The Detroit Tigers notched their first win in June on Monday night, coming from behind to top the Atlanta Braves in extra innings by a 6-5 final (box score). The Tigers had previously lost nine games in a row.
The Tigers trailed by a 4-0 margin entering the bottom of the seventh. They also were behind 5-1 entering their portion of the eighth and 5-2 heading into the ninth. Detroit cut into the lead on one swing of the bat as Spencer Torkelson launched a two-run shot, reducing the deficit to 5-4.
The tying run subsequently scored on a single by Zack Short.
Torkelson would later play the hero again, this time in extra innings, when he notched a walk-off single that plated the winning run. In all, Torkelson went 3 for 6 with three runs batted in.
Torkelson, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, entered Monday batting .225/.311/.355 (86 OPS+) with five home runs and 26 runs batted in. According to Baseball Reference's calculations, his contributions had thus far been estimated to be below the replacement-level threshold. Torkelson had struggled despite an average exit velocity of 91.9 mph and improvements to his strikeout and walk rates relative to last season.
The Tigers also received multiple hits from Short, Javier Báez, and Andy Ibáñez. Those four combined to drive in all six of Detroit's runs.
The Tigers are now 27-37 on the season, including just 1-9 since entering May 29, just one game back in the American League Central.
