The 6th-Inning Collapse: Chase Lee’s Rough Ride
Let’s talk about that sixth inning — the one that turned the whole night upside down.
With a slim 3-2 lead and two outs, rookie sidearmer Chase Lee was called upon to get the Tigers out of a jam. He came in with runners on and a sparkling 2.05 ERA. But just 11 pitches later, that ERA had taken a beating and so had Detroit’s momentum.
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Ha-Seong Kim ripped a double to deep center.
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Taylor Walls singled to left, bringing in another run.
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Danny Jansen smacked a double off the left-field wall.
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Yandy Díaz followed up with a clean RBI single up the middle.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Just like that, a one-run lead flipped into a 6-3 deficit. All of those hits came off the bat at over 98 mph. The Tigers didn’t just get beaten — they got blasted.
And if that wasn’t enough, Lee came back in the seventh and gave up a towering 398-foot homer to Junior Caminero — the nail in the coffin. The ball left the bat at a fiery 104.8 mph. Lee’s ERA ballooned to 3.19, and he exited after allowing five of six batters to reach and surrendering four runs (three earned).
💪 Olson Battles Through Early Trouble
It’s easy to overlook Reese Olson’s gritty performance with how the bullpen imploded, but the 25-year-old starter gave Detroit five workmanlike innings.
The Rays struck early — a first-inning RBI single from Jake Mangum put them up 2-0. But Olson didn’t cave. He navigated through constant traffic:
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Got a quick 1-2-3 in the second after a leadoff single.
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Induced a timely 3-6 double play in the third.
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Stranded a runner after a one-out single in the fourth.
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In the fifth, he worked around two walks by coaxing a 6-4-3 double play from Caminero right after a mound visit.
Final line: 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, just 1 strikeout — but he left the game with the lead and had done his part.
⚡ Tigers' Fourth-Inning Spark: A Glimmer of Hope
If you only watched the fourth inning, you might've thought the Tigers were ready to cruise to win No. 60.
Down 2-0, Gleyber Torres kicked things off with a leadoff double — extending his on-base streak to 22 games, tying his career high. Then Wenceel Pérez beat out an infield single. Spencer Torkelson followed with a 102.4 mph RBI single to left, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Pérez showed heads-up baserunning, hustling to third ahead of a throw from left field. Then came Zach McKinstry — the Tigers’ recently named 2025 All-Star — who delivered a clutch game-tying double to right-center. It looked like a routine single, but McKinstry turned on the jets and slid safely into second. That aggressive baserunning paid off when Parker Meadows grounded out to first, allowing Torkelson to come home for a 3-2 lead.
It was gritty. It was exciting. And for a brief moment, it felt like the Tigers were in control.
🚨 Missed Chances: Tigers Can't Cash In
Unfortunately, Detroit’s bats went cold when it mattered most.
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In the sixth, McKinstry — who had already doubled earlier — did it again with two outs, but Matt Vierling popped out to end the threat.
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In the seventh, the Tigers loaded the bases with one out. Jake Rogers walked, Colt Keith singled, and Jahmai Jones (pinch-hitting for Pérez) also walked. It was the perfect moment for Riley Greene to break out of his slump.
But Greene, who’s now 2-for-29 since his two-homer game on July 2, couldn’t deliver. He chased a sweeper down and away and struck out, ending the rally and extinguishing Detroit’s best shot at a comeback.
🔥 McKinstry Keeps Shining
If there was a bright spot in the loss, it was clearly Zach McKinstry. Not only did he get named to the 2025 MLB All-Star Game earlier in the day, but he backed it up on the field.
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Two doubles
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A key RBI
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Solid hustle on the basepaths
He continues to be one of Detroit’s most versatile and clutch players, stepping up in moments when others are struggling.
🧊 Reliever Dietrich Enns: A Quiet Finish
After the damage was done, left-hander Dietrich Enns stepped in to steady the ship. He tossed three scoreless innings, giving the Tigers a chance — albeit slim — to make a late push.
He might not have made headlines, but Enns’ calm presence on the mound stopped the bleeding and gave Detroit’s offense at least a flicker of hope.
🐯 What’s Next for the Tigers?
Despite the loss, there’s no reason to panic in Detroit. The Tigers are still riding high with the best record in baseball and a roster filled with promising young talent and gritty veterans.
But games like this — where the bullpen melts down and timely hitting goes missing — serve as a reminder that no lead is ever safe in the big leagues.
If A.J. Hinch’s squad wants to keep pacing the rest of the league, they’ll need to tighten up their relief pitching and cash in when the bats have ducks on the pond.
🧢 Key Takeaways:
✅ Tigers' 5-game winning streak snapped
✅ Chase Lee’s meltdown flipped the script in the 6th
✅ Zach McKinstry’s All-Star selection and 2 doubles stood out
✅ Missed scoring chances in the 6th and 7th hurt Detroit badly
✅ Reese Olson fought through five gritty innings
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