Tigers waste great Drew Anderson start with late choke vs Guardians

The Detroit Tigers were victims of Guards Ball once again. The Tigers (20-30) fell 3-2 in 10 innings to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, May 20, at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Guardians scored two runs in the 10th inning off lefty Tyler Holton on a leadoff triple from Angel Martínez (which scored the free runner Brayan Rocchio from second base) and an RBI double from José Ramírez to take a 3-1 lead.

A Zach McKinstry leadoff single in the bottom of the 10th scored the free runner Wenceel Pérez from second base, but Cleveland closer Cade Smith shut down the Tigers with three straight outs to end the game. The Tigers failed to secure the win after taking a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning, allowing the Guardians to tie it in the ninth. Detroit then put the winning run on second base in the bottom of the ninth with no one out, but three straight strikeouts from Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Pérez ended the threat.

Detroit broke through in the seventh inning after a leadoff walk from shortstop Kevin McGonigle and a one-out single from Greene. Vierling then came through with the sacrifice fly to left field, scoring McGonigle from third and giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Detroit's offense recorded only four hits against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, which was enough to give the Tigers a slim lead late in the game.

But Tigers reliever Will Vest allowed back-to-back singles to Daniel Schneemann and Travis Bazzana to start the ninth, with both moving up to scoring position on a Steven Kwan sacrifice bunt. A Patrick Bailey groundout then tied the game, and the Tigers were unable to push the winning run through in the bottom of the ninth despite getting McGonigle and designated hitter Dillon Dingler on base via walks to start the inning. Starter Drew Anderson pitched effectively through 4 ⅔ innings, setting his season-high in innings pitched and a career-high in strikeouts with seven.