Justin Verlander always said he wanted to leave it all on the field when his time came, and he made good on that vow on an emotional Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park. The Tigers long-time ace was pretty good, putting together a solid 5.1 innings of work, more than anyone could’ve expected after nearly six months on the shelf. The emotions were high, and baseball provided a pretty nice send off for one of the greatest to ever do it. After struggling to score all game long, the young Tigers rallied
hard in the ninth, and Eduardo Valencia launched a two-run walkoff home run to win in staggering fashion on Justin Verlander day.
We watched Justin Verlander warming up in the bullpen, wondering what we were going to see here on Saturday as he prepared for the last major league start of his incredible career. Eventually he came out and made his walk to the dugout. JK Simmons introduced the Tigers. The opening chords of Til I Collapse sounded, the 43-year-old Verlander took the mound, and the moment had arrived.
‘Til the roof comes off, ’til the lights go out
‘Til my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth
I couldn’t help feel some trepidation about this. On the one hand, this is Justin Verlander, and he’s not going out there to embarrass himself. On the other hand, even pitching well he might just get lit up early having not pitched since the first week of the season. We just had to have faith in JV, and that’s really never been hard. It was a little harder today, but we should’ve known better.
Verlander retired Ryan O’Hearn on a fly out to left to start things off. In classic JV style, he then popped up Brandon Lowe and Brian Reynolds for a snappy 1-2-3 first inning. The veteran, keeping things efficient early to be able to pitch deep into the game.
When the inning ended, Verlander spent a little time congratulating Laz Diaz, also retiring, while getting his hands checkecd for illegal substances. All in a day’s work. “The only substance here is joy” was Benetti’s line, and it was a pretty good one.
Leadoff man Max Clark started the bottom of the first with a sharp line drive out to Oneill Cruz in center field. Hao-Yu Lee drove a Yates offering into center field for a single, and then Kevin McGonigle dumped a blooper into center field and Cruz got his cleat stuck and took a tumble, unable to catch the ball. He came up limping but was fortunately able to stay into the ground. Yates got Eduardo Valencia to chase a splitter down and ground into a 5-4-3 double play, ending the inning.
Justin Verlander bounced back out of the dugout to more applause and took the mound for round two, and this did feel like a boxer in his final fight. He spotted good fastballs to Oneill Cruz, and eventually whiffed him on a backfoot slider for his first punchout of the game.
An 0-2 high fastball to Konnor Griffin was lined into right center for a single. He then tried to steal on a 1-0 pitch to Spencer Horwitz, and Dillon Dingler cut him down with a perfect strike and a slick tag from Javier Báez. A 3-1 fastball to Horwitz faded away for a walk, and we got Verlander barking at himself after a walk. Classic JV. After a lengthy battle with Ronny Simon, the outfielder offered at a slider in the zone and flew out to Zach McKinstry in right field.
Yates got Riley Greene to ground out and then whiffed Spencer Torkelson. Don Kelly then came out to remove him from the game to his own accolades. Applause came from both dugouts, and Yates exchanged congratulations with Laz Diaz and then his teammates in the dugout as the veteran reliever wrapped up his last season in the major leagues, having decided to retire at age 39 after a very nice 12 year career. Yohan Ramirez took over and wrapped up a 1-2-3 bottom of the second inning.
Verlander whiffed Gonzalez with a first pitch curveball, and then a high heater was fouled off. A changeup sailed wide, and a slider missed down, but a changeup down for his 40th pitch got a lazy fly ball to Clark in center field. A fastball to Henry Davis was a strike, and a pair of curveballs missed. Another heater was fouled off, but the old dog reached back for 95 and blew him away for his second strikeout. Verlander got ahead of Ryan O’Hearn with some changeups, and the left-handed hitter fouled off a pair of breaking balls. A 94.4 mph heater down was by him before he got bat to ball, and Verlander had his third strikeout, all swinging. You know it had to be this way as he pushed his career strikeout mark to 3557.
Oneill Cruz did come out of the game, with Jake Mangum taking over center field in the bottom of the third. Ramirez hit McKinstry to start the frame, and Báez ripped a single to left. Clark lined out center but more softly this time, and after a battle, Hao-Yu Lee walked to load the bases with one out for Kevin McGonigle. The Tigers star rookie battled into a 2-2 count. Ramirez landed a breaking ball down, but it was challenged correctly to make it 3-2. McGonigle chopped another sweeper foul, and a sinker was smoked foul the opposite way. The 10th pitch of the at-bat was a heater that locked him up for an anti-climactic strike three. With Verlander no doubt begging for a lead and a chance to pick up one more win, Valencia dueled Ramirez and then whiffed on a sweeper to strand the bases loaded despite a 30 pitch inning for Ramirez.
Verlander had faced 10 hitters through three innings, but after the Pirates escaped that jam, the top of their order took heart and Brandon Lowe launched a first-pitch heater for a solo shot to right field. 1-0 Pirates. All this too, felt very familiar. No run support, and then a solo shot somewhere along the way…
Brian Reynolds bit on a 2-1 slider to even the count with a whiff, and then grounded out to Torkelson at first on Verlander’s 58th pitch. He got ahead of Mangum and whiffed him with a curveball up for strikeout number 3558. Griffin took a 1-1 curveball away to make it 2-1, but Verlander fired a well located 95 mph heater to get back in the count, and a breaking ball drew a lazy fly ball to right field for the final out.
This was going better than expected, despite the lack of run support. And again, even that felt very familiar. If you told Verlander he’d pitch into the fifth before the game, he would’ve taken it. Now he needed his teammates to get it going.
Carmen Mlodzinski took over for the Pirates in the bottom of the fourth. Riley Greene greeted him with a hot shot the opposite way down the line for a leadoff double. Dillon Dingler struck out, and Torkelson took a called third, but McKinstry was again hit by a pitch. Báez pulled a sharp grounder to Griffin at shortstop, and he couldn’t handle it. Everyone was safe, the bases were loaded with two outs, and Max Clark was up to bat. A pair of sinkers got ahead, but a ball call was challenged incorrectly, and the Pirates were out of challenges, as were the Tigers. Diaz was pleased, but it mattered little as a good splitter drew the whiff and the Tigers continue to strand baserunners at an outrageous rate.
The bullpen was warming as the fifth started, and we knew the moment was coming soon with Verlander at 67 pitches. He worked ahead of Horwitz 1-2. A curveball was fouled off, a changeup missed down, and a slider missed away. Horwitz just got a piece of a 3-2 fastball, but a slider away, his 75th pitch, dropped just close enough that Diaz rung him up as Verlander’s fifth and 3559th strikeout. The Pirates had no challenges, and we were in old school territory.
Simon tried a bunt, drawing boos from the faithful, and eventually fouled off two-strike sliders as Verlander topped 80 pitches. A 2-2 fastball away drew the whiff for strikeout number 3660 and sixth of the day. This rules. Leaving it all on the field. I expected AJ Hinch to pull him here, but he didn’t. Gonzalez stepped into the box and lifted a 1-1 curveball just over the right field wall for a solo shot. 2-0 Pirates.
Davis lined a single to left, and Hinch was at the top of the steps, but wanted to give Verlander the chance to end the inning. He was now at 86 pitches, well beyond what I thought was possible. O’Hearn pulled a curveball into right field, but McKinstry picked it, spun, and fired an absolute strike to third. McGonigle didn’t have to move much at all, snapping the tag down on Davis for the third out. The crowd went nuts, Verlander was fired up, and holy cow that was an elite throw from McKinstry there.
The Pirates challenged, the call stood, and Verlander high gloved McKinstry as he and his teammates came off the field. So, it looked as though we’d see him face one more hitter so Hinch could give him the mid-inning sendoff. Five innings with two solo shots among his five hits and a walk allowed, with six strikeouts, was legimately a good start already.
The Tigers got a walk to Lee in the bottom of the fifth, but no more. They were really going to leave the old ace on the hook for a loss with just two runs allowed.
Verlander took the mound at 87 pitches, bouncing back out of the dugout knowing he was facing the final hitter of his storied career. Hinch was really letting him empty the tank, like fully empty it as the sixth began. As he warmed up, Kate Upton and the kids headed down to be ready to come out with Hinch to get him.
He was still hitting 94 as he faced Lowe again. A fastball up and away drew a pop up, and Dillon Dingler hauled it in. And just like that, it was over. AJ Hinch came out of the dugout and walked toward home plate. He signaled to Kate Upton, who sent their daughter Genevieve running out to the mound to get her Dad. Verlander erupted in tears as she reached him for a long hug. Hinch followed for a long embrace of his own, and it was done. All the onions in the building were chopped at once as Verlander’s teammates came to the mound for a hug and a handshake. The dugout emptied into a lineup as Verlander embraced all his teammates and coaches, with a big hug for Kenley Jansen notable as the all-time great reliever is nearing his final moments on the mound as well.
When all the congratulations and love had been exchanged, Verlander was joined again by his wife, and they headed down the dugout steps together as he saluted the crowd one more time and the standing ovation roared down from the seats. Pretty amazing scene, and yes we were crying a bit. Miggy’s final moment went so well. It was hard to imagine this turning out so perfectly, but baseball and Verlander had a little magic left for us.
‘Til the roof comes off, ’til the lights go out
‘Til my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth
Justin Verlander’s final final line? 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 6 K. He’s still got it. The problem is recovering from it over the next few days.
Now, it was time to rely on his younger teammates to go and win the game. Tyler Kinley took over and gave up a single, but cleaned up the rest of the inning expeditiously.
Dingler grounded out to start the bottom of the sixth. Torkelson drew a walk, and Don Kelly turned to lefty Evan Sisk. Ben Malgeri pinch-hit for McKinstry and pulled a sharp single to left. Báez smoked a double to left to score Torkelson and make it a 2-1 Pirates lead. Clark struck out, and Lee grounded out to end the threat, but at least there was progress on the scoring front.
Brant Hurter racked up three quick outs in the top of the seventh.
Old friend Gregory Soto took the mound in the seventh and did his thing, pounding McGonigle, Valencia, and Greene into three groundouts with the power sinker.
Hurter gave up a single to Davis to start the eighth. O’Hearn grounded out, moving him to second, and Lowe did likewise, getting Davis to third. Jacob Waguespack took over from Hurter to face Reynolds, but the Pirates third baseman smoked a triple off the warning track in right to make it a 3-1 game. Mangum grounded out, but the hill to climb had gotten a bit higher.
Right-hander Luke Weaver succeeded Soto in the bottom of the eighth. Dingler greeted him with a single, but was erased by a Torkelson double play ball. Malgeri struck out, and we were on to the ninth.
Waguespack gave up a leadoff double to right off the bat of rookie Konnor Griffin to start the ninth. Horwitz grounded out, moving Griffin to third. A good changeup locked up Billy Cook for strike three. Waguespack blew away Jared Triolo with a fastball to send it to the bottom of the ninth.
The Tigers would have to get to a tough, hard throwing left-hander in Mason Montgomery to walk this one off. Báez struck out swinging, but Max Clark singled the opposite way. Hao-Yu Lee battled back to a full count after Montgomery got ahead early. He spoiled a nasty 99 mph high fastball, and then smoked the next one into the right field corner for a double that got Clark to third.
So it was up to McGonigle, and Montgomery missed down twice to run the count to 2-0. Another power sinker in on his hands drew a ground out to second from McGonigle. Clark scored, and it was a 3-2 game. Lee took third, and Eduardo Valencia stepped to the plate. He pulled the first pitch he saw just foul down the third base line, and fouled off the next one as well. Montgomery is nasty. A 101 mph heater missed well high, and Valencia fouled off the next fastball. Was there any magic left in the ballpark? The lefty shifted gears to the breaking stuff…and Valencia launched a curveball out to left and over the wall for a walkoff two-run home run!!! Amazing.
Valencia spent the postgame talking about needing to do that for Verlander, and the party was on. What a swing from the young catcher. Unbelievable.
