Riding the high of Thursday’s come-from-behind victory over the Padres, the Tigers needed to take care of business against the Athletics in Oakland on Friday night. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case.
Instead, they would wind up suffering one of the most catastrophic and frustrating defeats of the entire season, likely crushing their postseason hopes in the process.
A Back and Forth Affair
After an early pitcher’s duel between Tarik Skubal and Mitch Spence, the Tigers finally broke through and opened the scoring on an RBI single off the bat of Riley Greene in the top half of the fifth inning. That lead would be short-lived though. The A’s came right back in the home half of the fifth as Jacob Wilson smacked a two-out RBI triple that evened the score.
The A’s then took the lead in the sixth inning as Daz Cameron chased Skubal with a two-out RBI single to put the Athletics on top 2-1. The Tigers struck back in the top half of the seventh as Riley Greene laced a two-out double to center field, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch by right-hander Michel Otanez.
The score would remain 2-2 through nine innings as the two sides headed for bonus baseball.
In the top half of the 10th inning, the Tigers were able to push a run across on a two-out RBI single into left field by Colt Keith. Brennan Hanifee was unable to hold on to that lead though, as he surrendered an RBI double to Brent Rooker in the home half of the frame.
The score was knotted up at 3-3 heading to the 12th inning.
More Parker Meadows Heroics
Parker Meadows delivers AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/jkjJimmrtm
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 7, 2024
On Thursday evening, Parker Meadows played the role of hero for the Tigers with his go-ahead grand slam as the Tigers were down to their final strike in the ninth inning. Could he do it again?
Zach McKinstry had a productive at-bat to start the 11th inning, hitting a ground ball to the right side to advance Spencer Torkelson to third base. Trey Sweeney was unable to cash him in though, hitting a ground ball right to the shortstop for the second out of the inning. The A’s then chose to walk Jake Rogers intentionally, setting up a battle between Meadows and left-hander Scott Alexander.
Meadows wasted no time, lining the first pitch that he saw over the outstretched glove of Daz Cameron for an opposite-field two-run double that gave the Tigers a 5-3 advantage. It was now up to Shelby Miller to close things out in the home half of the 11th.
Heartbreak and Disappointment
Miller started the 11th inning fine, getting Tristan Gray to ground out to second base. He then engaged in a six-pitch battle with Seth Brown that wound up with the 32-year-old slugger cranking a game-tying 389-foot blast into the seats in right field. Miller was able to rebound and get out of the 11th, but the damage had already been done.
The Tigers once again were able to push across a run in the top half of the 12th inning as Greene lined a leadoff single into right field off of Grant Holman that plated Ryan Kriedler. That was all that the club could muster in the inning though.
Beau Brieske then had his chance to close it out in the 12th, and like Miller before him, he was also unsuccessful. The A’s used a bunt single from Nick Allen and a walk to Lawrence Butler to load the bases with nobody out. Brent Rooker followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly before Brieske wiggled his way out of the inning. To the 13th we go.
There, the Tigers worked a pair of walks off of Holman to load the bases with two outs for Meadows. This time, however, the dynamic 24-year-old outfielder couldn’t come through with the key hit that the Tigers needed as he went down on a swinging third strike.
Brieske got Gray to strike out to start the bottom of the 13th, but then Brown came through again, lining an RBI single into right field that walked it off for the A’s.
News and Notes
With the loss, the Tigers fall back to .500 at 71-71. They’re now 5.5 games out of the Wild Card with both the Mariners and Red Sox ahead of them in the race. This could very well have been the nail in the coffin for their playoff chances.
Tarik Skubal pitched well in a no-decision, allowing two runs on nine hits over his 5 2/3 innings of work while striking out seven. He did not walk a batter. It’ll be Brant Hurter taking the ball on Saturday as the Tigers try to get back on track and right the ship after one of the most disappointing losses of the season.
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