Will Tigers choke away AL Central? Stunning collapse in Detroit

AI-assisted summary
• Right-hander Charlie Morton has struggled since being traded to the Detroit Tigers, posting a 7.09 ERA in nine starts.
• The Tigers have lost each of Morton’s last five starts, including a recent 10-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
• Morton, an impending free agent, expressed disappointment and uncertainty about his performance and future starts.

Right-hander Charlie Morton might have thrown his last pitch for the Detroit Tigers.

He summarized his contributions.

‘It’s heartbreaking,’ Morton said. ‘It’s really disappointing.’

The Tigers have lost each of his past five starts, including a 10-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday, Sept. 19, at Comerica Park. The 41-year-old (an impending free agent) owns a 7.09 ERA in nine starts since joining the Tigers at the July 31 trade deadline, acquired from the Baltimore Orioles.

Is Morton going to get another opportunity?

‘Tough question right after the game,’ manager A.J. Hinch said after Friday’s loss. ‘I understand why you’re asking. I don’t know. Obviously, we’ve got to figure it out.’

What does Morton think?

‘I don’t know,’ Morton said. ‘I’m not expecting anything.’

In 2025, the 18-year MLB veteran is responsible for a 5.89 ERA across 140⅔ innings in 32 games (26 starts). For the Tigers, his 7.09 ERA has come on 31 runs with 23 walks and 47 strikeouts across 39⅓ innings.

That includes an 11.65 ERA in his last five starts.

‘I know how much it matters to him,’ said Hinch, who previously managed Morton in 2017-18 with the Houston Astros. ‘I know he’s trying to make some adjustments, and I know he’s carrying the weight of all this on his shoulders. He’s shown flashes of what he can do, but he hasn’t been able to put it together consistently.’

The biggest concern is that Morton can’t explain why he’s struggling to command his pitches, with strike-throwing as the primary problem. The second-biggest concern? He doesn’t know how to fix it, considering he has already tried.

He seems hopeless.

‘I do feel like I’m trying to make adjustments in my bullpens and in games,’ Morton said after Friday’s loss. ‘I’m trying to find the right mix of what that even looks like.’

Facing the Braves, Morton gave up six runs and recorded just four outs in Friday’s 10-1 loss.

In the first inning, Morton hit one batter — becoming the fifth pitcher in MLB history with 200 hit batters — and walked two batters, including Drake Baldwin on four pitches with the bases loaded. In the second inning, he surrendered a two-run home run to Ronald Acuña Jr. that ended his outing.

‘My stuff, I don’t think, was the problem,’ Morton said. ‘That was the best heater that I’ve had in a couple of weeks. Curveball, the movement on it wasn’t great. The sinker, I felt like it was good. My cutter was fine. My changeup got some swing-and-miss. But I’m not throwing strikes.’

Throwing 34 pitches in the first inning made bouncing back in the second nearly impossible.

He ran out of gas.

‘You can get through it, and you can grind through it, but you’re just not going to be as sharp,’ Morton said. ‘Your stuff is not going to be as good because you just threw 30-something pitches in one inning. You’re just not the same.’

The Tigers — teetering on the edge of a catastrophic collapse — enter Saturday with a 2½-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central, with eight games remaining. The final week includes three more matchups against the Guardians, beginning Tuesday. Nine days ago, the Tigers controlled a 9½-game lead in the division, but they’ve lost seven of eight.

Until something changes, Morton is lined up to start Thursday’s series finale against the Guardians at Progressive Field, which could be the Tigers’ most important game of the season.

The Tigers can’t afford to keep losing.

Morton isn’t helping them win.

‘I’m not sure I’m the guy to ask right now for the pulse of the team,’ Morton said. ‘Right now, I’m personally really disappointed in myself. I’ve been here a month and a half. All I know is that the guys here have been really good and really welcoming and positive. It’s just been a tough week.’