Parker Meadows and Spencer Torkelson each hit a home run, helping the Detroit Tigers secure a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, which boosted their chances for an AL wild card spot.
With this win, Detroit is now 10 games above .500 and has won four games in a row. They are tied with Kansas City (84-74) for second place in the wild-card race, behind Baltimore. Minnesota (82-76) is two games back after winning 8-3 against Miami.
The Tigers will face the Rays again on Thursday and then finish the season with three home games against the struggling Chicago White Sox.
“It is hard to put this into words — it is awesome,” Torkelson said after driving in three runs. “It has been an incredible couple of weeks.”
Since August 10, Detroit has an impressive record of 29-11, largely due to ace Tarik Skubal, who is a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award, along with a group of young pitchers.
After Skubal’s seven scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 2-1 win, rookie Keider Montero pitched 2 2/3 innings allowing just one run, and five relievers combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings.
“You have to pick your poison against that team,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “You either have to face Tarik Skubal or deal with all the ways they can match up against you. That bullpen has been a huge part of what they’ve done.”
In his major league debut, Jackson Jobe, Detroit’s top pitching prospect, pitched the ninth inning. He retired Richie Palacios for the final out while the crowd of 32,000 cheered for him.
“I don’t know how many people get welcomed to a major league stadium quite like that,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “It was pretty incredible.”
Tampa Bay right-hander Zach Littell (8-10) came into the game with a 20-inning scoreless streak but gave up two runs in the first inning. He pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and seven hits.
