Tigers' ridiculous power surge vs. Twins could make real case for convincing turnaround

The Tigers' sweep of the Rays to start June felt almost too good to be true. How could the 22-38 Tigers sweep the best team in the American League? Surely, it was just a bad weekend for Tampa Bay that Detroit just managed to luck into. After the devastation of May, the injuries, the too-early trade rumors, it was impossible for fans to get back on board immediately.

... And then the Tigers took a series from the AL West-leading Mariners, the last game of which featured Kevin McGonigle's first walk-off hit. Tigers fans leaned in a little further. Maybe there was something real to buy into here.

A few more consecutive series wins will be what it takes to get us fully back on board, but the Tigers got off to a great start in their three-game series against the Twins with a double-digits win on Tuesday night — their second double-digits win of the month.

The Tigers and Twins matched each other beat-for-beat through four and a half innings. Solo homer for Byron Buxton, solo homer for Dillon Dingler, solo homer for Riley Greene, solo homer for Josh Bell, sac fly for Greene, solo homer for Brooks Lee, solo homer for Kody Clemens. 4-3, Twins by the middle of the fifth.

Kerry Carpenter finally bucked the trend in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer to put the Tigers ahead. Detroit's bullpen stifled Minnesota's offense from there, but the same can't be said about the Tigers, who got up to 10 with another Dingler homer (scoring three runs this time) and a Gleyber Torres two-run single.

Tigers' offensive outburst vs. Twins is making a solid argument that Detroit is back

The Tigers have outscored their opponents 47-26 in the month of June. They're managing to hammer on offense while the pitching staff stifles opponents to put up some lopsided numbers, but they're also winning close games.

We shouldn't and can't lose site of the bigger picture here, of course. The Tigers are still tied with the Royals for last place in the AL Central, sitting on a .418 winning percentage, and Kansas City has also been enjoying a nice surge themselves as of late. Detroit is 4.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.

But there's still a lot of season to run, and this week may even be key in making up some ground, with the Tigers taking on two division rivals in a row (Twins, then Guardians).

What the Tigers have right now that they didn't have all throughout May is an actual soul. That's what's going to carry fans even if we hit a few more bumps in the road. The Tigers we're seeing in June actually seem ready and willing to dig themselves out of the hole they've created, and right now, that's about all we can hope for while we keep our fingers crossed.

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