The Detroit Tigers are in contention, in the hunt, so close they can smell it; pick your verbiage, it fits the situation. The atmosphere in Comerica Park Tuesday was probably the best since 2016- in noise and in silence, at appropriate times if the Tigers wind up with a home playoff game that’s a big if the crowd will be more electric than the blue on the City Connects.
Ace pitcher, Cy Young favorite, and current Triple Crown leader Tarik Skubal started for the Tigers in their series-opening game against the Tampa Bay Rays, and, boy oh boy, does he deserve a crown. He threw seven full innings without giving up a run while striking out seven batters and limiting the Rays to just two singles and a walk.
Ryan Pepiot, the starter for the Rays was good, surviving through five innings, and holding the Tigers to just two runs. A decent outing, though with two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth inning, rookie Wenceel Perez lined a two-run ground-rule double into the right-field corner that probably would’ve scored a third runner had it not hopped over the wall.
Perez played the key in the door to the Tigers offense, and he also was the biggest reason for Pepiot’s early exit. The two-run double may have been the final domino for the Rays, but Perez’s two earlier at-bats, both ending in a walk, loomed large. Between the three at-bats against Pepiot, Perez saw 26 total pitches, plus the pitches he generated by not getting out.
With the Tigers winning 2-0 after the seventh inning, ever frisky, though recently dominant Beau Brieske, came out of the ‘pen for the top of the eighth inning. The eighth was not a problem for Beau, and so he pitched the ninth too. He got the first two outs quickly, though Brandon Lowe hit a home run to halve the Tigers’ two-run lead. Brieske bounced back with a quick strikeout and a key win.
After passing the Minnesota Twins in the standings this weekend, the Tigers are currently in the playoff picture and still looking to move up.
