The Detroit Tigers entered Monday night’s matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals with the best record in Major League Baseball at 31-16 and riding high. But things quickly unraveled, as the Cardinals handed them a lopsided 11-4 defeat. Detroit didn’t score until the final two innings—three of those runs came in the ninth—highlighting a tough night for AJ Hinch’s squad.
Cardinals starter Sonny Gray was lights-out, tossing six scoreless innings while allowing just six hits, striking out 10, and walking one. After the game, Hinch acknowledged Gray’s dominance, telling The Detroit News, “We didn’t hold the zone. We didn’t play good baseball, and they did… Sonny Gray really exposed that.”
The game got away from the Tigers in the fifth inning when the Cardinals widened their lead to five runs. At that point, Hinch shifted his focus to preserving arms for the rest of the series. Keider Montero came in early—just one out into the first inning—and ended up throwing 5.2 innings, allowing five earned runs. Despite the rough outing, Montero remained positive, saying, “Today was not a good one. But… I’m taking positive things from this outing and thanking God that I am healthy.”
With the offense sputtering and the Tigers trailing 5-0, Hinch opted not to exhaust his bullpen. “We were doing nothing offensively,” he said. “It wasn’t a great night for us to try to push. Keider did a good job of hanging in there.”
A lengthy rain delay also influenced Hinch’s decision to keep Montero on the mound. “I sent him back out because the weather was coming,” Hinch explained, citing concerns about using additional arms before the storm hit around 8:45 p.m. CT.
The Tigers aim to rebound from the tough loss on Tuesday with ace Tarik Skubal set to take the hill. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium. The series wraps up Wednesday with Game 3.
