The News’ Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 10-6 loss to the Angels on Tuesday night:
One thing I loved
I mean, I’m tempted to just make this [Insert Kevin McGonigle meme of choice here] and leave it at that, after that performance.
His third triple of the season sparked the Tigers on offense in the bottom of the fifth inning as Detroit rolled from 4-2 down to up, 5-2. And that came as part of a three-hit day with two RBI, a run scored and a walk.
This dude is just … really quite good at baseball. Advanced metrics tell you he’s been elite on the basepaths, good-if-not-great with a bat in his hands and at worst running with the pack on defense — recent highlights might suggest otherwise, though, as he’s handled that part of the game well, to date.
Right now, he leads rookies with more than 100 at-bats in batting average, is third in OPS among that cohort and his 15 combined doubles and triples far outpaces his peers. (We can talk about Munetaka Murakami’s home-run total another day, sheesh.)
Either way, he’s been remarkably reliable for a rookie and coming through repeatedly for Detroit in myriad ways. Plus, the power is starting to show up more and more in that offensive profile.
And without getting too far out over our skis — rookie of the year, anyone? — it’s easy to say McGonigle’s been a slam dunk call up to begin 2026, and a gleaming bright spot amidst what’s been a difficult season, to date.
McTriple anyone? 🍔 pic.twitter.com/nvsZzVTdDn
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 26, 2026
One thing I didn’t
Rather than assessing the macro of Detroit blowing another win and getting sucked into that morass, let us examine the micro of this fumbled victory.
It’s been difficult, let’s say, for Will Vest on the mound lately. And that’s something Detroit can’t really afford.
Vest entered the top of the eighth inning with a 6-4 lead to work with, after getting two outs in the top of the seventh — and a big assist from Riley Greene for the third out in the outfield.
Then he gave up that one out single in the eighth, managed to get the second out on another ground ball that advanced the runner, and had a way out.
Instead, Logan O’Hoppe doubled to right field as Wenceel Perez couldn’t get to a fly ball at the wall and the Angels tacked on a run. Zach Neto came up and reached on a single that deflected back off of Vest, bringing up Mike Trout with two outs, runners on first and third base and the Tigers ahead, 6-5.
Vest walked Trout and, well, we don’t need to remind you much about what came next — Vaughmn Grissom’s go-ahead grand slam.
This comes after Vest’s most recent outing, when he gave up a game-tying run to Cleveland in the ninth inning on May 20. He just hasn’t been able to get leverage out and the Tigers do not have the sort of margin to have potential wins frittered away like this.
🚨 A GRISSOM GRAND SLAM GIVES US THE LEAD 🚨 pic.twitter.com/lNLXK5SFbD
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) May 27, 2026
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Colt Keith (9)
▶ Wenceel Perez (5)
▶Zach McKinstry (3)
Player of the game
▶ Kevin McGonigle (6)
Next Tigers game
▶ Game 56: Angels at Tigers, 6:40 Wednesday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Sunday evening’s Tigers recap
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers blew a 6-4 lead in loss to L.A. Angels in opener
