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It took 10 innings about three and a half hours, but the Tigers beat the Cubs 8-6.
After dropping the final game of their series against the Angels, the Tigers were hoping to have a good series against the Chicago Cubs, knowing they can’t really afford to lose multiple games in a row. To get the job done, they had Jack Flaherty on the mound and he was squaring off against James Taillon for the Cubs. The game got underway about thirty minutes late thanks to the threat of rain.
In his first game back, Gleyber Torres got a one-out single in the first. Colt Keith then doubled, and on his heels, Riley Greene hit a three-run homer.
Hot on his heels, Dillon Dingler homered as well, getting the score to 4-0.
Two outs followed, but it was an ideal start to the game for the Tigers. Flaherty had it pretty easy in the bottom of the inning going 1-2-3. He owed quite a bit of that to his defense, including this incredible play by Kevin McGonigle.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in top of the second. In the bottom of the inning Ian Happ got a one-out walk, then Nico Hoerner singled. Two outs followed, though, getting Flaherty out of an early-inning jam.
It was another three-up, three-down inning for the Tigers in the third. In the home half, Flaherty wasn’t so lucky. Miguel Amaya singled to start the inning, then with one out Seiya Suzuki homered, bringing two runs in. Immediately after him Michael Busch homered to almost the exact same place. While Flaherty did manage to get out of the inning, the score was 4-3 at the end of the third.
Dingler did his best to add some runs in the fourth with a leadoff single, but unfortunately his teammates left him stranded, going down in order after his single. In the home half, Dansby Swanson walked with two outs. Flaherty did manage to get through the final batter without any runs scoring and even had a nice strikeout to wrap up Amaya. When he’d dialled in, his stuff is nasty. Unfortunately, when he’s not dialled in you get back-to-back home runs into center, so it really is a Tale of Two Flahertys.
Kevin McGonigle got a one-out walk in the fifth. Gleyber Torres then walked, and that was it for Taillon. Ryan Rolison came in to replace him. A pinch-hitting Hao-Yu Lee came in and did exactly what Hinch wanted him to, hitting a little bloop single to left to load the bases. Riley Greene then hit into a force out, getting McGonigle out at home. Despite their best opportunity all game to break things wide open, Dingler lined out to end the inning.
Flaherty’s day was done after four, not a big surprise given his elevated pitch count and his inconsistent performance. His final line for the game was 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR on 82 pitches. If two of his hits hadn’t been for home runs (and Wrigley can be a very home run-friendly park when the wind blows the right way) his outing wouldn’t have looked quite so bad, but the results are what they are. Drew Sommers replaced him. Suzuki got a one-out walk. With two outs, Alex Bregman singled, thanks to Lee not quite being able to make anything happen with a ball hit right to him. Dingler then came through with a throw over to second, getting Suzuki out to end the inning.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth. With one out in the home half, Jacob Waguespack replaced Sommers. He gave up a two-out single to Pedro Ramirez, but was able to get out of the jam.
Gavin Hollowell was the new Cubs’ reliever in the seventh. McGonigle got a one-out double. Then Torres singled, but McGonigle held at third base. Caleb Thielbar came in to pitch after the second out of the inning, specifically to face Greene, and it turned out to be a good move because he got the final out of the inning. Waguespack got the first two outs of the seventh before the Tigers turned to Kyle Finnegan to take on Suzuki. He induced a ground ball out to end the inning.
The Cubs dipped back into their bullpen for the eighth for Tyler Ferguson, who gave up a leadoff home run to Dillon Dingler. His third multi-homer game since June.
Three outs in a row followed, but Dingler had helped boost the lead for the first time since the first inning. In the home half Alex Bregman got a one-out single, then Ian Happ homered, tying up the game. Two outs followed, but the results were less than ideal. Really death by home run on both sides today.
Jacob Webb came in for the ninth. With two outs, Torres walked (though the Cubs did attempt the ABS challenge, it was upheld). Matt Vierling came in to run for Torres, and it was up to Lee. Lee, sadly, hit into a force out to end the inning. Kenley Jansen was in for the ninth, which was certainly a choice given the wind. Swanson hit a leadoff double. One out put Swanson on third. After a meeting on the mound, Pete Crow-Armstrong was intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners. PCA advanced to second on defensive indifference. Busch worked a walk after seeing a lot of pitches. With the bases loaded and a three-ball start, Jansen somehow got Bregman out to end the inning and force extras.
Riley Greene singled to start the tenth, putting runners on the corners thanks to the ghost runner, but he also hit Thornton with a comebacker to the foot, forcing the Cubs back to their bullpen. Javier Assad came in to replace him. Dingler worked the count and then hit a single to left, scoring Lee to push the Tigers into the lead. In what should have been a textbook double-play off the bat of Kerry Carpenter, Hoerner just couldn’t field it and somehow the bases were safely loaded. Carpenter was pulled for a pinch runner, looking like he might have hurt himself getting to first. Torkelson then laced a hit dead center, and scored two more runs with Ben Malgeri safely on third.
With two outs, Assad intentionally walked McGonigle to load the bases. The Tigers managed to squander a great additional opportunity, leaving three on, but they did score three to retake the lead. Tyler Holton would be the man responsible for holding that lead. With one out, Hoerner singled, putting runners at the corners. Ramirez grounded into a force out, scoring Bregman but eliminating Hoerner. Swanson singled, and thanks to an error by Outman who literally dropped the ball, Ramirez ended up at third. Former Tiger Carson Kelly grounded out to end the inning, probably one of the best things he’s ever done for Detroit, and the game blessedly ended with a Tigers win.
