# If you bailed on Tigers in July, you might want to check back in
If you cashed out on the Tigers after that brutal 10-9 loss to the Orioles, the one in which they led 7-0 in the seventh inning with Tarik Skubal on the mound, the one that seemed to doom the season, the one that pushed president Scott Harris to trade Skubal and Casey Mize — well, you might want to re-up.
A funny thing happened on the West Coast. The Tigers got hot.
They went 7-2 in their three-city trip through West Sacramento, Seattle and San Francisco. They left Detroit after that loss on July 29 six games back in the American League Central Division and four games back in the wild-card race.
And now, as they commence a six-game homestand against the Guardians and first-place White Sox, they sit in second place in the division, 3½ games back, and one game out of the final wild-card spot, with no teams between them and the Rangers.
“Every game feels like Game 7.”
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He foresaw what the new roster configuration would look like, with Jackson Jobe and Drew Anderson joining the rotation. And with rookies Max Clark, Eduardo Valencia and Hao-Yu Lee playing bigger roles.
“This team is talented enough to flip the script, just like in ’24," Harris said. "Did I make it a little harder (with the trades)? Yeah, I did. It may seem like a contradiction, but I don’t think that it is at all. We have to hold those two thoughts in our head, and we have to recognize what is actually happening on the field and the momentum we built coming out of Sacramento.
“Am I saying we’re definitely going to make the playoffs? No. But we’re not raising the white flag and we’re not giving up on the season.”
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The bullpen, much-maligned throughout the season, is tightening up, too. They didn’t allow a run in seven of the nine games on the trip, giving four in a loss in Seattle and four in a win in Sacramento.
… Hinch has had to lean on lefties Drew Sommers and Tyler Holton in late leverage situations to get the ball to Kenley Jansen.
Holton…has given up just four earned runs in 29 innings over his last 25 games, earning 16 holds. Sommers, who yielded six of the eight earned runs he’s allowed this season in two outings, has 29 strikeouts in 19⅓ innings.
And Jansen has been lights out since the start of July, allowing one run in 10⅓ innings with 14 strikeouts, two wins and four saves.
Of course, the stress level on the bullpen has been mitigated both by the starters going deeper into games and by the surging offense. The Tigers scored 66 runs in the nine games out west and their plus-87 run differential is best in the American League.
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The return of both Gleyber Torres and Javier Báez off the injured list, plus the infusion of everyday energy that Clark has provided, has changed how Hinch manages this lineup. At least until Kerry Carpenter (plantar fasciitis) and Matt Vierling (groin) get back, he’s mixing-and-matching less in-game.
More than at any point this season, Hinch is putting out a set lineup with Kevin McGonigle at third, Torres at second, Dillon Dingler catching or at designated hitter, Riley Greene in left, Clark in center, Colt Keith at third or designated hitter, Spencer Torkelson at first, Báez at shortstop and Zach McKinstry in right field.
Valencia and Lee are both being used in spot starts and later in games against left-handed pitchers.
Clark has been an igniter. Not only has he provided production out of the seven-hole in the lineup (.297/.381/.486 with an .867 OPS), he’s played outstanding defense in center field.
He and McKinstry, who has a 1.019 OPS in his last 12 games, have lengthened the lineup considerably.
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Series: Three games at Comerica Park, Detroit
