The Tigers’ offense was on fire in their 11-0 win against the Seattle Mariners.
The Tigers were looking to come away with a series win after a strange and difficult game two of their series against the Mariners. They were hoping to avoid more antics and ejections this time around and just come up with a nice win. To get the job done, they had Framber Valdez on the mound, up against Bryce Miller for the Mariners.
The Tigers wasted no time getting a man on base as Kevin McGonigle got a leadoff walk.
Then, with one out, Dillon Dingler hit a two-run homer to center.
Riley Greene then hit a ground-rule double, and right in his heels Colt Keith doubled to bring Greene in and add onto the Tigers’ lead.
Spencer Torkelson walked, but he was followed by two outs to leave him stranded. However, the Tigers were up 3-0 after one. In the bottom of the inning with one out, Randy Arozarena walked. But Dominic Canzone hit into a force out to eliminate the baserunner. A third out then followed to leave a runner on base and end the inning.
With one out in the second, McGonigle singled. A Gleyber Torres groundout pushed McGonigle to second, then a Dingler singled brought McGonigle home to extend Detroit’s lead.
Cole Young took a leadoff walk in the third (that’s at least one walk per inning so far between the teams). Weston Wilson then hit into a double play to eliminate the baserunner, and a strikeout made short order of the side.
In the top of the third the Tigers went 1-2-3 for the first time in the game. In the home half the Mariners got a two-out single from Taylor Ward, but that was followed by a groundout to leave their baserunner stranded.
It was another 1-2-3 for the Tigers in the top of the fourth. Julio Rodriguez got a one-out single, with a well-placed line drive to center. But he was swiftly eliminated in a double play off the bat of Young.
After starting out hot, it was another three-up, three-down inning for the Tigers in the fifth. Valdez returned the favor, though, getting the Mariners out in order in the home half. Dare I say Valdez has been looking very efficient today? Don’t make me regret it, Framber!
Michael Rucker replaced Miller in the top of the sixth and he got the Tigers out in order. In the home half, Colt Emerson got things started with a single. Then, with one out, Arozarena singled. The Tigers were able to get out of the jam, though, getting the next two outs to leave two on and no runs scored.
In the seventh, Cole Wilcox was the new pitcher for the Mariners. With one out, Zach McKinstry walked. Then McGonigle hit a two-run homer, adding on some insurance runs.
Gleyber Torres singled, then Dingler singled behind him. Thanks to a fielding error from Taylor Ward and some heads-up baserunning from Torres, another run scored and Dingler ended up at second.
With two outs, Josh Simpson had to replace Wilcox as Wilcox appeared to have pulled something in his ribs while delivering a pitch to Greene. Keith singled, bringing Dingler in for another run.
In the bottom of the seventh with one out Wilson snuck a single into left. Valdez then did exactly what he does best and induced a ground ball to turn a double play to end the inning. His final line for the game was 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K on 95 pitches. A really nice outing for him even though he started to show signs of struggle in the seventh; he was able to course-correct.
Javier Baez hit a beautifully placed single into left field. Then McKinstry was hit by a pitch in the leg, though it did look unintentional and there was no reaction from the benches. Ben Malgeri came in for McGonigle, and singled. Rodriguez completely lost the ball in the sun and it dropped on him. The play probably should have been ruled an error, but at the time was called a single. Hao-Yu Lee came up with bases loaded and got hit in the ankle with a pitch in the dirt. Rivas almost made the same error as Rodriguez catching Lee’s final foul. Dingler struck out, leaving the bases loaded. Kyle Finnegan was the new Tigers pitcher for the eighth. Leo Rivas singled, but was then eliminated thanks to a double play off the bat of Emerson, then a final out wrapped up the inning in short order.
Position player pitching alert as Victor Robles came in for the Mariners. A pinch-hitting James Outman got a leadoff single. Then Colt Keith singled. Robles should have studied at the Jake Rogers school of position player Eephus pitching. Spencer Torkelson singled to load the bases. Max Clark singled, bringing Outman home. Baez singled right down the left base line, scoring two more runs. With one out, Malgeri walked, re-loading the bases. Robles actually managed to get out of this jam, inducing two outs to end the inning.
Brenan Hanifee came out of the Tigers’ bullpen for the bottom of the ninth. Canzone got a one-out single into right. They were able to wrap up the inning and maintain the shutout, sealing the series win.
