There were a few wild statements from teams to end the first half. I was in Philly last weekend for one of the A's routs of the Phils, that was...something. But the wildest statement might have been from the Tigers, who were hosting the all-powerful Los Angeles Dodgers before the ASG break. And despite all three games being close, the Tigers took two of three.
From the Dodgers. A team with Shohei Ohtani on it.
Even wilder, both victories were walkoffs. Game 2 looked like a 9-4 Dodgers victory for most of its runtime, then in the ninth the Tigers piled on 5 runs, thanks to RBIs by Matt Vierling, Carson Kelly and Colt Keith. And then for bottom 10, Gio Urshela nailed a walkoff home run to seal the deal at 11-9, winning a game that looked pretty done for the Dodgers. Then in Game 3, the Dodgers are inches from a 3-2 victory, and again in the ninth, rookies Justyn Henry-Malloy and Wenceel Perez small-balled their way past Yohan Ramirez for a 4-3 win.
The fact that the Tigers, a team that seemed so offensively depleted, could do this to the Dodgers, a team that seemed so overpowering, was incredible. And then you go back and look and, oh yeah, the Tigers are 9-4 since the start of July. Regardless of inefficiency, the Tigers are actually heating up.
Many of the pieces were there, like Carson Kelly behind the plate, Matt Vierling in center, Wenceel Perez in right, and Andy Ibanez in 2nd. They're all just playing better now. Carson Kelly's having the kind of versatile, efficient season that the Diamondbacks probably miss about now, with 29 RBIs in 55 games. Ibanez is hitting .288 with 21 RBIs in 54 games. Perez has 71 hits in 77 games, and leads the team in stolen bases. There aren't a lot of sure things in this lineup other than Riley Greene, but the extra part guys are definitely putting in the work to make these wins more possible.
Getting Jack Flaherty back has aided the rotation, as he, Olson and Skubal have been pretty masterful starting games. I think the plan is to bring Matt Manning back this week, as Maeda's being moved to the 'pen and Keider Montero is still being kept in the rotation. Obviously it's not an ironclad formula, especially without Sawyer Gipson-Long, but hopefully it'll be enough to keep them moving. The bullpen is as strong as ever though, with Tyler Holton, Jason Foley, Beau Briske and Andrew Chafin doing everything they should be.
As promising as this newfound momentum is for the Tigers, they do have to play the Guardians a lot before the month is out, and the Twins are also on the docket. They did fine against the Dodgers, but these are more crucial matchups, because they mean more in September when the division, or a wild card spot, is at stake. I think the Tigers are kind of a long shot with this level of depth, but it could happen. With what they just did to the best team in the NL, ya never know.
Coming Tonight: The current MLB saves leader.
Dodgers are no longer overpowering and haven't been since mid-June. They were swept by the Phillies and then the A's come in have no problem with the Phillies, that tells you something right there.
ReplyDeleteit's weird that the Phillies match up better against the Dodgers than the A's. What a world..
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