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The Detroit Tigers don't have the best record in baseball anymore, but they are only a half game back of having the best record in the American League. The Tigers went through a bit of a slump after the All-Star break, and they saw their lead in the division shrink from 15 games all the way down to five. That is also due in large part to the Cleveland Guardians being one of the hottest teams in the game right now. However, the Tigers are starting to get back in a groove, and Spencer Torkelson helped them win a big one on Monday night against the Chicago White Sox. His late home run lifted Detroit to a 2-1 win.
After a 1-12 stretch after the All-Star break, the Tigers are starting to look more like themselves. Detroit has now won three of its last four, and nine of its last 14. The team is playing better, and Spencer Torkelson thinks that the Tigers are finding a way out of their slump.
“I think it speaks a lot to we're staying present, and we're not really worried about the stretch we had,” Torkelson said, according to an article from Ryan Herrera of MLB.com. “We feel like that was a little inevitable in a long season, to kind of go through a tough stretch. Really happy with the way we persevered and got through that.”
Torkelson was the hero on Monday night as his ninth inning solo shot lifted the Tigers to victory. Off the bat, it wasn't clear if the ball was going to stay fair. It was blasted, but it was right down the line. Fortunately for Detroit, it hit off the foul pole.
“I feel like I haven't had one of those where I could watch it, see it hit the pole,” Torkelson said. “Normally, I'm watching and it just goes barely foul and it really hurts. But cool to see it fair.”
Tigers manager AJ Hinch had a great view of the homer. He knew it was gone off the bat, but he wasn't sure if it was going to stay fair.
“I had a great spot, and I knew he crushed it,” AJ Hinch said. “It was a matter of whether or not it was going to hit the pole or not. He hit it just far enough and just fair enough.”
With the win, the Tigers improved to 69-51 on the year. They are currently 6.5 games up on the Guardians for first place in the AL Central. Spencer Torkelson and Detroit will take on the White Sox again on Tuesday evening in Chicago.
