As June turns into July, the Tigers are leaving April further and further in the past. That month of horrid baseball feels like a distant memory for Detroit, which would rather forget the last few years as well. In the next few games, the Tigers can compile consecutive winning months for the first time since 2016.
Buyer beware. With a record of 12-12 in June, Detroit will have to win a three-game series in Cleveland starting Monday. So maybe this is the next step in the club's progression, flipping the script against a division rival. As it is, the Tigers haven't won like this since they were last last gunning for the playoffs.
After earning a split against the AL-leading Astros over the weekend, the Tigers are 25-20 dating back to May 8. That's their best 45-game stretch since 2016, when Justin Verlander was the ace of the rotation and Miguel Cabrera was an All-Star. Those Tigers went 27-18 in a late-summer run that almost got them in the playoffs. The dream died in Atlanta and remains buried in the past.
But the future is coming into view. Casey Mize beat the Astros on Saturday. Tarik Skubal bullied them on Sunday before Akil Baddoo scored the game-winning run, on a safety squeeze delivered by Robbie Grossman. Matt Manning will take the hill Monday. And as long as we're discussing the future, let's not forget the man in charge.
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"We’ve been reminding these players how well we’ve been playing since May 1," A.J. Hinch said Sunday. "It’s easy to wash away April given how bad it was. I don’t ever want to revisit that. Since the beginning of May this team has found ways to win games in different ways. We’ve done it all over the field, big ball, small ball, we’ve pitched, we’ve had to come from behind, we’ve hung in the game for 27 outs."
The Tigers have clearly made their biggest gains in the rotation, a good sign for a rebuild based on pitching. Detroit's starters ranked last in the AL in ERA and second to last in WHIP and batting average against last season. They rank seventh, seventh and fifth, respectively, in 2021. And don't look now, but Hinch has found a pretty sturdy bridge in the back of the bullpen in Jose Cisnero, Michael Fulmer and Gregory Soto, Fulmer's injury notwithstanding.
After going 5-15 against the Astros from 2017-19, the Tigers are 5-2 against them this year. (The two teams didn't play in 2020.) For now, it's their first winning record against Houston since, yep, 2016. They held baseball's best offense to five runs over the final three games last weekend at Comerica Park. Earlier in the year, like when Detroit swept a series in Houston before April turned ugly, the club might have used this as a benchmark.
But April's in the rearview, with Hinch and the Tigers forging ahead.
"I’m not sure we needed this series necessarily to build off of," Hinch said. "I think it’s just another reinforcement for us that we can win today’s game, we can play against good teams, we’ve faced good pitching and beat good pitching. When you play winning baseball you win games. We’ve got a lot of work to do and a long ways to go, but those benchmarks (came) previously. I feel good with where we’re at."