from Clark, the first time the Tigers laid down multiple sac bunts in a game since June 27, 2021.

Clark’s home-to-third time on his RBI triple Friday was the fastest by a Tiger since Parker Meadows in 2024 and the third-fastest under Statcast.

“There are certainly some areas where I think we can grow to take more risks in terms of the way that the running game is evolving,” Hinch said.