Torkelson's homer one bright spot under tough Wrigley Field conditions

CHICAGO -- The Tigers entered Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon eyeing a three-game series win over the Cubs. They left with a 10-2 loss in the finale in which more went wrong than right.

“There’s a lot on the list of things today that we could reflect back to,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Tigers’ bats were kept at bay by Cubs ace lefty Justin Steele. Detroit had an interesting day defensively in Wrigley’s unique conditions. Right-hander Kenta Maeda had a tough day as the bulk pitcher out of the bullpen.

Here is a look at three keys in the rubber-game loss.

Maeda’s tough inning

Thursday was Maeda’s seventh appearance as a bulk reliever since the Tigers moved him to the bullpen last month. He had a 3.28 in 24 2/3 innings over his first six outings, but got hit hard by the Cubs.

Maeda entered in the second after opener Tyler Holton’s perfect first frame. Maeda was charged with six runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings, with five strikeouts. The big blow was a two-out grand slam by Miguel Amaya in the second that gave Chicago an early four-run lead.

“I was able to make some adjustments towards the end of my outing today,” Maeda said through an interpreter. “I made some good adjustments, but it’s regretful that I [allowed] some runs early on.”

Maeda yielded a leadoff infield single to Seiya Suzuki in the second, on a grounder that backed up Javier Báez into the shortstop hole. After Michael Busch’s flyout, Nico Hoerner hit a single past a diving Jace Jung at third base. Dansby Swanson then dropped a bloop single in front of center fielder Matt Vierling, who made a good effort, but came up just short on a diving attempt.

Maeda struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong for the second out. He threw Amaya a first-pitch 91 mph four-seamer up in the zone, and Amaya hit it a Statcast-projected 399 feet for his first career slam.

“With him, it’s execution all the time,” Hinch said of Maeda. “Going through that lineup, they did a good job of waiting to get a good pitch to hit, and they didn’t miss it.”

Defensive trouble

The Tigers were aware of Wrigley Field’s unique playing conditions entering this week’s series, whether it be the tight dimensions or wind patterns that vary by the day. But experiencing it firsthand is a different ballgame.

“I've played here a couple times during the day,” Vierling said. “The sun's a big issue, and then also the wind. It’s something we're not used to. … We had a couple of plays that probably could have been a little bit cleaner.”

In the third, Busch dropped a bloop single in front of Andy Ibá?ez down the left-field line. The fly ball had a two-percent hit probability and an 85-percent catch probability, according to Statcast. Instead of an out, Cody Bellinger (leadoff double) and Suzuki (walk) moved up 90 feet. Bellinger scored moments later on a Hoerner groundout to first baseman Spencer Torkelson.

Vierling was the only member of the Tigers’ starting outfield in the finale who had played at Wrigley before this week. Ibá?ez started in left on Thursday, his first time playing in the field here. Kerry Carpenter started in right for the second straight game.

There were also some balls Detroit made plays on that were a bit of an adventure. Vierling and Carpenter collided on an Isaac Paredes flyout in the fourth inning, with Carpenter hauling it in. In the seventh, Ibá?ez covered 122 feet to haul in a Bellinger pop fly that was just beyond the infield dirt. Báez was camped under it when Ibá?ez collided with him.

Torkelson’s triumphant return

The Tigers had just two hits off Steele through six innings -- a Vierling leadoff single in the first and Colt Keith’s single in the fourth.

“He did a really good job keeping us off balance, keeping us off the barrel,” Torkelson said.

Torkelson found the barrel in a big way in the seventh. He hit a first-pitch four-seamer from Steele that went a Statcast-projected 377 feet into the left-field bleachers for a two-run homer.

The homer continued an encouraging stretch for Torkelson since he was recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday. The 24-year-old is 7-for-17 (.412) in five games with two doubles, one triple and one home run. He had a .597 OPS in 54 games when he was optioned on June 3.

“It just shows me that my approach works,” Torkelson said. “And my natural swing and my natural hitting ability is going to come through when I have a consistent approach.”