The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, ending the Tigers’ winning run. Despite hitting a grand slam for the second straight day, the Tigers were unable to finish the sweep.
The Tigers (49-51) ended a winning run of four games and lost an opportunity to finish at.500 after 100 games.
The day after Jake Rogers homered with the bases loaded on Saturday, Justyn-Henry Malloy, a rookie for the Tigers, smashed a grand slam against Kevin Gausman, the Jays starter, in the fifth inning.
That achievement in back-to-back games was a first for the Tigers since July 28–30, 2013.
However, the lead didn’t last long. In the bottom of the fifth inning, George Springer doubled off rookie starter Keider Montero of the Tigers to tie the game. Ernie Clement’s RBI single in the sixth inning gave the Jays the lead.
GRAND SLAM TO TAKE THE LEAD 💣#RepDetroit @jhenmalloy pic.twitter.com/56bJPFyPZC
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 21, 2024
All was well with Montero’s outing, except for Springer.
In addition to his two-base hit in the fifth inning, the Jays right fielder launched a leadoff home run in the first and a two-run home run in the third.
Malloy reached on a walk and Riley Greene singled in the eighth, setting up a potential rally for the Tigers. However, Bligh Madris, a rookie, emerged to neutralize the threat after Carson Kelly veered to the far left.