The Detroit Tigers were on the brink of losing 10 games in a row.
Andy Ibáñez, who had a single, double, home run and walk, saved the Tigers from what had the potential to become their fourth shutout during the losing streak. He hit a solo homer off Atlanta Braves right-handed reliever Collin McHugh in the seventh inning.
The Tigers used that momentum to fuel an incredible comeback in the eighth and ninth innings. A three-run rally in the ninth, highlighted by a clutch two-strike, two-out hit from Zack Short, sent the game to extra innings.
Spencer Torkleson, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth, hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning for the Tigers’ 5-4 win over the Braves — the best team in the National League — in Monday’s series opener at Comerica Park.
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The Tigers (27-37) won their first game since May 31 and snapped a nine-game losing streak.
In Monday’s win, the Tigers collected 15 hits and three walks. The offense finished 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, but with the game on the line amid an unexpected comeback, several hitters delivered.
Torkelson brought the Tigers to within one run in the bottom of the ninth with his two-run blast to left-center field against Braves righty reliever Raisel Iglesias.
It was his sixth homer of the season.
Kerry Carpenter followed Torkelson’s homer with a single, and Matt Vierling kept the inning alive with a two-out single. The Tigers had two runners on base when Short hit a two-strike changeup into left field, tying the game at five runs apiece.
The Tigers kept the Braves from scoring in the top of the 10th inning, thanks to Ibáñez throwing out pinch-runner Sam Hilliard at the plate. In the bottom of the 10th, Jake Rogers dropped down a sacrifice bunt — and reached safely — to advance Ibáñez, the free runner in extra innings, to third base.
Torkelson hit a walk-off single against ex-Tiger Joe Jiménez to end the losing streak.
Three long relievers
Instead of a traditional starting pitcher, the Tigers rolled out three relief pitchers — Mason Englert, Garrett Hill and Tyler Alexander — in search of silencing a dangerous offense. It was Englert’s first start of his MLB career.
The Braves, by the way, have averaged 5.7 runs per game in June.
Englert allowed one run on three hits and one walk with one strikeout across 2⅔ innings, while Hill surrendered three runs (two earned runs) on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts across 2⅔ innings.
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The Braves utilized quality plate appearances to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Marcell Ozuna doubled to left field and advanced to third base on a deep flyout by Eddie Rosario.
Then, Ozuna scored on a sacrifice fly from Ozzie Albies.
The lead increased to 3-0 with three straight hits in the fifth inning: Orlando Arcia (single), Michael Harris II (single) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (double). The Braves scored two runs on Acuna’s 21st double of the season.
The Braves tacked on their fourth run off Hill in the sixth inning. Facing Alexander, Harris turned on a first-pitch cutter to put the Braves ahead 5-1 with a solo home run to right-center field.
More of the same earlier
The Tigers couldn’t produce the key hit against Braves right-hander Charlie Morton.
He fired 5⅔ scoreless innings on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts, throwing 61 of 104 pitches for strikes. The Tigers stranded runners in several innings, including the third and fifth.
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Morton walked back-to-back batters — Ibáñez and Rogers — to start the third but retired the next three batters: Zach McKinstry (strikeout), Torkelson (flyout) and Carpenter (strikeout).
In the fifth, Ibáñez doubled to start the inning.
Once again, Morton escaped trouble by retiring three batters in a row: Rogers (lineout), McKinstry (flyout) and Torkelson (pop out). The Tigers also stranded two players on base in the sixth.
Ibáñez, who has found his groove in the past few games, finished 3-for-4 with one walk. He ended up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, and his three hits had exit velocities of 105.4 mph, 104.5 mph and 101.2 mph.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers pull off comeback for 6-5 win to end losing streak