On Thursday, the Detroit Tigers hosted the Tampa Bay Rays for the third and final time of 2024, in a crucial game for the Tigers. Detroit’s fans love meaningful September baseball, and they snowed up. There’s nothing more electric than a packed ballpark, except for the team’s City Connect jersey, and Comerica Park was rocking Thursday afternoon.
Reese Olson, rosy cheeks and all, started the game for the Tigers, while former Tiger Tyler Alexander got the nod for the Rays.
The game started quietly enough, for two innings, at least. In the top of the third, Brandon Lowe muscled out a two-run single to get the Rays on the board, 2-0. In the top of the fifth, after Casey Mize replaced Olson, a triple from Taylor Walls and a wild pitch led to the third and final Rays run, setting the score at 3-0.
Alexander, meanwhile cruised through five, striking out six, before turning the game over to the bullpen. Without Alexander, the Rays began to falter. A run-scoring triple from Colt Keith before Matt Vierling singled trimmed the Rays lead to one after six innings, at 3-2.
After a fruitless seventh inning, Keith came up big again, this time with a run-scoring single that both tied the game at three and also moved Vierling over to third base. Fellow rookie and pinch hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy then hit a fly ball to center field that not a lot of runners would’ve been able to score on, but Vierling was able to beat the throw and turn Malloy’s routine out into the game-winning RBI.
Jason Foley did have to close out the top of the ninth, and the flame-throwing sinker baller did just that, barely breaking a sweat en route to a Tigers win.
Coupled with the Minnesota Twins loss in extra innings, the Tigers have to win just one game against the Chicago White Sox to secure a playoff spot.
