The Tigers inch one step closer to the postseason.
Happy early game day, friends! With heavy rain in the forecast the baseball gods decided to move today’s outing against the Rays up to the afternoon, and then the weather gods mocked them by raining enough to force the start back an hour. However nothing would stop the Tigers from their quest for the postseason, and the show must go on.
Today’s outing saw Tarik Skubal up against Ryan Pepiot, and a Tigers’ lineup stacked with lefties to take on Pepiot’s fastball.
The game was certainly not one with an early score from either side. In the top of the first, the Rays settled for a Jonny DeLuca walk and nothing else. And the Tigers did much the same with a two-out walk from Wenceel Perez.
In the top of the first, base-stealing threat Jose Caballero got a one-out single. He then got caught stealing whilst Ben Rortvedt struck out, to end the inning. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the home half.
The third inning was 1-2-3 for both sides.
The Rays continued the trend with a three-up, three-down top of the fourth. Wenceel Perez was once again the sole baserunner in the bottom of the inning, with another walk. No runs scored.
In the fifth, Rortvedt got a two-out single, but was left stranded. Trey Sweeney got a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, then Jake Rogers singled. Parker Meadows then walked on what honestly was a razor-thin margin of a check swing that went in the Tigers’ favor. The bases were loaded for Wenceel Perez. Perez fought an epic at-bat to get a ground-rule double and drive in two runs.
The Rays went down in order in the top of the sixth. Pepiot’s day was over after five, giving way to Colin Poche, who got the Tigers out in order.
The seventh was another 1-2-3 for the Rays, and the end of the day for Skubal, with a season high 103 pitches. His final line for the day was 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. Now let’s hope we don’t see him again until game one of the Wild Card series. Mason Montgomery was next out of the Rays’ pen and got the Tigers out 1-2-3.
Beau Brieske was in off the Tigers’ bench to replace Skubal, and set the Rays down in order. In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers went down in order.
In the top of the ninth with two outs, Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run to dampen the mood of the local crowd. But Brieske got the final out to clinch the Tigers’ win.
Final: Tigers 2, Rays 1