Kevin McGonigle Makes History Again in Win

· Yahoo Sports

Tigers win 6 to 2.

If you had the Tigers with six runs despite 0-for-11 from Greene, Dingler and Carpenter and getting the win, well, play the lottery. But all jokes aside, the Tigers had Tarik Skubal on the mound and another history making moment from Kevin McGonigle as Detroit took care of the Athletics 6 to 2. 

McGonigle reached base multiple times in his 53rd game this season. Dating back to the first All-Star Game in 1933, that is the most by any MLB rookie before the break. He did it by staying in the middle of Detroit’s offense again, drawing a walk in the first inning, adding singles in the fifth and sixth, and driving in the Tigers’ final run of the night.

Detroit did not need much time to get started. McGonigle opened the bottom of the first with a walk, and Colt Keith followed with his seventh home run of the season, sending a fly ball to right-center field to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. It was the kind of quick support that works well with Skubal on the mound, especially when he comes out throwing the way he did Tuesday.

Skubal struck out the side in the first inning, getting Zack Gelof, Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers swinging. He worked around traffic in the second after Jonah Heim singled and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer doubled, ending the threat with a called strikeout of Max Muncy. Henry Bolte got Oakland on the board with a solo homer in the third, but Skubal settled back in and kept the Athletics from building anything bigger.

His final line was efficient and strong: five innings, five hits, one run, two walks and nine strikeouts. The pitch count kept him from going deeper, but the shape of the outing was still clear. He missed bats, handled runners on base and gave Detroit exactly the kind of start it needed at the front end of the series.

The Tigers had a chance to add on in the fourth after Carpenter was hit by a pitch and Zach McKinstry singled, moving Carpenter to third. Spencer Torkelson hit into a fielder’s choice, with Carpenter thrown out at the plate, and the inning ended without damage. In the fifth, McGonigle singled, but Keith grounded into a double play.

The game finally opened up in the sixth. McKinstry worked a walk, Torkelson lined a single to center and Ben Malgeri, pinch-hitting for James Outman, delivered his first double of the season to right field. McKinstry scored, Torkelson moved to third and the Tigers had the breathing room they needed.

Matt Vierling followed with one of the biggest swings of the night, lining a two-run double to right to push the lead to 5-1. McGonigle then added to his night with an RBI single to center, scoring Vierling and making it 6-1. That four-run inning turned a close Skubal start into a controlled win, and it came from the lower part of the order rather than the middle bats.

The bullpen handled the rest. Kyle Finnegan worked a clean sixth, helped by a pickoff and caught stealing of Kuroda-Grauer. Drew Anderson had to work through traffic in the seventh after a hit batter, an error, a Langeliers RBI single and another hit batter, but he struck out Jacob Wilson to end the inning with the lead still at four runs.

Jacob Waguespack finished it from there. He retired the Athletics in order in the eighth and ninth, giving Detroit two clean innings to close out the win without forcing extra leverage onto the back end of the bullpen. He has not allowed a run since June 15, and so far for Detroit, he has posted an ERA of 1.53 in 11.2 innings of work with eight strikeouts. 

Follow me on "X" @rogcastbaseball

Read full story at source