CLEVELAND -- The Guardians had Reese Olson on the ropes in his return from the injured list. Wenceel Pérez brought him back, and the Tigers, with a fastball and a long ball.
That’s what teammates do. In a larger context, that’s what the Tigers have done this season, time and again, which is why Detroit continues to command the American League Central through all the ups and downs of the first half.
While the Tigers rebounded from back-to-back losses in Washington with a 2-1 win to open a three-game series at Progressive Field, they sent the Guardians to an eighth consecutive loss overall, dropping Cleveland 13 1/2 games behind Detroit in the division.
The Tigers -- now 12 1/2 games up on the Twins atop the Central -- have not lost more than three in a row this year. One of those losing streaks was to the Guardians at Comerica Park in May, a streak that Tarik Skubal ended in the finale of that four-game series to start a five-game winning streak.
“We’ve played really well this year, but we’ve reset after good series. We’ve reset after bad series,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Friday’s win.
Arguably, no team has worked momentum better, through a game or through the season to date.
“It’s baseball,” Pérez said after one of the most impressive defensive plays of his career. “Sometimes, you’re going to lose, but the guys have a pretty good mindset. We change every day. I know we lost [two games in a row against the Nationals], but we come the next day and we try to win a ballgame and try to do the best we can to win.”
Part of the reset could come from Olson, making his first start for the Tigers since May 17 after being sidelined by right ring finger inflammation. His absence was part of a larger theme to a rotation that has seen rotating members and occasional bullpen games since mid-May. But for the first couple innings, his return seemed to provide little momentum.
Olson gave up five hits in his first trip through the Guardians' order, including José Ramírez’s 14th home run of the season to open the scoring. Olson avoided further damage by stranding runners at the corners in the opening inning, but Bo Naylor's second-inning double and Angel Martínez’s ensuing single seemingly had the Guardians poised for a 2-0 lead.
Pérez changed the momentum. He threw out two runners in an inning a week and a half ago, but that was nothing compared to Friday’s throw. The former second baseman charged Martínez’s liner and fell over firing home, putting his body behind a 97.9 mph throw that was his hardest of the season by 8 mph, and the hardest by a Tiger all year by 3.4 mph. He was laid out in short right field watching the ball hurtling towards catcher Dillon Dingler as Naylor charged home.
“I knew that I had a chance,” Pérez said. “I know that [Naylor’s] not a fast runner. [Martínez] hit it a little bit soft, but I was able to get there fast and throw the ball as fast as I can. …
“I was surprised, because I’d never thrown that hard before. We’ve been doing a throwing program in the outfield with [coach Gary] Jones. He’s been helping me a lot. And I think my arm feels pretty good.”
The throw beat Naylor home. The only question was whether Dingler tagged him before he could get his hand around to touch home plate. Home-plate umpire Willie Traynor’s out call stood after a Guardians challenge.
“I think that play, when it takes a run off the board, it just sets the momentum,” Hinch said.
Instead of a 2-0 lead, one out and the top of the order back up, the Guardians still had a 1-0 lead and two outs before Olson retired Steven Kwan on a flyout to center.
Pérez completely erased the Guardians' lead in the next inning, sending a Slade Cecconi pitch to center and just out of Lane Thomas’ reach for his seventh home run of the season. He joined All-Star Javier Báez (May 1 and May 16) as the only Tigers with a home run and an outfield assist in the same game this season.
Zach McKinstry’s solo shot to right an inning later put the Tigers on top for good, and Olson retired eight of his final 10 batters before Tyler Holton tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and Will Vest got the four-out save.
“It feels like a complete swing of emotions for us,” Hinch said. “I didn’t think that was going to necessarily be that big at that point. There was so much game left. But man, it was nice to be able to keep a run from scoring and also get back in the game.”