MINNEAPOLIS - The Tigers walked into Monday night already in a rut, and by the time it was over, the spiral had only gotten steeper.
Detroit was sloppy in the field, quiet at the plate and beaten hard on the mound in an 11-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Aug. 31. Jackson Jobe was tagged for four earned runs and two homers while finishing with five overall, the bullpen surrendered four more, and Zach McKinstry was eventually asked to mop up the damage - only to give up two additional runs himself.
The defeat was the Tigers’ 13th in their last 16 games, a stretch that dates back to Aug. 14 and has flipped August from strong to rough in a hurry. Detroit opened the month 8-3 with a plus-40 run differential, but over these last 16 games the club has managed only three wins and has been outscored by 35 runs.
The loss also pushed the Tigers six games out in the American League wild-card race, with the Cleveland Guardians idle, and 9½ back in the AL Central with 25 games remaining.
Even with the standings sliding away, the Tigers are still trying to balance the playoff chase with a growing youth movement. On Monday, that meant another rookie arriving: shortstop John Peck, a 2023 draft pick, made his MLB debut in the eighth inning and is expected to start Tuesday.
Before the game, A.J. Hinch made it clear the message inside the clubhouse has not changed.
“We've watched young players come up and contribute, and so the message doesn't really change - the expectation doesn't change,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said before the game. “We are where we are, and we know we have to be really, really good to make this a memorable September.”
There was nothing memorable about the final day of August for Detroit.
Taj Bradley had far too much on the mound for Minnesota. The Twins starter worked seven strong innings, gave up just one run and struck out nine, keeping the Tigers in check from the start. He allowed only one hit through the first four innings, a Hao-Yu Lee single to right, and once again looked like a problem Detroit simply couldn’t solve.
Bradley had already carved up the Tigers once this season, working 6⅓ innings on April 7 and allowing one run while striking out 10. On Monday, he was just as sharp.
Detroit’s lone offensive highlight came from Lee, who launched a homer to center with an exit velocity of 109.6 mph and a distance of 439 feet.
Jobe, meanwhile, spent most of the night fighting traffic. The Twins were aggressive from the jump, and they wasted little time forcing the issue. Luke Keaschall doubled on Jobe’s second pitch of the game, moved to third on a fielder’s choice, and came home on a sacrifice fly from former Tiger Kody Clemens for a 1-0 Minnesota lead.
Clemens struck again in the fourth, this time hammering a hanging curve that was actually out of the strike zone.
Jobe had another messy fourth inning in front of him after a walk, a hit and an error, but he escaped with a pair of harmless popups.
The fifth inning turned into another headache. Keaschall reached when Lee committed an error, then stole second base off Jobe.
With Keaschall taking a huge lead and seemingly bothering the right-hander, Jobe walked Clemens to keep the inning alive. Ryan Jeffers then made the Tigers pay with a three-run homer, his 11th of the season.
The series continues Tuesday night, when Troy Melton (7-3, 1.86) starts for Detroit against left-hander Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.55) for Minnesota. First pitch is set for 7:40 p.m., with Detroit SportsNet carrying the game.
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