Tigers Rally Late as Kenley Jansen Makes History in 4th Straight Win

That one did not come easy.

The Detroit Tigers had to grind through a low-scoring battle, fall behind early, and wait for their moment. When it finally came, they made it count.

Detroit pulled out a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night, stretching its winning streak to four games behind a strong outing from Framber Valdez, another clutch swing from Dillon Dingler, and a historic finish from Kenley Jansen.

Framber Valdez Settles In After Early Trouble

This game had the feel of a true pitching matchup from the start.

With two talented left-handers on the mound, runs were hard to come by and nearly every inning felt important. Kansas City scratched out an early run, but Valdez quickly locked in and gave the Tigers exactly what they needed.

After working through a few deeper counts early, Valdez settled into a groove and kept the Royals from making much hard contact the rest of the night. He pitched efficiently, got quick outs, and used his sinker the way it is meant to be used by shortening innings and keeping his pitch count under control.

Even without piling up strikeouts, Valdez controlled the game. As the outing wore on, his curveball became a real weapon, and Kansas City never found much rhythm against him.

Royals Starter Keeps Tigers Quiet Early

The Tigers did not get much going through the first six innings, but that was not because of a lack of effort.

Kansas City starter Cole Ragans was sharp and deserved plenty of credit for the way he commanded the ball. Detroit had a chance to break through in the fourth inning, but the rally came up empty. Even so, that inning may have played a bigger role than it seemed at the time.

By forcing Ragans to work, the Tigers helped push Kansas City toward its bullpen, which has been a problem area for the Royals early this season. That mattered later.

Tigers Break Through with Fundamental Baseball

Detroit finally broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth, and it came together with the kind of clean, simple baseball that has looked so good when this team is at its best.

Zach McKinstry led off with a double. Gleyber Torres followed with a ground ball to the right side that moved McKinstry to third. From there, the Tigers took advantage of the opportunity in front of them.

McKinstry scored from third on a wild pitch to tie the game, and after Kevin McGonigle worked a walk, Dillon Dingler stepped up and ripped the go-ahead double.

Dillon Dingler Comes Through Again

Dingler keeps showing up in the biggest moments.

After his big swing earlier in the series, he delivered again with the game-winning hit on Thursday. His at-bats look mature, the contact is loud, and he is becoming one of the most dependable hitters in key spots.

For a catcher to give you that kind of production, especially in pressure moments, changes the feel of an entire lineup. Right now, Dingler is becoming one of the most important players on this team.

Kenley Jansen Makes History

The ninth inning brought a little drama, but it also brought history.

Kenley Jansen worked through some traffic before closing out the win and moving into third place on Major League Baseball’s all-time saves list.

That is elite company.

Mariano Rivera. Trevor Hoffman. Kenley Jansen.

And what made it even more impressive was the way he finished it. Jansen reached back and hit 97 mph with his cutter, a reminder that even at this stage of his career, that pitch can still overpower hitters when he commands it.

That cutter has long been his calling card, and on this night it helped seal both a win and a major milestone.

Final Thoughts

The Tigers only scored two runs, so this was never going to be remembered as an offensive explosion.

But it was a strong win. A comeback win. A divisional win. And the kind of game that shows what this team can look like when the pitching holds, the fundamentals are sharp, and somebody comes through in the biggest moment.

That is four straight wins for Detroit.

And on a night when Framber Valdez was excellent, Dillon Dingler was clutch, and Kenley Jansen made history, the Tigers gave their fans plenty to cheer about.