Detroit Tigers, Game 77: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't

The News’ Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Tigers‘ 5-4 victory over the White Sox on Sunday:

Well, Keider Montero, I love you taking a perfect game into the fifth inning and losing it just barely on a one-out infield single where Braden Montgomery beat out a barehanded throw from Colt Keith.

And what I love even more is following that up with a fly out and then a strikeout to end the inning.

All told, it took Montero just 50 pitches to navigate through the first five innings as he filleted White Sox hitters with his multi-pitch array. And Montero managed to be hyper-efficient by letting his defense work. He had just two strikeouts in the first five innings.

<

Montero finished going seven innings with six hits, three runs allowed and three strikeouts.

Montero has been the pitching equivalent of a utility player for Detroit this season, making a number of starts and sliding to the bullpen when needed. He moved back from that brief spell to make Sunday’s start, and got heaps of praise from manager AJ Hinch.

Things fell apart in the sixth, but we shall address that just below.

Let us double dip on Keider Montero: The way he lost a perfect game, while not Gallaraga-ian, sucked! Plain and simple. And coughing up the lead on Luisangel Acuna’s first home run of the season the next inning was equally un-fun.

To get into more detail than above, Montero took perfection into the fifth inning and got the first out when Montgomery deflected a 95-mph sinker into the infield grass in front of him, 50ish mph off the bat. Colt Keith had to charge hard from third and his only shot was to barehand a throw to first. He managed it well enough, but it just wasn’t enough time to beat out the speedy Montgomery for the first hit of the day.

I observed the other day with Yoshinobu Yamamoto losing a no-hitter on a home run that giving up the hit on a no-doubter, a real moment when the hitter got his money’s worth, is probably better than feeling like the game cheated you.

I don’t know how Mr. Montero feels, but I’ll say it for him: The game cheated him today. But that’s just how it goes, too. All that hard contact turning into outs, and the dribbler becoming a hit, though I doubt he’d complain about how the first five innings went, all things considered.

As for the top of the sixth inning, well, that’s another story.

The Tigers are now 1-5 in extra-inning games

April 17: Lost at Red Sox, 1-0, in 10 innings

May 13: Lost at Mets, 3-2, in 10 innings

May 16: Lost to Blue Jays, 2-1, in 10 innings

May 21: Lost to Guardians, 3-2, in 10 innings

May 29: Lost to White Sox, 4-3, in 10 innings

June 21: Defeated the White Sox, 5-4, in 10 innings

▶ Game 78: Yankees at Tigers, 6:10 Monday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1

Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.