It only took two hours for the Pirates to beat the Tigers 4-1 on Tuesday night.
After Monday’s win that nearly imploded in the later innings, the Tigers were hoping for a slightly smoother time of it on Tuesday, and also hoping to clinch a series win against the Pirates while they were at it. Keider Montero was on the mound for the Tigers while Braxton Ashcraft got the nod for Pittsburgh.
The Tigers did not get the early start they did on Monday, as they went 1-2-3 to start the game this time around.
The Pirates did the same in the home half, though, so at least both teams were equally unproductive.
The second inning saw the Tigers go three-up, three-down, and much like the first inning, so did the Pirates. Early to say but could this be an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel?
It was starting to look that way as the Tigers once again went down in order in the third, and Montero sent all the Pirates back to the dugout as well.
In the top of the fourth, a baserunner finally manifested as Kevin McGonigle got a one-out single. Colt Keith singled behind him, but then Eduardo Valencia hit into a double play to end the inning. Montero continued to deal against the Pirates, getting the side out in order.
Rookie Brett Callahan does not want to let anyone else steal his spotlight this week as he hit a career-first, his first MLB home run.
Esmerlyn Valdez was the first baserunner for the Pirates and interrupted Montero’s twelve outs in a row with a walk. Oneil Cruz, who just returned from the IL yesterday, made his presence known with a two-run homer, bumping the Pirates into the lead. Jake Mangum singled, and it seemed like Montero’s confidence was properly shaken. Rafael Flores Jr. hit a ground-rule double, putting two runners in scoring position. With one out, the Tigers got exceptionally lucky as Mangum made a play for home, and it initially looked like he was safe on the fielder’s choice, but the Tigers challenged the call, and on review it was overturned, and Mangum was ruled out because he simply never touched home plate. Oops. Jared Triolo was safe at first. Spencer Horowitz singled, bringing in another run. Montero finally got the third out, but it was safe to say it wasn’t a pitchers’ duel anymore.
With one out in the sixth, Gleyber Torres reached on a fielding error at first as the ball just kind of went right over Horowitz’s glove and out into right field. Two outs followed, though, so the Tigers couldn’t take advantage of their luck. In the bottom of the inning, Keider Montero was unsurprisingly done for the day. His game started exceptionally well through the first four innings; the problem was that when he started faltering in the fifth, he simply couldn’t regain his control, unfortunately. His final line for the game was 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 78 pitches. Ty Madden came in to replace him, and he got the side out in order.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the seventh, but hey, so did the Pirates.
Callahan got things going again with a leadoff single in the eighth. Unfortunately, three outs followed. In the home half, Triolo singled, and that was all it took for the Tigers to head back to the bullpen, bringing in Enmanuel De Jesus. Horowitz was hit by a pitch. Brandon Lowe then grounded into a double play. Bryan Reynolds singled, bringing in another run. The Tigers finally got the third out of the inning but the Pirates were now up 4-1.
Mason Montgomery was the new pitcher for the Pirates. Kevin McGonigle reached thanks to a throwing error from the second baseman. The Tigers were not able to pull a ninth inning comeback out of their hats, though, unfortunately, and the Pirates tied up the series.
