Spencer Torkelson keeps giving the Tigers the kind of nights that leave a dugout shaking its head.
Detroit had two clean chances to flip Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, and both times Torkelson came up empty. In the sixth inning at Comerica Park, with a runner on first and nobody out and the Tigers still within three runs, he rolled into a double play against NL All-Star Game starter Cristopher Sanchez (11-4).
Later, in the eighth, with the bases loaded and no outs, Torkelson faced reliever Jonathan Bowlan and bounced a weak grounder to shortstop Trea Turner, who let a run score as the Tigers ran themselves into another double-dipper. Detroit’s six-game winning streak was gone in a 4-2 loss, along with some of the momentum it had built before the All-Star break.
The frustration only deepened Sunday. With Riley Green on first base and no outs, Torkelson grounded into his third straight double play as the Tigers fell 5-0.
That kind of inconsistency is exactly why Torkelson remains such a puzzle for the Tigers’ coaching staff and front office. He’s shown real power before - two seasons with 31 homers - but he’s also lived through long stretches where the bat disappears.
The numbers this season tell the same story. Torkelson entered Sunday hitting .208 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI.
His career average sits at .224, and he’s spent plenty of time flirting with the Mendoza line this spring and summer. A.J.
Hinch has moved him around the lineup trying to find a better fit, sliding him anywhere from fourth to seventh.
The peaks can be loud, but they don’t last. Torkelson didn’t hit his first home run of the season until April 22, then promptly went deep in five straight starts. After that, he went 1-for-15 in his final four games before the break.
And the bases-loaded numbers are even harder to ignore. In his five-year career, the 26-year-old has just three hits in 37 bases-loaded chances, one of the worst marks in MLB history.
Detroit is trying to claw back into the race, and it needs more than flashes from the middle of the order. The Tigers finished a 6-22 May and entered this stretch needing steady production from Torkelson to help trim a 3.5-game AL Wild Card deficit. They return Friday to open a series against the host Los Angeles Angels, with Detroit sitting at 44-52 and trailing the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians by 6.5 games.
For now, the Tigers are still waiting for Torkelson to deliver the kind of consistency that would stop leaving them dumbfounded.
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