Spencer

Torkelson

Torkelson finally got the Tigers on the board in the fourth inning of this one with a 366-foot (98.2 mph EV) line drive into the bullpen just over the wall in left-center. He also drew a pair of walks in the ballgame, finishing the night 1-for-2. On the season, the 25-year-old slugger is slashing .237/.339/.503 while his 21 long balls and 57 RBI pace all American League first basemen.

He also singled. He could have added to the Tigers’ margin for error in the ninth, but up with the bases loaded and one out, he grounded into a double play against Tim Herrin. The homer off Logan Allen was Torkelson’s third in five games this month and 20th overall.

Torkelson gave the Tigers an early advantage in this one, winning a 10-pitch battle against Jake Irvin by clobbering a 428-foot (104.7 mph EV) three-run shot in the top half of the first inning. That would be his lone hit in four at-bats on the night. For the season, the 25-year-old slugger is now hitting .234/.335/.492 with 19 long balls and 55 RBI.

Torkelson also had a 405-foot flyout to center and a 101-mph lineout to third, making this his best performance in several weeks. Torkelson hit .207/.298/.366 in June and started doing some sitting against righties a couple of weeks ago. However, he’s now been in the lineup six straight games, including the last four against righties.

Torkelson’s 17th homer was a solo blast off Jeffrey Springs in the second inning. The 25-year-old also singled and came around to score on a triple by Zach McKinstry. Torkelson’s best season of his MLB career has him slashing .224/.328/.474 with the aforementioned homer total and 50 runs driven in; putting him just short of a 100-RBI pace.

Carpenter and Keith take a seat to open Wednesday’s game with lefty Jacob Lopez taking the ball for the Athletics. It’ll be Jahmai Jones and Spencer Torkelson getting opportunities against Lopez to kick off the contest.

The Tigers typically have room for three out of four of Wenceel Pérez, Colt Keith, Zach McKinstry and Torkelson against righties, and it’s the other three going tonight. Torkelson doubled and walked Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the there. He’s batting .175/.274/.317 in 73 plate appearances this month, though that comes with just 16 strikeouts and Statcast thinks he’s been somewhat unlucky. He’ll be droppable in fantasy leagues if this frequent sitting goes on for long.

Torkelson has been scuffling in recent weeks, hitting .198 (21-for-106) with five homers and 14 RBI over his last 30 games. He’s slid into a deeper tailspin of late, batting .083 (2-for-24) over his last seven games. The positive angle here is that he’s not striking out at an astronomical rate. However, the Tigers have a capable alternative in Colt Keith, especially against right-handed starters, which is why he’s getting the nod to face Rays starter Ryan Pepiot on Saturday afternoon instead.

The 25-year-old slugger has cooled considerably over the past few weeks, slashing .209/.320/.372 with two homers, five RBI and a 12/6 K/BB ratio over 50 plate appearances in his last 12 games. Colt Keith will start in his place at first base and will bat sixth for the Tigers against Reds’ right-hander Brady Singer on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Torkelson did his damage off of Orioles’ starter Cade Povich in the fifth inning, crushing a 419-foot (103.9 mph EV) two-out, two-run shot that increased the Tigers’ advantage to 5-1 and proved to be the difference in the ballgame. The 25-year-old slugger finished the night 1-for-4 and is now hitting .237/.341/.509 with 16 long balls and 47 RBI on the season.