Let out that breath you’re holding; the Tigers won their first game of the weekend over the Pirates 8-7.
The Tigers had a lot to win for going into this weekend. They might not be fighting for a place in the postseason, but with fans coming around to celebrate the final weekend of Justin Verlander’s career, the team definitely wanted to put on a good show. Jackson Jobe got the nod for the Tigers as a starter, up against Bubba Chandler for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was nice to see that Justin Verlander,
in his big farewell speech, took a moment to shout out former teammate and Pirates’ manager Don Kelly. Kind of a cool full-circle moment.
In the top of the first, the Pirates went 1-2-3. The Tigers also went down in order in the home half.
Oneil Cruz got a leadoff walk to open the second inning. With one out, Cruz stole second, his 30th steal of the season. Ryan O’Hearn then singled, bringing Cruz home for the first run of the game. After the second out, Spencer Horwitz doubled, bringing in another run. Jobe finally got the third out of the inning, but the Tigers were now in a two-run deficit. Eduardo Valencia got a leadoff walk in the home half, then with two outs, Brett Callahan singled, bumping Valencia to third. A Spencer Torkelson triple (his first of the season!) brought two runs in and clearly made Tork’s day.
Brandon Lowe got a one-out walk in the third, but two outs followed, leaving him stranded. In the bottom of the inning with two outs, Kevin McGonigle got a walk, then Valencia singled, pushing McGonigle over to third. Riley Greene walked, then a Dillon Dingler single brought two more runs in to put the Tigers in the lead. Callahan walked, then Torkelson struck out, but the third strike got away as a wild pitch and two more runs scored. That was it for Bubba, who was replaced by Evan Sisk, who came on and got the final out of the inning.
In the top of the fourth, the Pirates went 1-2-3. Max Clark got a leadoff single in the home half, but Hao-Yu Lee bunted into a force out that eliminated Clark at second. Lee then stole second. Valencia and Greene then got back-to-back walks to load the bases. Despite being in a great position to score more runs, the Pirates actually managed to get out of the inning without any additional runs scoring.
In the fifth, Jake Mangum got a one-out single. Once again, though, the Pirates weren’t able to convert the baserunner. Wilber Dotel was the new pitcher in the bottom of the inning. Torkelson got a one-out double, perhaps hoping to sneak in a cycle this game? Why not? Two outs followed, though, leaving Tork stranded.
With one out in the top of the sixth, Jobe’s day was done. His final line was 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K on 86 pitches. A really solid outing from him, showing some flashes of what to expect from him going forward as he hones his skills even further. Drew Sommers replaced him, and with two outs gave up a walk to Nick Gonzales before getting the final out of the inning. With two outs in the home half, Valencia walked, the seventh (!!) of the game. Greene then singled to put runners on the corners. Dingler reached on a fielder’s choice and thanks to a fielding error, one more run scored. They’d have to settle for just the one, but it gave them a 7-2 lead.
Andrew Sears was the new pitcher for the seventh. He got the Pirates out in order. Spencer Torkelson got a solo home run to start the home half. Officially only one single away from the cycle. John Peck then singled. A wild pitch allowed Peck to advance to second. The Tigers went down in order after that, though, failing to extend their lead.
Konnor Griffin was hit by a pitch to start the eighth, but a double play off the bat of Lowe quickly eliminated the baserunner. Bryan Reynolds walked, followed by back-to-back singles from Cruz and Gonzales, scoring another run for them. An O’Hearn single brought in a fourth run for Pittsburgh. Rafael Flores Jr. then homered, and suddenly it was a one-run game. Tyler Holton replaced Sears and got the final out of the inning. Brandon Eisert was the next Pirates pitcher and Valencia got a leadoff double against him. Unfortunately, the Tigers weren’t able to bring in any additional runs, or give Torkelson a chance to get the single he needed for the cycle.
Kenley Jansen came in for the ninth, hoping to keep the Tigers from extras. He did just that, getting the side out in order and collecting win 498.
Final: Tigers 8, Pirates 7
