CHICAGO -- Just when the Tigers rotation seemed at risk of cracking, Keider Montero stepped up again, delivering 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball Wednesday night to let Hao-Yu Lee’s go-ahead three-run home run stand as the difference in a 5-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The Tigers’ fourth win in six games out of the All-Star break brought them within 4 1/2 games of the final AL Wild Card spot.
Between injuries (Casey Mize, Jack Flaherty) and inefficiency (Framber Valdez), no Tigers starter had pitched into the fifth inning since Tarik Skubal last Saturday. Montero, jumping back into the rotation for his first start since June 26, looked like he could be in for a long night after Seiya Suzuki hit a solo homer on Montero’s 11th pitch of the game. But Montero allowed just two hits the rest of the night, switching his attack mode to a diet of curveballs and sliders after his first turn through the Cubs’ lineup.
Spencer Torkelson quickly nullified Suzuki’s homer with a second-inning solo shot for his 19th home run of the year. But the deciding blow came as Cubs starter Colin Rea tried to escape a fourth-inning jam. Rea retired Kerry Carpenter and Zach McKinstry with runners on first and second, but fell behind on a 3-0 count to Lee, who pounced on Rea’s middle-middle fastball and crushed it to left for his fifth home run of the year.
Lee entered Wednesday batting .314 (27-for-86) with four doubles, three homers and nine RBIs since the start of June. He has performed so well since filling in for injured Gleyber Torres in mid-June that he not only stayed in the big leagues upon Torres’ return this week, but he also got a start at second base Wednesday to give Torres a day off.
Montero struck out eight batters while lowering his ERA to 3.14. He’s the third Tiger in 60 years to make at least 14 starts and six relief appearances by the end of July, joining Aníbal Sánchez (2016) and Dan Petry (1990).