Career First of Tigers Slugger Played Crucial Role in Team's Important Win
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Entering the All-Star break, the Detroit Tigers looked like a juggernaut.
Their pitching staff continued to be excellent and their offense was scoring runs, unlike what they had done for the majority of the season last year.
But following the Midsummer Classic, some holes have been poked into that facade.
The Tigers are 10-13, going from owning the MLB's best record to sitting with the fourth-best.
While that's still a respectable mark, Detroit is also in danger of being overtaken in the AL Central, with their once double-digit lead now down to 6.5 games.
That's why every contest is important for the Tigers down the stretch; not just to secure their first division title since 2014, but to also recapture the momentum they had during the early part of the season to do some damage when they get into the playoffs.
Detroit is hoping that what occurred on Monday is key in making that happen.
Spencer Torkelson Has First Go-Ahead Home Run in Ninth Inning
After beating the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday to secure a series win, the Tigers were looking to carry some momentum into a road divisional matchup against the Chicago White Sox.
But for much of the game, that wasn't the case.
Tied at one run apiece entering the ninth inning, the former first overall pick came up clutch for his team, bashing a ball to left field that just stayed fair as it slammed off the foul pole for a solo homer.
HOW BOUT A TORK BOMB pic.twitter.com/Nu2aO5uekV
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 12, 2025
"I was praying," he said after the game, per Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press.
Torkelson's 75th big league home run of his career was his most clutch, providing a jolt of life for this squad that has been searching for ways to get back on track.
Now, with that victory, they are starting to look much more like the team they had been than the one that stumbled out of the gates to begin the second half.
Detroit has now won two in a row, three out of their last four and, most importantly, they've won nine of their last 14 games.
"I think it speaks a lot to like, we're staying present, and we're not really worried about the stretch that we had," Torkelson said. "We feel like that was a little inevitable in a long season to go through a tough stretch."
The Tigers will get two more games against the White Sox before squaring off against the Minnesota Twins for four, which is a stretch they could use to rack up must-needed wins to put the division title firmly into their hands.
