MIAMI -- No loss is a good loss in the eyes of Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.
So the fact that the team’s 6-4 defeat to Miami on Saturday at loanDepot park came via an 11th-inning walk-off made little difference to him.
“Losing any way you do is the worst part,” Hinch said.
The loss was a gut punch for a Tigers group that’s working to claim the American League Central title in the stretch run. Detroit dropped to 4-7 in September, despite a strong showing from the bullpen after starter Charlie Morton departed following a two-run, four-inning effort.
The 'pen will need its best stuff Sunday in a game without a true starter, as Hinch opted to give his rotation an extra rest day ahead of its series against division foe Cleveland that begins Tuesday. The second-place Guardians have won three straight and trimmed Detroit's lead to 6 1/2 games.
“It’s a long game,” Hinch said of the extra-innings affair. “There’s a lot of pieces to that game. But when you get the opportunity to tack on, especially with the randomness of extra innings and how crazy things can happen -- only scoring one when we were in position to score a bunch is a tough one.”
That opportunity? A bases-loaded, no-out scenario after Wenceel Pérez’s double in the top of the 11th put Detroit ahead, 4-3. His knock scored Riley Greene, moved Spencer Torkelson to third and put Pérez at second.
An intentional walk to Colt Keith put men on every bag with a chance to extend the advantage.
But Dillon Dingler struck out, and Torkelson was put out after trying to advance home on a wild pitch that not-so serendipitously bounced off the backstop and into Marlins catcher Liam Hicks’ glove.
“I’ve got to look at the video, but I think when he saw the ball go to the backstop, he just put his head down and ran hard," Hinch said of Torkelson's break for home. "And obviously, the ball caromed back. So a little bit unlucky, a little bit crazy with how far it bounced back off the backstop.”
The Marlins intentionally walked Jahmai Jones after the second out to bring up Parker Meadows, who struck out to end the inning.
That cracked the door for Miami in the bottom half of the inning, and the Marlins kicked it in against Rafael Montero. Miami quickly tied the game thanks to Heriberto Hernández’s RBI forceout, and won via a two-run homer from Troy Johnston -- his second home run of the game.
Chewing up seven innings is not ideal for a Tigers bullpen that will need to carry the load Sunday, but Hinch emphasized that’s a load Detroit will have to bear.
“It is what it is,” Hinch said. “I mean, that's where we're at. And we're gonna go huddle up and figure out the order. We have plenty of pitching, [and] we have an off-day Monday. We’ll be ready to play.”
One bright spot for the Tigers on Saturday was Kerry Carpenter, who keyed the offense early with a two-run homer. It was his 25th home run of the season.
After he missed a good portion of 2024 with lumbar spine inflammation, Carpenter is having a career year, and the Tigers hope he'll bring a late-season spark to the lineup following his late-July return from the IL (right hamstring strain). His 25 homers are a personal best, and earlier this season, he became the third Tiger to reach 50 career home runs in his first 263 games. Carpenter also holds the team record for homers in a single game after he hit a trio on June 2 against the White Sox.
“When he gets the ball to the pull-side in the air, the ball goes a long way,” Hinch said. “And he got a few balls to the infield. Obviously, the ball to the pull-side was huge for us. … Anytime he comes up, he’s a huge threat.”
“It's been a little different this year,” Carpenter said. “I think I'm not walking as much this year. I'm putting the ball in play a lot more. … Getting my swing off and being able to slug some and have some extra-base hits has been a big deal for me.”
Carpenter added that his faith has helped him play freely.
“My personal goal day-to-day is to play with freedom through Jesus,” he said. “And that’s something that helps me help the team win, because when I'm stressing, I'm usually just thinking about myself, or results. … That’s my personal goal every single day, and then it's to deny myself and try to help the team win in whatever situation.”
That posture has worked well for Carpenter, and if Detroit aims to sustain its success, Carpenter will be a large part of it.