The Tigers opened their series against the Orioles with an 8-5 loss, and the night never really settled into anything comfortable for Detroit. Keider Montero took the ball against Kyle Bradish, but the Tigers spent most of the game trying to dig out of an early hole.
Baltimore got to Montero first in the opening inning. Pete Alonso doubled with one out, Gunnar Henderson followed with a single, and Taylor Ward’s forceout brought Alonso home for the game’s first run. Detroit answered with a single from Kevin McGonigle and another from Colt Keith, but the inning ended with the Tigers still scoreless.
The Orioles kept pressing in the second. Jackson Holliday doubled, Coby Mayo reached on a Keith fielding error, and Jeremiah Jackson’s groundout drove in a run.
Dylan Beavers added another RBI single before the inning was over. Detroit finally got on the board in the bottom half when Zach McKinstry tripled and Hao-Yu Lee lifted a sacrifice fly to score him.
Baltimore added one more in the third on Mayo’s RBI single after Taylor Ward walked and Leody Taveras forced him out. Detroit had a chance to answer, with McGonigle again leading off with a single, but the inning quickly fizzled out on a lineout and a double play.
Montero settled briefly with a 1-2-3 fourth, and the Tigers used that clean inning to claw closer. Riley Greene doubled to start the bottom of the frame, Spencer Torkelson singled, and a wild pitch moved the runners.
McKinstry walked to load the bases, Lee singled in Greene, and Matt Vierling followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Torkelson. Suddenly, Detroit was within one.
That push didn’t last long. Taveras opened the fifth with a solo homer, Holliday singled, and Montero’s night was done.
Coby Mayo then hit a home run off Brenan Hanifee, and Montero’s final line finished at 4.1 innings, 9 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout and 1 homer allowed on 80 pitches. It was a rough one for a pitcher who’s usually more dependable.
Detroit did keep fighting. Dillon Dingler singled to start the bottom of the fifth, Keith doubled, and Torkelson’s sacrifice fly scored Dingler.
McKinstry added an RBI single to bring in Keith, trimming the deficit again. But the Orioles answered back in the sixth when Tyler O’Neill, pinch-hitting for Tyler Holton, launched a leadoff home run.
Henderson later walked, and Drew Anderson finished the inning for Detroit.
The middle innings also belonged to a black squirrel that ran around the field and briefly became the most entertaining part of the night. The squirrel wandered from the outfield to the infield and back again, drawing signs, cheers and a lot more attention than the game itself. In the seventh, the Tigers’ ground crew, with help from Leody Taveras, finally caught it in a towel and moved it off the field.
Detroit couldn’t turn that interruption into momentum. The Tigers went down 1-2-3 in the seventh even after bringing in Gleyber Torres to pinch-hit for Keith.
In the eighth, Jacob Waguespack allowed a walk to Colton Cowser, who stole second, but Baltimore didn’t add on. On the other side, Andrew Kittredge worked around a leadoff single by Torkelson in the bottom half, helped by a strong catch from Cowser, and Detroit again came up empty with a runner in scoring position.
The ninth brought no comeback. Taylor Ward walked, but Leody Taveras grounded into a double play.
Rico Garcia then came on for Baltimore and retired the Tigers in order after McGonigle’s walk was overturned to strike three on challenge. Dillon Dingler made the final out, and Detroit dropped its third straight game.
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The deadline pressure is not just about the Tigers, either. Philadelphia is dealing with its own internal tension as it looks for roster upgrades, and that kind of urgency can spill into all sorts of conversations across the market. For Detroit, the bigger question is whether the noise around Skubal turns into something concrete before the deadline clock runs out. [Read more 🡒]
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For Detroit, any serious conversation would have to start with real talent coming back, which is why the prospect side of the equation matters so much. The Tigers are not in a position to move a pitcher of Skubals caliber lightly, and even if they entertain offers before the deadline, they would still have to weigh whether another club can beat the best package on the table or whether keeping him remains the smarter play. [Read more 🡒]