DETROIT -- Tigers manager A.J. Hinch rarely cares for the squeeze bunt … or any kind of bunt. He hates the idea of giving up the out, especially when a pitcher is struggling. But he saw the lefty-lefty situation Zach McKinstry faced with Phillies reliever Tim Mayza in the sixth inning Friday night, saw Matt Vierling at third and made the call.
“They have such a potent offense,” Hinch said, “and I know the danger that was coming when they wrapped around [the lineup]. They can score at any point.”
The first pitch came in on McKinstry, whose jab at the ball completely missed.
“I don’t think his heart was in it,” Ben Davis said on the Phillies' broadcast.
“It really wasn’t,” his play-by-play partner Tom McCarthy said.
Hinch kept the play on. McKinstry got a sinker in nearly the same spot and laid down a beautiful bunt that sent Mayza spinning -- initially looking for a play at the plate, then whirling to get the out at first.
“The first sinker got me a little bit,” McKinstry said. “The second one, I was able to stay on it. I know I have good speed, so it’s going to be a hard play, the lefty going that way. I was able to execute.”
And as Mayza’s hurried throw sailed into right field, the Tigers had gotten the best-case scenario -- add-on run in, no out recorded and runners at the corners with one out. When James Outman lined Mayza’s next pitch to the fence in right-center for a two-run triple, the Tigers were on their way to a five-run inning and eight unanswered runs in a 10-2 win.
These are the results they weren’t getting in May, when their season went south. Even when they made the right calls, they got the wrong results. They’re getting the plays now to turn their season around.
“It’s no secret it was a really bad May, and then the boys came to play after that,” said Jake Rogers, who reached base safely in eight consecutive plate appearances before a well-struck fly out to right-center in that decisive sixth inning. “I don’t know what clicked, but something clicked and everybody’s kinda firing on all cylinders. We need to keep it going.”
While everyone wonders how much the Tigers could sell at the MLB Trade Deadline, they quietly continue to creep back into the American League playoff picture. Their six-game winning streak tied their season high from mid-April. They’ve won nine of their last 10 and own an AL-best 22-12 record since June 1, when they were a season-low 16 games under .500.
“The way we’re playing right now, everyone expected us to play that way all year long,” said Kevin McGonigle, whose two-run homer off his hometown team opened Detroit’s scoring in the third inning.
They’re also moving closer to where they had been expected to be in the standings. And with Seattle’s fourth consecutive loss Friday, the Tigers moved within 2 1/2 games of the final AL Wild Card spot. They’re 4 1/2 games back in the AL Central. Those gaps were 6 1/2 and nine games, respectively, going into July.
It’s not just good fortune. They’re playing better all-around baseball, from outstanding starting pitching, to better at-bats, timely situational hitting and strong defense. Health makes a difference, too, but they’ve also won three in a row with All-Star catcher Dillon Dingler sidelined with a bruised right hand.
“We’re playing really good baseball right now,” McKinstry said. “We’re pitching it well, playing good defense. We’re hitting homers. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
They’ve had spurts like this before, including four-game winning streaks at the start and middle of June. They’ve sustained this stretch on the strength of a rotation that keeps delivering gems and avoiding clunkers, and an offense that hits homers in bunches without being reliant on the homer, putting pressure on pitchers in multiple ways.
“Everybody playing their part, everybody doing what they can,” said Jack Flaherty, who gave up his first run since June 12 and first home run since May 22 -- both to former Tiger Derek Hill -- but held the Phillies to two runs on two hits over six innings with six strikeouts. “To continue to just add on in that inning, one after the other, it was huge. …
“We just keep plugging along and keep working. That’s all you can do. These guys in here continue to keep working to get through that rough stretch of May and put that behind us. It was important for me to do the same and just keep going out there and trust the work that you put in is going to pay off.”