CHICAGO – Keider Montero was brilliant, Hao-Yu Lee came up with the huge hit and the Detroit Tigers earned a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, July 22.
Montero, who moved from the bullpen back to the starting rotation, allowed just one run in 5⅓ innings to earn his second win on this six-game road trip.
Lee crushed a 3-run homer for the Tigers (48-54) against the formidable Cubs (57-45), likely a playoff team in the National League.
Most of the crowd at Wrigley Field went silent, but a chant was heard: “Let’s go, Ti-gers!”
It was the fourth straight road series win for the Tigers, their longest such stretch May 1-June 1, 2025 (five road series wins in a row). The Tigers have now won 13 of their past 18 games and 18 of their past 28. Since June 1, they are 26-16 (.610), the second-best record in the AL. The win moved the Tigers within 4½ games of the third wild-card spot in the AL, currently occupied by the Boston Red Sox (whose 15-game win streak finally came to an end Wednesday).
At the plate Hao-Yu Lee’s big swing
After the Cubs took a 1-0 first-inning lead on Seiya Suzuki’s solo homer, Spencer Torkelson answered immediately, hitting a solo homer, his 19th of the season.
In the third inning, the Tigers wasted a tremendous scoring opportunity after James Outman kicked things off with a single and Kevin McGonigle kept it going with another single. The Tigers had guys on first and third with no outs. But McGonigle was thrown out trying to steal, and Dillon Dingler and Colt Keith struck out.
In the fourth inning, the Tigers had another great chance. Riley Greene hit a double and Torkelson walked – and this time, they took advantage.
Lee worked a 3-0 count and he clearly had the green light, pouncing on a fastball grooved over the plate for his fifth homer of the season.
He was fired up, a wild child running around the bases, all excitement and energy.
The Tigers added an insurance run in the ninth when Zach McKinstry hit a double to drive in Torkelson for the 5-1 lead.
On the mound: Keider Montero to the rescue
Montero, most recently in the bullpen, got Wednesday’s start for the Tigers.
The Cubs got to him early when Suzuki crushed a two-seamer into the left-field bleachers.
But after that?
It was a whole bunch of Montero.
At one point, Montero retired 10 straight hitters until he got unlucky when Ian Happ doubled after hitting a grounder that hit the first-base bag and hopped over an outstretched Torkelson. But Montero wasn’t bothered. He struck out Nico Hoerner to end the threat.
He got unlucky in the sixth inning when Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a soft liner back to the mound. Montero couldn’t field it and he reached base.
After Montero responded with a strikeout of Suzuki, Hinch came and got him, clapping his hands. His body language screamed: Great job, young man!
Montero gave up just one run in 5⅓ innings, recording eight strikeouts with no walks and scattered three hits.
Hinch turned to lefty Drew Sommers to face Michael Busch, a lefty with 13 homers. Busch then lined back to Sommers and the Tigers turned the double play.
Drew Anderson pitched a scoreless seventh, recording two strikeouts, and Kyle Finnegan threw a hitless, scoreless eighth. And Kenley Jansen handled the ninth, allowing one walk.
Next up: Tigers heading home
The Tigers return to Detroit for a seven-game homestand, including four against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. Troy Melton (5-1, 1.80) will pitch Thursday (6:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet). Right-hander Randy Dobnak – who came up from Utica’s USPBL and spent some time in the Tigers’ organization – is slated to start for the Royals.
The Tigers’ starters the rest of the series: left-hander Tarik Skubal (Friday), right-hander Casey Mize (Saturday) and lefty Framber Valdez (Sunday). The Tigers then play three games against the Baltimore Orioles, on Monday-Wednesday, before getting their first off day of the second half, on July 30.
At one point, the Tigers planned to use a six-man rotation to get to that off day. But after Jack Flaherty went on the 15-day IL, the plan has changed.
“Our plan is to stay with the eight-man bullpen and a five-man rotation,” Hinch said. “Now that can change in a moment of days, right? We have a few different options that we can go with. Ty [Madden] will be back on line over the weekend against Kansas City, and and we’ll see where that where that takes us.”
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Keider Montero mows down Cubs as Tigers take series in Chicago
About the Author
