The Detroit Tigers are in the mix in the American League Central.
One sloppy play cost them from moving up in the standings.
An eighth-inning throwing error from third baseman Nick Maton was responsible for the Tigers’ downfall in Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins in extra innings at Comerica Park.
Losing two of three games in the series dropped the Tigers to 5½ games behind the Twins for first place in the AL Central. The Tigers (33-43) have lost just two of eight series against divisional opponents this season.
Like our work? Please consider becoming a subscriber.
Everything changed for the Tigers with two outs in the eighth inning, when Maton received a bouncing ground ball from ex-Tiger Willi Castro at the hot corner. He threw the ball well away from first baseman Spencer Torkelson — his second error in as many days — to allow Royce Lewis to score from third base. The grounder to Maton should have ended the inning with the Tigers ahead by one run, but instead, the miscue gifted a 3-3 tie to the Twins.
Right-handed reliever Alex Lange worked around a pair of walks in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Tigers an opportunity to win the series finale in the bottom of the ninth against righty reliever Griffin Jax.
Maton, the first batter, struck out swinging. A two-out walk from Matt Vierling put the game-winning run on the bases, but Jake Rogers grounded out to send the game to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th inning, the Twins took a 4-3 lead on Lewis’ single into left field as the ball deflected off Maton’s glove and trickled into the outfield. Maton pounced to his left but couldn’t come up with the ball.
Carlos Correa, the free runner in extra innings, didn’t beat the throw from left fielder Andy Ibáñez to home plate, but he scored because Rogers dropped the ball on the receiving end of the play.
A sacrifice bunt advanced Lewis to third base.
Castro boosted the Twins’ advantage to two runs, 5-3, with a one-out single that deflected off second baseman Zack Short’s glove at the top of his leap and carried into right field. Later on, Christian Vázquez made it 6-3 with a two-out single before being thrown out trying to get to second.
Three runs, and two earned runs, were charged to right-handed reliever Brendan White. The Tigers, meanwhile, were sent down in order by righty reliever Jhoan Duran in the bottom of the 10th inning, stranding their free runner at third base.
A DEEP DIVE: Filthy slider, fastball command secret to Reese Olson’s best start with Tigers
Three in the third
The Tigers’ three-run third inning started with Vierling’s single and Rogers’ double to put two runners in scoring position.
Zach McKinstry, who entered Sunday hitting .160 through 21 games in June, tagged a first-pitch fastball from right-hander Bailey Ober into the right-field corner. His double scored both runners and tied the game at two runs apiece.
DON’T QUIT ON NICK: What Tigers’ Scott Harris, AJ Hinch think about struggling hitter Nick Maton
With two outs, Kerry Carpenter tacked on another run when he hit Ober’s two-strike changeup at the bottom of the strike zone for a single to right. McKinstry beat the throw home for a 3-2 lead.
Ober allowed three runs on five hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in six innings, throwing 55 of 89 pitches for strikes. He mixed fastballs, changeups and sliders, as well as a few curveballs.
Twin strike
In the fifth inning, right-hander Michael Lorenzen induced an inning-ending double play to escape runners on the corners with his final pitch. It was the most important out of his 13th start.
Carlos Correa grounded into the double play on a slider.
E-ROD’S BIG DAY: Tigers’ Eduardo Rodriguez faces hitters, throws 50 pitches: ‘Everything was perfect’
The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, as Vazquez hit a single and moved up two bases: to second base on Michael A. Taylor’s flyout, then to third on Edouard Julien’s flyout.
Vazquez hustled to reach third base, but he was able to jog home when Donovan Solano crushed Lorenzen’s sweeper — a different pitch than his slider — for a 420-foot two-run home run to left-center.
In the fourth inning, shortstop Javier Báez took a hit away from Vazquez with a diving stop up the middle. He jumped to his feet and fired the ball to Torkelson at first base for the third out.
The magical play stranded runners on first and second base.
Lorenzen allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts across five innings, throwing 54 of 86 pitches for strikes. He generated eight whiffs and 15 called strikes.
Right-handed reliever Will Vest recorded the first two outs in the sixth, but with a runner on first base, left-hander Tyler Holton entered to face left-handed slugger Joey Gallo. Holton struck him out swinging with a fifth-pitch slider.
Holton then worked a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.03 in 23 appearances.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers blow shot at series win over Twins in 6-3 (10) loss