Hey, uh...remember around the trade deadline there was this narrative that the Tigers were cratering, losing 12 of 13 in one stretch and letting the Guardians approach from behind? Remember when it was looking like one of the main storylines of the season, that being the Tigers as the strongest team in the AL, was going to be all for nothing due to some rough series?
Apparently nobody else does because since they've been surging in August everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten there was any rough patch at all. Which is what happens when a team sees the problem and makes conscious efforts to turn it around. New York could learn from this.
One of the big sparks the Tigers have needed has been Kerry Carpenter. The Tigers seem to play better when Carpenter is in the lineup. Already since he's been back both the team and Carpenter have been surging. In 95 games, Carpenter has 21 homers, 46 RBIs and an .824 OPS. That OPS is just a notch higher than Riley Greene's. Carpenter is a production machine, as he always has been, and now he gets to be a run producer for a much better Tigers team. Same with Spencer Torkelson, who has 26 homers and 66 RBIs. Wenceel Perez is the only starter who has less than 10 homers, which is a pretty cool thing to say about the Tigers.
Now, I did give the Tigers some shit for skewing older at the deadline, and getting a lot of aging pitchers to bulk up the staff. They've all been working, honestly. Though Charlie Morton has fallen off a little, he looks about as good as he did in Baltimore, with 21 Ks in 3 games. Chris Paddack has been a strong stand-in for Reece Olson, mostly eating innings but still sporting a 3.45 ERA. Kyle Finnegan has been lights-out in the ninth and has yet to allow an earned run. The only addition who's been shaky is honestly Rafael Montero, but there's still time.
The Tigers have won 6 of their last 8 games, even if a lot of them have been close. Yesterday they blanked the Twins 7-0, which they can do now that the Twins have given up. To begin the following week they have to stay afloat against the Astros, who still have some momentum despite nearly being no-hit by Brandon Young last night. If they prove that July was an anomaly, which they're currently doing a good job of doing, they can conserve momentum and roll into a strong October run. They've already succeeded in the playoffs as a wild card, so who knows how well they'll do as a favorite.
Coming Tomorrow- For my money, this guy should be the Rookie of the Year.
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