TORONTO (Interstat) — Zach McKinstry scored the winning run on a missed-catch error in the ninth inning after Brett Callahan hit a tying RBI single in the eighth, and the Detroit Tigers outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Monday, September 14, 2026, at Rogers Centre. McKinstry scored after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fielded a dribbler and threw to first, where Toronto pitcher Louis Varland missed the throw. The error allowed Hao-Yu Lee to reach and McKinstry to score from first. Detroit improved to 71-79. Toronto fell to 75-76. The game drew 42,867 and took 3 hours, 5 minutes. Detroit finished with nine hits, while Toronto had eight.

Toronto built a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Brett Bateman singled, George Springer walked and Alejandro Kirk delivered a run-scoring single. The Blue Jays added another run in the inning on a groundout. Toronto threatened again in the second when Andrés Giménez and Ernie Clement singled and Springer walked, but Guerrero grounded out to end the inning. In the third, Kirk walked and Nathan Lukes doubled, but Okamoto grounded out, Giménez struck out and Josh Smith walked before Clement grounded into a forceout. Detroit starter Troy Melton settled in after that, working 2 2/3 innings while allowing five hits, two earned runs and three strikeouts. Tyler Holton followed with 1 1/3 hitless innings. Beau Brieske then threw two hitless innings with two strikeouts, and Tyler Kinley and Kenley Jansen each added a hitless inning. Kinley earned the win and improved to 7-5. Jansen earned his 20th save. Varland took the loss and fell to 5-6.

José Soriano was sharp for Toronto. He retired the first 15 Detroit batters and carried a perfect game through five innings. A walk to McKinstry in the sixth ended the perfect-game bid, but Soriano kept the Tigers off the scoreboard until the seventh. Gleyber Torres singled to begin the seventh, and Riley Greene followed with a single that sent Torres to third. Dillon Dingler then singled to left, scoring Torres. Brett Callahan flew out for the first out, but Max Clark doubled to left, scoring Greene and Dingler. Spencer Torkelson followed with a double to left, scoring Clark and giving Detroit a 4-2 lead. Soriano finished with 6 1/3 innings, five hits, four earned runs and five strikeouts. Paul Sewald recorded two outs without allowing a hit.

Toronto answered in the bottom of the seventh. Springer singled, Guerrero flew out and Kirk singled, putting runners on first and second. Nathan Lukes flew out for the second out, but Kazuma Okamoto hit a three-run homer to left field. The home run scored Springer and Kirk and put Toronto ahead 5-4. Okamoto went 1 for 4 with one home run and three RBIs. It was his 33rd homer of the season. Andrés Giménez struck out to end the inning.

Detroit tied the game in the eighth. Kevin McGonigle singled sharply to right, Gleyber Torres flew out and Riley Greene singled to right, moving McGonigle to third. Dillon Dingler struck out for the second out, but Callahan singled to left, scoring McGonigle and making it 5-5. Max Clark grounded out sharply to end the inning. Callahan’s hit set up the ninth-inning finish.

In the ninth, Torkelson walked. McKinstry grounded into a forceout that erased Torkelson at second, leaving McKinstry at first. Hao-Yu Lee then reached on a missed-catch error by Varland, with an assist to Guerrero. McKinstry scored on the play, giving Detroit a 6-5 lead. McGonigle singled to right, moving Lee to second, but Torres struck out on a foul tip and Greene lined out to center.

Jansen closed it out in the bottom of the ninth. Springer walked, but Guerrero was called out on strikes. Kirk then grounded into a double play, with John Peck fielding and throwing to Hao-Yu Lee at second and Spencer Torkelson at first. Charles McAdoo was out at second and Kirk was out at first, ending the game. Detroit’s pitchers combined for nine strikes, 54 balls and nine balls in play. Toronto’s pitchers combined for 12 strikes, 58 balls and 12 balls in play. Brieske was among Detroit’s most effective relievers with two innings of no-hit ball and two strikeouts. Jansen followed with a perfect inning and one strikeout. Holton worked 1 1/3 hitless innings. Kinley also threw a hitless inning. Max Clark drove in two runs with his double. Okamoto’s homer was Toronto’s biggest swing. Varland gave up two hits and one earned run in 1 2/3 innings. Sewald recorded two outs without allowing a hit.

Detroit’s victory came after it managed only one hit through six innings. McGonigle, Greene and Clark each contributed key hits in the late innings. Toronto’s Kirk had multiple hits and an RBI, while Bateman scored a run and Lukes doubled. The Blue Jays left several runners on base in the early innings and could not hold the late lead.

Detroit entered after sweeping a three-game series against Colorado, winning 8-1 on Sunday, 11-7 on Saturday and 6-2 on Friday. Toronto had won two of three against Baltimore, taking an 8-1 decision Sunday and a 7-3 win Saturday after dropping the series opener 7-4 Friday. Earlier this season, Toronto won two of three at Detroit in May. The Blue Jays took the first two games of that May series before Detroit won the finale. The Tigers and Blue Jays are scheduled to meet again Tuesday and Wednesday in Toronto. Detroit then travels to Chicago for a four-game series against the White Sox before returning home to face Washington. Toronto will head to Texas for a three-game series before visiting Baltimore.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Toronto 6, Detroit 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Toronto a 56.4 percent probability to win. Toronto was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 7.5, and the combined score of 11 finished above that number.