Drew Anderson gave Detroit five shutout innings Tuesday in Toronto, and the Tigers kept their late-season push alive with a 10-1 thumping of the Blue Jays for a sixth consecutive victory.
Anderson steadies Tigers in 10-1 win over Blue Jays
| Club | Runs |
|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 10 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1 |
Detroit remained 4 1/2 games behind the final American League Wild Card berth, with its playoff chances sitting at 1 percent entering Tuesday. The math is still a long shot, but the Tigers have kept playing meaningful baseball by stacking wins.
Anderson, 32, delivered his strongest outing since moving into the rotation. He allowed only two hits, struck out four and worked around a third-inning bases-loaded jam. His 88-pitch outing included 58 strikes, and he induced seven misses, five of them with his fastball.
His velocity was down 1.4 mph from his seasonal average, with the fastball checking in below his usual 95.4 mph, but Anderson had command of the corners. He mixed four-seamers, changeups, curveballs and a heavier slider dose to keep Toronto from getting comfortable.
“The fastball played well, especially down and away to right-handed hitters,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He used the changeup and threw more sliders. He has several pitches available, and he and Val put together a really good plan.”
Anderson’s only real trouble came when he walked George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after allowing the inning to get crowded. With the bases full, he got Alejandro Kirk to pound a knee-high curveball into a groundout.
Eduardo Valencia said the idea in that spot was simple: put the ball in play and get a ground ball. Anderson did exactly that, escaping without damage.
The fourth inning changed the night
Detroit had not recorded a hit against Toronto’s bullpen setup before Michael Lorenzen entered for bulk work in the fourth. Lorenzen nearly got through the inning cleanly, but two-out walks to Riley Greene and Valencia opened the door.
Max Clark ripped an RBI double down the left-field line, then Spencer Torkelson jumped on a hanging sweeper and drove it out for a three-run homer. The four-run inning gave Anderson the breathing room he needed.
“You want a pitch you can handle,” Torkelson said. “When it comes, you do not want to let it go.”
The Tigers had threatened before breaking through. Ernie Clement took away a Valencia hit with a diving stop, while Brett Bateman made a leaping catch at the wall on Kevin McGonigle’s drive in the third.
Greene added a two-out RBI single in the fifth, hit at 101.5 mph off Lorenzen. John Peck brought Torkelson home with a sixth-inning single. Detroit then pulled away for good when Kirk’s throwing error allowed two runs in the eighth. Hao-Yu Lee homered in the ninth, and Valencia followed with an RBI double.
A rotation audition with stakes
Anderson’s work has carried extra weight since Detroit dealt Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers at the Trade Deadline. Anderson had made 38 of his first 40 appearances this season as a reliever, but he has posted a 2.58 ERA over eight starts since joining the rotation.
His path back to Detroit ran through South Korea. Anderson pitched well for the Tigers in Spring Training in 2024, then chose a KBO opportunity with the SSG Landers so he could follow the regular routine of a starting pitcher. He responded with a 2.25 ERA and 245 strikeouts across 171 2/3 innings last season.
He returned to the Tigers on a one-year prove-it contract, one that includes a $10 million club option for 2027. If Tuesday’s command and composure continue to show up every fifth day, Detroit may have more than a temporary answer in its rotation.
SEO Title: Drew Anderson Leads Tigers to 10-1 Win Over Blue Jays
SEO Description: Drew Anderson threw five scoreless innings as the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1 for their sixth straight win.
