Lately it’s been Jonathan Schoop and Eric Haase delivering the power, but you can only keep the big fella down so long. The Tigers needed some add-on runs for a tired bullpen after Tarik Skubal’s excellent outing on Saturday, and Miguel Cabrera delivered for them.
In the top of the sixth inning, with the Tigers up 3-1, Cabrera stepped to the dish against White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. With Skubal out of the game, Michael Fulmer possibly unavailable, and the bullpen needing four clean innings against one of the best teams in baseball, the need for more offense was clear. Cabrera took a fastball over the middle for a strike on the first pitch, but Giolito went back to the well 0-1, and Cabrera did not miss it.
Home run #492 was an oppo shot on a 93.1 mph fourseam fastball. The blow was Cabrera’s fifth of the season. He’s also singled and scored a run today.
Cabrera continues to struggle overall, but he’s continuing to chip away at the record book. Hopefully there are plenty more to come this season.