Whisenhunt throws five shutout in Triple-A

Montero showed what he was capable of in his return to the Tigers’ rotation by dicing up the Cubs here. Seiya Suzuki took him deep as the second batter of the game before Montero ripped off a stretch of retiring 14 of 15 hitters from the first through the fifth inning. He might’ve had a chance to get through the sixth too, but misplayed a dribbler from Pete Crow-Armstrong to start the frame and was taken out one batter later with just 81 pitches. Nevertheless, he forced 14 total swings-and-misses including multiple with four different pitches. He had plenty of answers against hitters from both sides of the plate, showcased great command, and looks like he will stick in the rotation moving forward with Jack Flaherty heading to the injured list and an expected sell-off in Detroit. For next week, he’s scheduled for two starts. First against the Orioles at home followed by a difficult matchup with the Athletics on the road.

Torkelson got the Tigers rolling in this one with a solo home run in the second inning. That was his 19th of the season and he was involved in rallies in the fourth and ninth innings too as Detroit pulled away from the Cubs. Despite going just 5-for-23 since the All-Star break, three of Torkelson’s hits are homers. He’s anything but consistent, but at least there’s some power in this profile.

Suzuki homered as the Cubs’ second batter of the game and they wouldn’t score another run for the rest of the game. Regardless, that was his 17th long ball of the season and his seventh over his last 30 games to go along with a .302/.399/.560 slash line over that same span. For all the fear about how poorly he was hitting in May, his .844 OPS is better than his career average and elite power threat we’ve come to expect over the last few seasons.

The extent of the damage against Rea here came via two home runs. The first was a solo shot by Spencer Torkelson in the second inning on a 1-2 slider that caught too much of the plate and the next was a three-run blast by Hao-Yu Lee on a 3-0 fastball in the fourth. Otherwise, he allowed very little contact and didn’t encounter many other stressful situations. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Cardinals and Yankees.

The homer broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth. Muncy passed Ron Cey with his 228th homer as a Dodger, moving him into fourth place in franchise history. He’s 14 behind Roy Campanella for third place.

The runs scored on homers from Alec Bohm and Bryan De La Cruz. Lauer had five runs to play with, so he won for the fifth time this season tonight. He’s 4-0 with a 3.35 ERA for the Dodgers after going 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA for the Blue Jays. He’ll likely face the Mariners next week.

Nola was coming off three solid outings in a row, but the Dodgers had two homers and eight additional hard-hit balls off him. He’s now surrendered 25 homers in 108 1/3 innings this year. When he topped the NL with 30 homers allowed two years ago, it was in 199 1/3 innings. He’s 3-8 with a 5.82 ERA ahead of a date with the Marlins next week.

Rushing entered hitless in 25 plate appearances since July 7, but he crushed the ball tonight; coming in at 108 mph on his homer, 102 mph on the double and 101 mph on a lineout to third. He has 11 homers, 11 doubles and 33 RBI in 222 plate appearances on the season.

De La Cruz had three plate appearances before Brandon Marsh hit for him in the ninth. The plan is for De La Cruz to start against lefties, but if he can get hot quickly, he might stake a claim in right field with Gabriel Rincones Jr. struggling to start his major league career. The Phillies, though, are almost certainly going to acquire an outfield before the deadline.

The 30-year-old rookie and Huntsville, Alabama native Hicklen is becoming a bit of a folk hero. He and fellow bottom of the order mate Jim Jarvis hit back-to-back doubles in the ninth inning that helped catalyze a six-run Braves rally which won them the game. He scorched that double at 104 mph and had another batted ball at 100 mph earlier. After being called up 10 days ago, this was his fifth start out of seven games and his second consecutive start even after incumbent right fielder Mike Yastrzemski was activated off the injured list. This hot stretch will likely be short lived with Ronald Acuña Jr. due back soon, but Hicklen has made his presence felt during this opportunity.