ARLINGTON, Texas — What’s frustrating — if anything can be truly frustrating after a road series-winning 9-8 victory against the Texas Rangers, except maybe the last two innings — is that the Tigers haven’t been able to produce this type of offensive performance more frequently this season.
The same team that has been shut out a league-most 17 times and came into Sunday having scored the fewest runs in baseball, scored six-plus runs for the fourth straight game.
The last time the Tigers put together a stretch like that was July 3-6, 2019. With the nine-spot on Sunday, they scored 27 runs in the three games at Globe Life Field and 33 over the last four games.
After scoring seven times against Rangers lefty Dallas Keuchel Saturday, they beat up right-hander Kohei Arihara, scoring six runs off him in 3⅓ innings.
Rookie Kerry Carpenter snapped a 0-for-15 drought with an RBI double in the second inning, scoring Eric Haase from first base. He promptly scored on a line-drive home run to right field by Jeimer Candelario. It was his second homer in two days and his team-leading 12th on the season.
Those same three hitters reached with two outs in the third inning. Haase and Carpenter singled and Candelario walked. Arihara then walked Kody Clemens to force in the fourth run of the game.
Harold Castro, who was part of the Tigers’ four-game run barrage in 2019, followed up his three-hit game Saturday with a five-RBI effort in the finale. He singled home two runs in the fourth inning — bringing home Riley Greene and Victor Reyes.
In the sixth, he drove a three-run double over left fielder Kole Calhoun’s head.
Both of those hits were off left-handed relievers — Brett Martin and Brock Burke. A career .248 hitter against lefties, the left-handed hitting Castro is hitting them at a .339 clip this year (18-for-53).
Reyes doubled and singled and scored twice. His hitting streak is at 12 games, one shy of his career best.
Greene singled twice, walked and scored twice. He’s riding a seven-game hitting streak, posting multiple hits in six of them. He’s 14-for-29 in that stretch.
Carpenter finished with three hits, as well, including a pair of doubles.
The nine runs were more run support than Tigers starter Drew Hutchison got in his previous four starts combined.
He was cruising along through the first five innings, blanking the Rangers on two hits. But in the sixth, he gave up 848 feet of home runs on solo blasts by Corey Seager (419 feet) and Nathaniel Lowe (429 feet).
Still, he picked up his first win since July 5.
Things got a little rough at the end.
Reliever Alex Lange didn't have his usual command. He gave up a single, a walk, two wild pitches, a passed ball and a two-run home run to Calhoun in a three-run eighth inning.
He also dropped a throw at first base for an error before ending the frame.
Closer Gregory Soto didn't have it, either. He walked No. 9 hitter Ezequiel Duran, threw a wild pitch on an 0-2 count to Marcus Semien. Then Semien doubled in one run and Seager hit his second homer of the game on the next pitch — a two-run shot to make it a one-run game.
Soto was pulled after Lowe's topper died right on the first-base line, about 10 feet from home plate.
Joe Jimenez was summoned to face Adolis Garcia. Bubba Thompson, running for Lowe, stole second and the tying run was in scoring position.
Jimenez struck out Garcia, ending his league-leading hitting streak at 23 games, then got Calhoun to fly out.
The Tigers made three errors Sunday, but they offset two of them with double-play balls. They turned three double plays in the game and nine in the series.
They are 5-2 since falling a season-low 31 games under .500 on Aug. 19.
