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CHICAGO — After an ugly blowout loss Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers rebounded with a feel-good 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.
The Tigers (48-54) took two of three from the Cubs and finished their two-city road trip 4-2.
They return home Thursday to open a four-game series against the last-place Kansas City Royals.
The Tigers still have plenty of ground to make up. They trail the Chicago White Sox by 6 1/2 games in the American League Central and the Boston Red Sox by 4 1/2 games in the Wild Card race.
One bit of good news: The Red Sox finally lost Wednesday, snapping a 15-game winning streak. The Tigers could use more help, but they need to continue helping themselves first.
They have done that since a miserable May, winning 13 of 18 and 18 of 28. They are 26-16 since June 1.
Here’s what Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said about Wednesday’s win:
On the Tigers’ performance
“That’s a good series win and a really well-played game today. I thought we threw the ball exceptionally well, starting with Keider (Montero). We played good defense. We had some timely hits. I thought our at-bats got better as the game went on. A lot to like about this entire trip, specifically in this game. I thought we played really clean.”
On Montero expanding his pitch mix
“There was a long at-bat with (Seiya) Suzuki, and then he used his whole arsenal, which is one of the things that we love about him. We have to constantly check ourselves to make sure we’re using everything. I thought Ding (catcher Dillon Dingler) and he did a good job of making that adjustment. The changeup got really good. The slider was good. He threw a couple slow breaking balls. The fastball’s always been good. So it was nice to see him really pitch through the outing against a tough lineup.”
On Hao-Yu Lee homering on a 3-0 count
“In this ballpark, there’s a lot of good that can come if you get a good pitch to hit. I think this second time (he’s been up in the big leagues) has been really good to see him play the game, relax and take a shot when he knew he had a good shot. He’s hit the ball as hard as anybody on our team. So when he got a good pitch to hit, he didn’t miss it.”
On bringing in Drew Sommers in the 6th
“The big debate was the inning before. I couldn’t tell if Keider was getting tired. Seventy to eighty pitches was where we felt comfortable, and then he got really efficient.
“With PCA (Pete Crow-Armstrong) and (Michael) Busch at the top, with Suzuki in the middle, it’s a really difficult choice on which lefty to attack. PCA has hit lefties, Suzuki has killed lefties and Busch is talented as well. So as the game evolved, it could have been any inning, but Sommers was going to be teed up at some point.”
On resting Gleyber Torres and starting Lee
“It was preplanned, and we’re going to stay disciplined with what we’re doing. Lee obviously has gained a lot of experience while Gleyber has been down, and that can’t be overlooked. We have a lot of trust and faith in him. That’s why we’ve played him virtually every day since he’s been up here.
“When you have a chance to steal a day away from Gleyber, maybe we’ll do that this weekend with Ding or Kevin (McGonigle) or guys who have played every single inning. To get a performance like this, it encourages a complete team.”
On Kerry Carpenter snapping his hitless skid
“Yeah, good at-bats. He and McKinstry both. McKinstry hit into some tough luck. Kerry needed to see some results. You know this. It’s been a long stretch for him, and we know he’s super dangerous. We know our offense is completely different when he gets locked in and the other team has to attack him. So it’s good to see him smile on the field.”
On a nightime getaway game due to the ESPN telecast
“I’ll do anything. I’ll play at night. I’ll play at midnight. I’ll play during the day. We earned this flight home, and we’re going to enjoy going home.”
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