DETROIT -- Drew Sommers crouched down and hung his head like the Tigers lefty reliever had just seen a cruel trick. And in some ways, maybe he had.
His slider just below the strike zone had the makings of a putaway pitch to get him and Detroit out of an eighth-inning jam. Instead, Michael Massey golfed it deep to right for a go-ahead two-run homer that turned Sunday’s 5-4 series finale in the Royals’ favor.
With these two teams, in this place, that’s usually all it takes.
The Tigers and Royals have played 12 consecutive games at Comerica Park decided by two runs or fewer, MLB’s longest active streak between two teams in one venue. They played seven games here this season, all of them one-run games, all but one of them decided in the eighth inning or later. The Tigers won the first five this year, four of them in their final inning at the plate. They lost the last two with blown leads against the bullpen.
“It’s the expectation,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday. “It seems like we’re just evenly matched, and we have been for a couple of years now. Every game seems to go this way. One swing of the bat, usually late in the game, something happens.”
Play that many close games in a row, and inevitably some turn the other way, if for nothing more than the law of averages. But at a time when Detroit needs every win it can get to re-enter the postseason conversation and justify keeping this team together at the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, randomness is no way to live. The last two days felt like missed opportunities, particularly after the Guardians were swept at Tampa Bay.
The Tigers could’ve crawled to within a game and a half of the last American League Wild Card spot this weekend. Instead, they remain 3 1/2 games out.
Blaming the bullpen is easy with so many close games, but there were other takeaways from Sunday and the surrounding series:
1. Baserunning matters
Detroit hasn't had many baserunning moments to note in the post-Joey Cora era, but Sunday provided a couple of key turns. Third-base coach Billy Boyer’s decision to hold Hao-Yu Lee at third base on Kevin McGonigle’s fifth-inning single to center looked like a conservative turn, creating a bases-loaded opportunity with no outs, but it paid off when Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler cleared the bases with back-to-back one-out grounders up the middle.
On the flip side, Zach McKinstry challenged left fielder Isaac Collins as the potential tying run in the eighth, trying to go from first to third on Spencer Torkelson’s one-out single to left and set up a potential sac fly. Collins threw him out on a close play at third, a decision upheld by replay review.
“This left field’s really huge,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “If he’s safe, we’re loving life. If not, it’s a tough out. I think he knew Collins was pretty far back there. We play fearless, and you’re going to be barely out, barely safe. I know when it ends that way, it sucks, but it’s a style of play that we’ve been rewarded on a lot.”
2. Clutch hitting
Detroit went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position Sunday and 1-for-11 on Saturday. The club created late-inning opportunities both days, including the leadoff batter on base in the ninth, but struggled to string together quality at-bats. On Saturday, Alex Lange struck out Lee and Matt Vierling before getting a first-pitch popup from Torkelson, the pinch-hitter. On Saturday, McGonigle flew out to left and Gleyber Torres struck out on three pitches, leaving the tying and go-ahead runs at first and second for Greene, He battled Steven Cruz for eight pitches before striking out.
“Today was tough,” McGonigle said. “We had some opportunities. Fell short. It’s part of the game. A little frustrated with myself that at-bat in the ninth, felt like I should’ve come through for the guys and I didn’t.”
Said Hinch: “We didn’t capitalize on some traffic in the later innings. We got beat by two-strike soft contact and a two-strike homer. That’s what it feels like. I mean, there are many, many things in this game that could’ve swung it either way, but opportunity lost to win a series.”
3. Carpenter ailing
The Tigers' offense operates differently when Kerry Carpenter is slugging, but he’s both slumping and limping. He left Sunday’s game after four innings when his bruised left heel flared up again and will be re-evaluated. With Carpenter going 6-for-52 in July and Javier Báez progressing well in his rehab assignment, Detroit could eventually have to shuffle its outfield.