HOUSTON — Just the fourth game of the year. First win. You are darn right they celebrated.
Because this was worth celebrating.
So music blared, and beer went flying in the Detroit Tigers clubhouse, and so did some milk.
“Everything you can think of pretty much,” Garrett Hill said, after he overcame some shaking knees and earned a save in the Tigers’ stunning 11-inning 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. “Yeah, it was awesome.”
Yes, it was just one game. But suddenly, everything seemed lighter. Everything seemed brighter.
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“That’s a huge one for us,” Matt Vierling said.
Because you have to consider who they beat — the reigning World Series champions, who had dominated the Tigers all seven times they played last season.
You have to consider the mood around this team before this game — the Tigers were swept in by the Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida, while playing a brand of painful, miserable, forgettable, lifeless baseball.
You have to consider how they won this game. They seemed to win it, then lose it, only to claw back and win it again, showing resilience and fight.
“I felt like we had to win that game a few times but we hung in there had a really good night,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Hanging in against that team, when they made a late push at home, is a good sign.”
Yes, there were good signs all over this game.
But here was the best one: There was a long list of players who did something to win this game.
It was a pure team win.
Vierling to the rescue
It all started with Vierling, a guy who played for the Philadelphia Phillies last year.
Vierling had four hits, including the homer in the 11th inning that gave the Tigers the lead.
“It’s a pretty good team over there obviously,” Vierling said. “We were able to compete to the very end and beat them, so I think that’s a huge one for us.”
As he spoke, his locker reeked of beer.
That celebration shower went everywhere.
For good reason.
“You beat a good team like that and you compete with them to the very end, it shows a lot of character,” Vierling said.
It reminded him of something.
This is exactly what the Phillies did last season when they got hot and made the World Series.
“You kind of build up throughout the year,” he said. “I felt like last year with Philly, we did that so much. And then it ended up building into the postseason. So hopefully this is the start of it.”
That’s the trick. Don’t do it once. Stack these games together.
And you do that not just with hitting, or good pitching, but with defense.
Which brings us back to Vierling.
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He also made a diving catch that saved a couple of runs.
“I love the route he took on that ball,” Hinch said. “I love the guts to dive after it, to not play it safe.”
Before that play, Vierling told center fielder Riley Greene he was gonna cheat in, trying to take away the line drive. So Greene busted his butt, trying to back him up.
“I don’t think I’ve ever run that fast to back someone else before,” Greene said. “He got a really good jump on it, right off the bat.”
Greene himself played a huge role Monday night, homering to the opposite field in the seventh inning.
“It brings the morale way up here,” Greene said, lifting his hand. “We really needed this one. I feel like we won that one as a team.”
This game didn’t wipe away everything that went wrong in Florida, and it didn’t turn the Tigers into a World Series contender. But it was filled with lessons.
Pushing all the right buttons
Hinch was a wizard in how he managed this game.
He put in Ryan Kreidler to play second base, and there was Kreidler, turning a double play.
Hinch turned to Mason Englert — a Rule 5 draft pick last winter, with no experience above Double-A — in crunch time, and Englert responded with three brilliant, scoreless innings: just two hits and no walks.
“He pitched efficient and fearless,” Hinch said. “This is a tough place to pitch. It’s a tough lineup to face. And he continued to be pretty resilient in the strike zone. So, I commend him. I want more of that.”
No doubt.
In the 11th, Hinch turned to Hill, who was so nervous, with the entire game on his shoulders, adrenaline rushing through his body, that his knees were shaking. But he got through it. Got through it fine for his first career save.
“That was some of the most fun baseball I’ve ever been a part of,” Hill said.
It’s foolish to draw conclusions after the three losses in Florida.
And its foolish to draw conclusions after one win in Texas.
But here’s the most important thing: These young Tigers can learn from a game like this.
Shoot, they can learn just watching the Astros, a team that is unrelenting.
I swear, it felt like Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez and Jose Abreu were coming up every other inning. But the Tigers matched that resolve on Monday night.
“You gotta keep playing,” Hinch said. “It’s a good win because a lot of people contributed. It’s a good win against a good team in a tough ballpark. But we’ll come back and get an opportunity to do it again tomorrow.”
If the Tigers can capture the fearlessness that Vierling showed on defense.
If they can hold onto the fearlessness that Englert and Hill showed on the mound.
If all these young players can taste some success and grow from it.
If they can keep fighting, like Greene did in hammering a ball to the opposite field.
If they can string together hits.
If they can start stacking games like this.
They are gonna run outta beer.
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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.