DETROIT -- The last time the Tigers overcame a six-run deficit to win a game, they rallied past six home runs from the Yankees to win despite just two extra-base hits. That was Sept. 10, 2019, a dramatic win that provided one of the few highlights from a 114-loss season.

Yet as Justyn-Henry Malloy¡¯s 10th-inning fly ball off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase floated into Comerica Park¡¯s spacious center field with the potential tying run on third Tuesday night, the Tigers thought for a split second that they had a chance to match that.

¡°I thought maybe, if I was lucky,¡± Malloy said after the Tigers¡¯ 9-8 loss. ¡°But I¡¯ll pray a little bit more tonight. Hopefully tomorrow it falls.¡±

Simply getting to that point was arguably a step forward. The Tigers had won four in a row since Kenta Maeda's disastrous start in Minnesota last week resulted in a fairly humdrum 12-3 loss. Tuesday¡¯s outing could have easily unfolded similarly with Detroit staring at a 6-0 deficit in the middle of the third. This Tigers offense isn¡¯t accustomed to putting up seven runs in a game very often, let alone when trailing big early.

The Tigers picked themselves up with help from three home runs. And while Tuesday¡¯s loss leaves a lot to sort out with five games before the All-Star break, it also shows a lot of fight compared to the difficult stretch Detroit endured in June.

¡°I¡¯m incredibly proud of this group for tonight,¡± manager A.J. Hinch said. ¡°We kept chipping away, which is what we were saying in the dugout: Just keep giving yourself a chance. And then we had a big inning and, man, the adrenaline kicked in, the fans got loud and then we had a chance at the end, both in the ninth and the 10th.¡±

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday¡¯s comeback and what necessitated it:

1) Young bats picking up the power

The patience with rookie hitters continues to show signs of paying off. Colt Keith, who seemed to benefit from batting in front of red-hot All-Star Riley Greene over the last couple weeks, is becoming a presence in his own right. His two-run homer in the third inning started Detroit¡¯s comeback off Guardians starter Ben Lively before his opposite-field ground-ball single led off a game-tying four-run sixth.

Malloy, meanwhile, is batting .320 (8-for-25) with three home runs in seven games since June 29, matching his hit total from his first 21 big league games before that. After Gio Urshela¡¯s three-run homer chased Lively in the sixth, Malloy¡¯s solo homer tied it off Nick Sandlin.

¡°I think it¡¯s just trying to stack up good at-bats and good days,¡± Malloy said, ¡°doing the little things right in my at-bats and winning at the margins. If I continue to do that, it¡¯s just stacking that confidence up. That¡¯s all I want.¡±

2) Bullpen saves the day

The Tigers had a chance to chip away at Lively because Detroit¡¯s bullpen quieted Cleveland¡¯s explosive offense after Maeda¡¯s third-inning exit. Joey Wentz and Beau Brieske combined for five innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts, saving Detroit¡¯s leverage relief corps for the eighth inning in a tie game. It was the first multi-inning scoreless game for Brieske since June 21, and Wentz¡¯s longest outing with one earned run or less since he tossed 2 1/3 scoreless on April 13.

3) What¡¯s next for Maeda?

For now, it sounds like at least a break from the rotation for Maeda, who has given up 15 runs on 16 hits in his last two starts, covering just 6 1/3 innings as his ERA has jumped to 7.26. He gave up three runs within his first four batters Tuesday.

¡°The [All-Star] break¡¯s coming at a good time,¡± Hinch said. ¡°Obviously the No. 1 goal is to get him right and we¡¯ve gotta unlock the things that he needs to do to be more effective.¡±

Maeda sounded open to ideas.

¡°Nothing¡¯s really going right at this point,¡± Maeda said through translator Dai Sekizaki. ¡°I¡¯m causing too much trouble to the team, and I feel sorry about that.¡±