DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers finally snapped a nine-game losing streak with their unlikeliest win of the season: A late comeback against the mighty Atlanta Braves.
It certainly looked like Detroit’s losing streak was going to reach double digits on Monday night, as the best team in the National League (40-25 with a +69 run differential) held a 5-1 lead midway through the eighth inning.
The Tigers’ offense had mustered just four hits and three walks through the first six innings before Andy Ibanez led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer. Atlanta, meanwhile, racked up five runs against a trio of Tigers long relievers.
But after pulling within three runs heading into the ninth inning, the Tigers tied the game against closer Raisel Iglesias in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a home run from Spencer Torkelson and a two-out RBI single from Zack Short.
Alex Lange needed just four pitches to get through a scoreless top of the 10th, and Torkelson came through again in the bottom half, smacking a game-winning single off of former Tigers reliever Joe Jimenez.
Miraculously, the win pulled the Tigers within five games of the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, even though Detroit just lost nine games in a row and sits a full 10 games below .500.
For a moment, on May 28, the Tigers looked like they might actually be surprise contenders in the Central. They had pulled within one game of the Twins after winning four of five against division rivals.
But a rash of injuries coincided with poor play to silence those hopes. The Tigers are suddenly in fourth place and own the third-worst record in the American League.
With 13 of the next 16 games coming against first-place teams, it’ll take a stunning turnaround for the Tigers to stay afloat through the second half of June. But Tuesday night was still a fun win -- one Tigers fans desperately needed.
