Braves vs. Tigers Game Highlights (9_19_25) _ MLB Highlights

In mid-July, the Detroit Tigers held a 14-game lead in the American League Central, and today, that lead has dwindled to just three-and-a-half games after the Guardians came into Comerica Park and swept the Tigers this week. We're really looking forward to the start of Charlie Morton. We talked with Dylan Dingler earlier today, Andy. Just getting back into the strike zone, his stuff moves. Everything moves. He loves watching this guy pitch. Morton in a whole heap of trouble here in the top of the first inning. Yeah, Charlie used to really struggle in the first inning as a Brave, because for whatever reason, he couldn't figure out why. But it looks like that trend has continued here today. Double a hit batter and a walk. The Braves have loaded the bases here in the top of the first inning. It's been four starts of struggles for Charlie Morton the last three, especially with a command of 11 walks. A couple of early boos here at Comerica Park. They were booing this team the other night. Four-pitch walk. Profile will come home. 1-0 Atlanta. None of those pitches close, and Morton walks in a run. Wow, that wasn't good. Yeah, Chris Federer will come out here, check on him, make sure everything's all right with him physically, and give him a little time mentally. Sometimes it starts mounting on you, and your brain starts going really fast. Yeah. And you're just, you're thinking. Even an 18-year veteran. Arzi shoots the 0-2 pitch through the left side. Acuna runs through the stop sign, but it's not going to matter because the throw goes to third. And just like that, 3-0. It's still nobody out. And Atlanta, with a quick 3-0 lead, five batters in. And throws that same pitch he'd thrown the last two. Strikes is great, but big league hitters are still going to hit a middle-middle curveball. Rafael Montero is warming in the Tiger bullpen. Bryce Elder has never faced a Detroit Tigers. The only team that he has not faced, but that ends tonight. And a perfect pitch there to get Parker Meadows. So a good start to the evening for Bryce Elder. And in Bryce Elder's games, when you see him executing that pitch early in the game, you know he's got a chance to be really good. Here's Gleyber Torres. One for two day with a couple of walks yesterday against Cleveland. Broken bat. Humpback liner drops. The Tigers can get something started here in the first. It just feels like, Andy, for this offense, which scored 23 runs in two games in New York. They've scored just 17 since. Get off to a good start. Get that good feeling back. How about that? Out of the zone, but Green chases it. A single, but no damage in the bottom of the first. How about some elevated heat here on a beautiful night? Nacho Alvarez, Jr. leads off against Charlie Morton. Nacho, the chopper of the third baseline, charging at third base is McKinstry. And he just kicks it and bobbles it and has it roll by him. That'll be a base hit by Nacho Alvarez. Yeah, that's going to be really frustrating for Charlie Morton. I'm sure he went in, had a long conversation with Chris Fetter about everything that happened in the first inning. He comes out and throws two perfect pitches and gives up that little bleeding single. Advancing to second is Nacho Alvarez. Bat in the hands of Matt Olson. And it really has been amazing the run that Matt has been on here in the month of September. Matt Olson, that's fair. One of the hottest hitters in baseball. Provides again for this Atlanta offense. Another double, another run-producing double for Matt Olson, and it's four to nothing. I thought he was going to go for three there, make it three triples in the month of September. But he hit the brakes there, a nice easy double. He's in a good spot in the batter's box, and it's showing. Here comes Ronald Acuna. Acuna to right field. Perez is back at the wall. She is gone. Six to nothing, and we're only in the second. Acuna with a two-run blast. I hope our listeners got to hear that sound of that ball off that bat. We're just about as close as we get to be in this booth here. And as soon as he hit that, I thought to myself, that sounded perfect. 95 on the way in, 105 on the way out. That's going to be it for Charlie Morton, and it's Ronald Acuna Jr. who calls it a night. That's just a tough night for a guy that we were really hoping to see finish strong in his final two starts. Elder back to work. Well, this is the first time that the Braves have scored at least three runs in each of the first two innings this year. That is in the zone, and Torkelson is down looking. Three strikeouts here early on for Bryce Elder and all three on fastballs, and there goes that amazing movement that he gets on the two-seam fastballs that comes back and catches the outside corner. Punched him out. On the outside corner, a fastball had him looking. Another looking strikeout for Bryce Elder. Right now, Bryce Elder is carving up these Tigers. He doesn't strike out the side. Can Ozzie get to this? It was slowed off of Elder's glove, but Ozzie's still able to make a great play to get by him. And one hopper came back through the box, and Elder got leather on it, slowed it down, but Ozzie never gave up, darted it onto the grass, got to it, got rid of it, gets the out. Down go the Tigers, one, two, three. It'll be eight, nine, and one for the Tigers, McKinstry, Rodgers, and Meadows. Ozzie always with a nice pick. And down goes McKinstry. The defense that's been played against the Tigers in about the last four games has been very frustrating for the old English D. Look, the ball even went through his glove, and he still made the out. See if Parker Meadows can get something started as he begins the second trip through the Tigers' order. Three-two, Meadows hooks this one out to right, charging in, and unable to make the play is Acuna. His glove got a piece of it, and now it's off to the races with Meadows. He touches second. Acuna's up against the wall as he fields, and Meadows into third base standing. Okay, here we go, a little two-out rally piece. A little further in the gap. That could have been an inside to Parker. Tried to pick it up on the short hop, but that allowed him to get plenty of extra bases. That's a misplay right there big time. Tigers a chance to get on the board. They're down six-nothing, bottom of the third. Meadows takes the lead off third base. Bouncer to third. It's fair. Nacho across the diamond, and Bryce Elder keeps the Tigers scoreless through three. And Nacho made a nice play just back of the bag, and that ends the inning. No threat there as Meadows left stranded at third. Carpenter will lead it off for the Tigers in the bottom half of the fourth. A little strike one high in the air to left field. Coming towards the line pro-far in foul ground. Still in pursuit. Lunges, and he's got it for the out. Nice catch. He made the catch. Oh my goodness, he did. I didn't think he was going to get there. I didn't either. Like he always does, no matter what's going on. Jerickson's pro-far smiling after that play, but I didn't think he was actually going to get to it. Very nice. Riley Green struck out in the first inning, his 190th strikeout of the season. And there is number 191. That is the most in the American League. Elder gets him looking. Beautiful pitch there by Bryce Elder, and he set that up with the previous pitch being a four-seamer with cutting action. Tork sitting on 29 home runs. The 0-1. That one's deep, and that ball is way back in goal. Number 30 for Spencer Torkelson. Touch of all time for Tork, and the Tigers on the board here in the bottom of the fourth inning. He's had enough of shutout baseball. Gets underneath it, hits the sweet spot of the bat. Recoils those hips for that baseball. Smashed that ball. That can jumpstart the offense. So far a great bounce-back game for Elder after giving up the six runs over four and a third against Houston last Saturday. How about Nacho Alvarez? Sensational at the hot corner for Nacho. It has been so much fun watching this guy play defense. How about full extension Nacho? Dive and throw. Three and two-thirds at this point scoreless for Paddock. Tigers fell behind early. Charlie Morton gave up three in the first, three in the second. Bullpen, though, has been sharp ever since. This one lifted in the air. Left field towards the line. Riley Green is over. He'll squeeze it right at the line. And Chris Paddock, another one, two, three inning. He has been sharp tonight. Six innings, five scattered hits in. The only run that homer. The command has been excellent, what we always talk about here with Bryce Elder. He's been getting deep into games, and he's doing it again tonight. That is a strike. Yes, it is. Torkelson tried to sell it, but he is down looking. Six strikeouts tonight for Bryce Elder. I love watching Bryce pitch because he's more of an artist than just a blunt instrument, right? He's painting with a paintbrush. Another deep fly ball. Not deep enough. Michael Harris takes this. And a one, two, three inning. Elder through seven. Just one run given up. That's the second time today that Ozzie's just kind of taken a pitch and slapped it the other way. He's got three hits. I'd like to ride him out. Here's the pitch on the way to Ha-Sung Kim. Ha-Sung Kim deep to left. Goodbye. Eight to one in the eighth. Two run homer Ha-Sung Kim just swung with all his might. It's not getting any easier for the Detroit Tigers right now. They found themselves at the bottom of a little slump here. And when you're going against the best in the world, you've got to get that game tight and get it right in a hurry or else people will put it on you. And right now, they're getting it put on them. This is about as similar as we've seen to the stretch where Tigers lost 12 to 13. It just doesn't feel like anything is going particularly well right now. And we get our Tiger debut tonight of Paul Seawald. Seawald was acquired from Cleveland at the deadline. He's on the 60-day injured list. Activated him off the injured list yesterday. Gets into the ballgame tonight. Drake Baldwin out to right center field. How far is this one going to go? It's going to go over the wall. Double digits for the Braves. Ten to one. Drake Baldwin just blasted a shooting star deep to right field. And that is his 17th home run of the year. It's his second hit of the night, and it's 10-1 Braves. They have torched the Tigers tonight. So the Braves have three two-run homers tonight. Acuna, Kim, and now Baldwin. They got Hunter Stratton on here, C.J., to try to polish off this Friday night win. Ground ball. Matt Olsen has it. And the Braves have a season-best six-game win streak. They roll in the Motor City tonight, ten to one. Tigers' struggles at home continue. They have lost the first four games of the homestand. We're going to see what this Tigers team is really made of. They've got their backs against the ropes right now.