The Tigers have gotten very watchable of late. They’ve been winning games, they have genuinely watchable players, making highlight-reel-worthy plays. There’s a lot to like about the product the team has been putting on the field.
Tonight was another one of those nights. On another day, at another time, you could be forgiven for assuming the Tigers were down and out after the fourth inning, with no hope of regaining a lead. But these are not the same Tigers they were in April, and there’s plenty of fight in them even when the score says it’s improbable.
That said, the comeback, while awesome, was ultimately short-lived.
In the first inning the Tigers were retired in order by Rangers starter Dane Dunning. In the bottom of the inning Jose Ureña was already off to a shaky start with a single to Lowe, though Lowe was quickly erased thanks to a fielder’s choice off the bat of Garcia. Gallo walked, but it was a scoreless inning, so no harm done.
Cabrera led off the top of the second with a walk, but the baserunner was ultimately the third out of the inning when Short hit into a fielders choice as well. Ureña had himself a nice 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second.
The third inning was three up/three down for both the Tigers and the Rangers, making it, well, a very short inning.
The Tigers then drew first blood in the top of the fourth with a solo home run off the bat of Robbie Grossman. Sadly the Detroit lead was short-lived as Ureña stumbled in the bottom of the inning. Garcia was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, but was caught stealing on an absolute laser from Jake Rogers.
Gallo was walked, then took second on a wild pitch by Ureña. Former Tiger John Hicks then went yard, something he’s been doing a fair bit since coming to the Rangers, and scored himself and Gallo, giving the Rangers the lead. Dahl singled, then Ibanez walked, and then a Kiner-Falefa double scored Dahl and Ibanez, and suddenly the Rangers were up 4-1.
The Tigers did nothing in the top of the fifth, but Ureña wasn’t done putting Rangers on base in the bottom of the inning. Lowe walked, Garcia singled, then Dahl doubled to score Lowe. It was the end of the night for Ureña, whose final line was 4,2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 84 pitches. Buck Farmer came on in relief to end the inning.
In the top of the sixth the Tigers proved to still have some pep in their step with a Jake Rogers solo home run, and suddenly things didn’t look quite so bleak with only a three-run gap. Farmer had a nice, clean bottom of the inning, retiring the Rangers in order.
Things broke open for the Tigers in the seventh. Cabrera took his second walk of the night, then Candelario reached on an infield single. With two men on, Eric Haase took over for Mazara, and hit a three-run home run to tie the game. Rogers got himself a nice triple, as if gunning for a cycle in extras, but no further runs scored.
Daniel Norris came on in the bottom of the seventh, but you’d be forgiven for missing it if you ran to get a drink. A Garcia single, followed by a Gallo single, and Norris was soon gone, replaced by Joe Jimenez. With two men on, Hicks hit a perfectly placed single to left, which was bobbled by Haase, scoring Garcia and Gallo, and Hicks ended up on third. Then Dahl doubled to score Hicks. The Rangers ended the inning up 8-5.
In the top of the eighth Grossman got on base again with a walk, but sadly no one was able to bring him home. The bottom of the inning saw Bryan Garcia take over pitching duties, then give up a solo home run to Brock Holt. Play paused briefly for someone running on the field. Then Garcia lobbed a home run off Garcia and the Rangers had themselves a five-run lead.
In the top of the ninth the Tigers had their last chance to make a miracle happen. Short got a one-out walk, but unfortunately the Tigers couldn’t find their miracle, and the Rangers took the win.
Final: Rangers 10, Tigers 5