Tigers snap 8-game skid, pull even with Guardians in AL Central

• The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians, 4-2, to end an eight-game losing streak.
• The win ties the Tigers and Guardians atop the AL Central with three games to play, though Cleveland has the tiebreaker.
• Jahmai Jones, Wenceel Pérez and Riley Greene all hit solo home runs for the Tigers.

CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers finally won a game.

Leadoff hitter Jahmai Jones stepped to the plate in the first inning, fell behind on back-to-back called strikes and refused to swing at the next three pitches out of the zone. His discipline earned him a full-count sinker in the strike zone.

On that pitch, Jones unloaded for a leadoff home run.

The swing from Jones — his third leadoff homer in 12 opportunities — sparked the Tigers in a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, Sept. 25, in the finale of a three-game series at Progressive Field, snapping an eight-game losing streak.

To secure the win, the Tigers’ bullpen kept the Guardians from making a comeback throughout the final 5⅓ innings.

These five relievers were responsible for getting the Tigers to the finish line: left-hander Brant Hurter (1⅓ innings), right-hander Tommy Kahnle (1⅓ innings), left-hander Tyler Holton (one inning), right-hander Kyle Finnegan (two outs in the eighth inning) and right-hander Will Vest (one inning).

The Guardians trimmed the Tigers’ lead to 4-2 on José Ramírez’s RBI double off Finnegan with two strikes and two outs in the eighth, but Finnegan blew a 98 mph fastball past Kyle Manzardo for a strikeout to escape further damage.

Vest retired three batters in a row in the ninth.

The Tigers (86-73) and Guardians (86-73) have the same record in the American League Central race with three games remaining, but the Guardians hold the tiebreaker. The Tigers have a one-game lead over the Houston Astros for the third and final wild-card spot, with the Tigers holding the tiebreaker.

In Thursday’s win, Jones wasn’t the only Tigers player to blast a home run against left-hander Parker Messick. The Tigers also received solo homers from Wenceel Pérez in the first inning and Riley Greene in the fourth inning.

In the first, Pérez blasted a second-pitch slider at the bottom of the zone for a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, Greene ambushed a first-pitch sinker for a solo home for a 4-1 lead. Between those homers, Javier Báez delivered an RBI single for a 3-0 lead in the second inning.

It was Greene’s 36th home run in 155 games.

Looking ahead, the Tigers clash with the Boston Red Sox in the final three games of the regular season at Fenway Park, beginning Friday (7:10 p.m., Apple TV+). The Tigers could clinch a wild-card spot as early as Friday, but only if they Tigers win and the Astros lose.

Troy Melton leads the way

The Tigers named right-hander Troy Melton as their starter.

The 24-year-old — who made his MLB debut in late July — led the way for the pitching staff, allowing one run on two hits and two walks with one strikeout across 3⅔ innings.

He threw 49 pitches.

The Guardians scored their lone run off him with two outs in the second inning, when C.J. Kayfus ripped Melton’s first-pitch cutter — located in the middle of the zone — for an RBI double, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 3-1. A six-pitch walk led to the run.

Otherwise, Melton shut down the Guardians.

One of his biggest moments: He escaped a mini-jam in the third inning with runners on first and second base, inducing a pop out against Manzardo.

Melton owns a 2.76 ERA in 16 games (four starts) in his rookie campaign. He started for the first time since Aug. 13, which was the fifth game of his MLB career.

Missed opportunities

The Tigers missed two scoring opportunities with their best players at the plate, but the missed chances didn’t come back to haunt them in Thursday’s win.

In the fifth inning, the Tigers loaded the bases with one out, but Spencer Torkelson popped out on a first-pitch changeup and Greene struck out swinging on a full-count curveball in the dirt. In the sixth inning, the Tigers had runners on the corners and two outs, but Kerry Carpenter — pinch-hitting for Jones — struck out swinging on an up-and-away fastball.

Messick survived the jam in the fifth, while Festa wiggled out of trouble in the sixth.

The Tigers didn’t need the extra runs.

This time, four runs were enough.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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