On Sunday the Detroit Tigers tried to salvage a split of their four-game weekend series against the Guardians in Cleveland on a breezy Sunday afternoon. Alas, for the third time in three days, the Guardians came away with a walk-off victory, a 3-2 win in ten innings. In all three, Cleveland never threw a pitch with a lead.
Jackson Jobe made his seventh start of the year for the Tigers. It’s been pretty up-and-down for him since returning from his Tommy John Surgery-induced layoff: either he gives
you about five innings and gives up one run, or he gets bashed-around and leaves the game early after a half-dozen runs against him. His losses have featured multiple home runs surrendered; therefore, if he keeps the ball in the yard, he’ll do alright.
Facing the Tigers was Gavin Williams, who’s having a roller-coaster year of his own. In some months he’s been sensational: in five July starts his WHIP was under 0.8 and he only walked four batters in total. In five August starts he walked a bunch more and had an era of 5.56. His previous September start saw him strike out a baker’s-dozen Blue Jays, though, and he’d strike out eleven today.
Riley Greene wasted no time continuing his hard-hitting ways: after Hao-Yu Lee walked and Colt Keith’s bloop single with one out in the first inning, Greene smashed a double to score both runners and put the Tigers up 2-0 early. As it turned out, those were the only runs the Tigers would score all day.
That lead was cut in half in the bottom half of the inning with consecutive doubles from Steven Kwan (of course) and Travis Bazzana. After a groundout, Jobe lost the strike zone and walked the next two batters on eight pitches to load the bases; he went 3-1 on Angel Genao before eventually striking him out. Jobe coaxed a grounder to second out of Patrick Bailey for the third out, wiggling out of a heck of a jam.
Both starting pitchers really settled down after the first, with plenty of strikeouts for both Jobe and Williams. Greene then hit his twenty-ninth double with two out in the third, a laser beam one-hopping the centrefield wall, but was stranded there when Dillon Dingler just got underneath a high four-seamer a bit, not quite clearing the centrefield wall and stranding Greene at second.
Jobe, though, really got tough: after the pair of first-inning walks to load the bases, he set down twelve Guardians in a row until Brayan Rocchio hit a solo home run in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. (Rocchio had a .915 OPS against the Tigers coming into today’s game, the highest against any team he’s faced more than a few times this year.) Kwan followed with a double (of course), who advanced to third on a groundout, but Jobe struck Jo Adell out to end the inning, and his day. His final line: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
Tyler Holton came on for the sixth as the Cleveland Air Show roared on, and he plunked the leadoff batter. But after a popup, Holton got a grounder to second base to start an inning-ending double play, and that’s the pitcher we grew to love a couple of years ago, isn’t it? I’ll even forgive him for his, uh, questionable hairstyle choices.
Drew Sommers, who coughed up the game-winning home run to Rocchio on Friday afternoon, pitched the seventh, and faced him with two out. He got a harmless grounder to third for the final out, and I imagine Sommers is going to sleep a little better tonight than he did on Friday.
Kevin McGonigle led off the top of the eighth with a walk, and after Lee fouled-out to first, Keith hit a screaming line drive to second and McGonigle couldn’t get back to first before a throw doubled him off and ended the inning.
Sommers carried on into the bottom of the eighth and got Kwan to fly out, but allowed an infield single to Bazzana before giving way to Tyler Kinley. Bazzana was then thrown out trying to steal second for the second out, and Adell hit a 108-mph bouncer to shortstop on which John Peck made a great short-hop play, throwing Adell out at first for the third out, sending the game to the ninth tied.
Cade Smith, the tough Guardians’ closer, came on for the ninth and he got the Tigers 1-2-3. That meant…
Kenley Jansen was brought into the game, tied 2-2, to start the ninth against a Cleveland team that has a penchant for walking-off opponents. How would Jansen do? An up-the-elevator-shaft foulout to the catcher, a popout to shortstop, and a comebacker for the third out. No problem here, folks!
Smith carried on into the tenth, with Brett Callahan on second base, and struck out the side.
Kyle Finnegan came into the game for the bottom of the tenth with Angel Genao on second; Patrick Bailey led off with a single to centre to push the winning run up to third base. Daniel Schneeman then singled to right, scoring Genao for the 3-2 win.
If nothing else, at least we don’t have to see the Guardians again this season. Sheesh.
Final score: Guardians 3, Tigers 2
Notes and Rememberances
- It was nice to see Riley Greene smack a couple of home runs on Saturday. Those were his first homers since a solo dinger in Seattle on August 4.
- Someone on a radio broadcast recently mentioned that Kevin McGonigle has played in more games this season than he ever has a professional (139 played through today). Perhaps that’s one reason he’s been slumping lately; from mid-August through the doubleheader loss on Friday he was 15-for-77 (.195 batting average) with a sub-.600 OPS.
- I don’t like air shows, for a variety of reasons.
- Cade Smith was the second Canadian pitcher for the Guardians of the day. Edmontonian Erik Sabrowski, who pitched the seventh, was the first.
- On this day in 1870, Louisa Swain cast a vote in a primary election in Wyoming. That wouldn’t make the news these days, but she was the first woman to vote in a general election in the United States since 1807, when New Jersey repealed the right of women to vote. Thus, that’s why she’s remembered today. You go, girl!
