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Maybe it has something to do with the environment.
Afterall, the Athletics are playing their home games at Sutter Health Park, a 25-year-old Triple-A ballpark and there were moments Tuesday night in the Tigers' aggravating, 7-6, 10-inning loss that felt distinctly minor league.
Like in the bottom of the eighth. Colby Thomas reached on an error by shortstop Zach McKinstry, though first baseman Spencer Torkelson will tell you he should have caught the throw. In a 5-5 game, that was a potentially fatal mistake.
It was compounded when third baseman Colt Keith and catcher Dillon Dingler got crossed up on a pop up at home plate. The ball fell in fair territory. Fortunately, rookie reliever Troy Melton, who pitched three scoreless innings, alertly collected the ball and started a fast 1-6-3 double-play.
The Tigers fought back out of 3-0 and 5-4 deficits earlier in the game and then stranded runners at second base in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and the game stayed tied 5-5 into the ninth.
But with two outs in the top of the 10th inning, one-time Tigers' farmhand Elvis Alvarado, walked Wenceel Perez with two outs and the free runner at third.
Zack McKinstry worked himself into a 3-1 count and then on 3-2, laced an RBI single to right field to break the tie.
But, story of the game, the lead didn't last long.
After some steely bullpen work by Melton and Kyle Finnegan, the Athletics never let Will Vest settle into the bottom of the 10th.
Tyler Soderstrom bounced an opposite-field single to score the free runner and tie the game. Riley Greene in left field made a bad decision and tried to throw home. He had no chance to get Brent Rooker and the throw allowed the winning run to get to second base.
After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, manager AJ Hinch deployed a five-man infield, bringing Javier Baez in from centerfield.
The five-man infield stayed after Vest walked Lawrence Butler to load the bases. But it didn't matter.
Vest walked Darrell Hernaiz to force in the winning run.
It was the third loss in a row for the Tigers and cut their lead in the Central Division to 9.5 games over the Royals.
The Tigers were in the game because of one monstrous swing by Greene. He's done a lot of things in his short time in the big leagues. But this was a first.
Down 3-0, the Tigers had the bases loaded with two outs in the third inning. Greene fell behind Athletics starter Osvaldo Bido 1-2 and then launched a 1-2 slider over the batter's eye in dead centerfield.
The ball left his bat with an exit velocity of 110.7 mph and flew 471 feet. Prodigious.
It was Greene's 32nd homer and his first career grand slam. The 471-footer was the longest home run by a Tiger in the Statcast era (since 2015) and it tied Giancarlo Stanton for the second longest by any Major League hitter.
It was two feet shorter than Kyle Schwarber's 473-footer. Definitely not minor-league.
But the jolt was short-lived.
The Athletics, who broke on top with a three-run homer by Jacob Wilson in the first inning, took the lead back against Charlie Morton in the bottom of the third.
The rally started with a misplay by Keith at third base and the Athletics started the inning with three singles. Morton did well to limit the damage to two runs.
Keith got one of those runs back, swatting his 12 th homer of the season in the fifth, tying the game 5-5.
It was a rough night for Keith defensively. Besides the misplay in the third and the botched popup in the eighth, he dropped a one-out pop up in the bottom of the seventh, too, that allowed Brent Rooker to get to second base with one out.
Melton bailed him out, though, getting Tyler Soderstrom to ground out and Wilson to pop out.
It was a mixed bag for Morton, too. He was nicked for seven hits, but he also struck out seven in his five innings and got 12 whiffs on 17 swings with his curveball.