Tigers 9, Blue Jays 1: Big bats help Detroit snap 11-game losing streak

The Detroit Tigers finally snapped their long losing streak, winning a 9-1 laugher against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon. Nicholas Castellanos hit his fourth career grand slam, and Jose Iglesias added a two-run single to pad the lead in support of Jordan Zimmermann, who earned his third win of the season.

It didn’t look so rosy for a while, though. They didn’t record a hit until the third inning, and saw a couple of double plays snuff out scoring opportunities in the third and fourth. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays added an early run on a pair of hard-hit balls off Zimmermann in the first inning. Zimmermann settled down after that, though, allowing just three hits in the next six innings. He retired the final eight hitters he faced.

We can’t say the same for Jays starter J.A. Happ, though. The Tigers loaded the bases against him with two singles and a walk in the fifth inning. Leonys Martin tied the score with a bunt single, scoring Niko Goodrum. Martin came up lame after the play, though, and was lifted from the game due to a left hamstring cramp. Victor Reyes came into pinch run, but he only needed to jog, as Castellanos then lined the next pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam, putting the Tigers up 5-1.

The Tigers added a pair of insurance runs with another two-out rally in the sixth. James McCann snapped an 0-for-12 streak with a bloop single, and Goodrum doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Iglesias saw five pitches before lining the sixth into left field to score both runners. JaCoby Jones added a two-run homer in the ninth to further pad the lead. Castellanos nearly hit another two-run shot later in the inning, but was robbed at the wall by Kevin Pillar.

Quick stats

• Jordan Zimmermann’s final line: 7 IP, 5 H, ER, 0 BB, 6 SO. His ERA is down to 3.91 on the season.
• Castellanos’ grand slam was his 13th homer of the season. He now has a 139 wRC+, seventh among AL outfielders.
• Niko Goodrum recorded his first career four-hit game on Sunday. He also scored three runs.
• Victor Martinez went 0-for-4 and grounded into a double play.

Up next

The Tigers will have a chance to split their series with the Jays, as the two teams play on Monday afternoon at Rogers Centre. Detroit then heads to Chicago for a two-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, including an afternoon start on July 4. The Tigers then cap off the week with a four-game home series against the Texas Rangers starting on Thursday.

Tweet of the game

Happy Canada Day, everyone.