Should Tigers sign ace Tarik Skubal to a 10-year, $425 million contract?
The “Days of Roar” podcast breaks down recent comments made by Tarik Skubal about his contract situation. Where do things stand in negotiations?
TAMPA, FL — The ball just kept carrying.
Switch-hitter Wenceel Pérez — one of the Detroit Tigers‘ best players since his May 27 return from the injured list — swung at a fastball from Tampa Bay Rays left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger, pushing it to right-center field. He didn’t crush the ball, but it carried over the wall for a two-run home run.
The two-run homer propelled the Tigers to a 9-3 win over the Rays on Sunday, June 22, in the finale at George M. Steinbrenner Field. With the victory, the Tigers (49-30) snapped a three-game losing streak and avoided a series sweep.
Pérez has six homers in 22 games.
After taking a 3-1 lead, the Tigers tacked on six runs in the top of the ninth inning during a torrential downpour.
Riley Greene — the heartbeat of the Tigers — sparked the five-run inning with his 20th double, followed by Spencer Torkelson’s 17th double. The back-to-back doubles from the former first-round picks extended the Tigers’ lead to 4-1.
A single from Pérez pushed the score to 5-1.
And then, the big swing from Parker Meadows: He destroyed a first-pitch cutter — a middle-middle pitch — from right-handed reliever Forrest Whitley for a three-run home run to right-center field, increasing the Tigers’ margin to 8-1.
It was Meadows’ second homer this season.
Meadows, who typically serves as the leadoff hitter, has a .172 batting average in 17 games after missing the first two months with a musculocutaneous nerve injury in his right arm.
Zach McKinstry made it 9-1 with a sacrifice fly.
The Rays scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning — a result of left-handed reliever Brant Hurter loading the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch — but it was too little, too late for a comeback.
Casey Mize shoves
Right-hander Casey Mize looked sharp in his 13th start.
The 28-year-old exited after a drop in velocity on his final pitch and a mound visit from an athletic trainer in the sixth inning, following his 80th pitch.
Before the early exit, Mize allowed one run on six hits and zero walks across five-plus innings. The only damage was a solo home run from Junior Caminero in the fourth inning.
Caminero hit a hanging slurve.
Mize received help from Greene in left field in the second and third innings.
He made a diving catch with a runner on first base for the first out in the second. He added an incredible catch over the wall in foul territory with a runner on third base, ending the third. (He also completed a sliding catch for the first out in the eighth inning, with a runner on first base.)
The Tigers had two fielding errors in the third, with third baseman Colt Keith and catcher Dillon Dingler responsible. Those errors were the reason why Christopher Morel advanced to third base before Greene’s catch.
Mize has a 2.88 ERA in 13 starts.
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Scoring first
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Facing right-hander Zack Littell, Greene produced his first of two doubles in the game — putting himself into scoring position from the onset of the inning.
He then moved up to third base on Pérez’s flyout.
With two outs, Dillon Dingler delivered a two-strike single off Littell’s 95 mph fastball at the top of the strike zone, driving in Greene from third base for a 1-0 advantage.
Greene finished 3-for-4 with one strikeout, including this 19th and 20th doubles.
He is hitting .291 with an .875 OPS in 77 games.
Meanwhile, Kerry Carpenter went 0-for-2 with one strikeout. Since June 10, he is hitting .061 (2-for-33) with zero walks and 11 strikeouts across 11 games.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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