I’m not sure if I’ve ever known of a baseball game to go anywhere near this late. Of course the first thing I said to myself was, “I wonder if they have to stop selling beer at the ballpark at 2:00am?” You would think so, but I doubt the situation has ever arisen before. Either way, it was a great game.
They needed the win obviously, but it was more than a win they got. They showed intestinal fortitude. With Magglio on 3rd and one out, it looked to be just about over. Then Torre does the smart thing and intentionally walks Pudge and Rayburn to bring up Brandon Inge with the bases loaded. Not only is Inge the worst hitter on the Tigers, but it also allows for a force out at home to save the run, or a double play to end the inning. Watching Brandon Inge walk to the plate with the fate of the Tigers on his shoulders was nerve wracking. But Brandon got a helluva rip on the ball, and Andy Phillips made one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen a first baseman make. I can’t fault Inge for that one, he did everything he was supposed to do.
I can fault Cameron Maybin, though. I’ve never seen somebody go down swinging as much as he does. With two outs and bases loaded, he did it again.
But none of that matters right now, because instead of it disheartening the Tigers, they came right back in the 11th, and answered. After Polanco got caught up in a weird, hand-in-the-cookie-jar, half attempted steal, half misscommunicated hit and run, something or other, Casey came through with a hit. Then Magglio pulled out the 9-iron and chipped a single in to move Casey over to third. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a bat swung like that, except in a backyard game of whiffle ball – but apparently that’s just how easy it is. And then…
Latest Finish to a Baseball Game Ever
After all of the missed chances, Carlos Guillen hits a walk-off homerun! You would think that type of a win will mean so much more than it otherwise would have. Perhaps this is what this ballclub needed. We’ll see how things play out this weekend, but it just seems to have breathed some much needed life into this ballclub. And to think that it happened at 3:30am.
Andrew Miller struggled as usual, but the bullpen was fantastic!. Byrdak, Grilli, Seay, Rodney and Durbin were lights out. They are what gave the Tigers a chance to win. Fernando Rodney had Jeter and A-Rod looking like little leaguers.
Another key was their patience at the plate. Although ESPN will no doubt show Magglio and Granderson both going 4 for 6, and of course Guillen’s walk-off, what was equally important was 8 Tiger walks. Although the bottom of the order didn’t hit, they were always on base, allowing Granderson to collect all those RBI’s.
They seem to be putting most of it together, but they need to show some consistency. If they lose tomorrow, it will be much harder to build on this type of a potentially momentum changing win.
Bonderman’s performance tommorow will be key to what the Tigers can do. If he goes out there and gets shelled for 6 runs in the first inning like it seems he always does, he will possibly single handedly crush the Tigers chances of building this into a great September run. But the Tigers know he is horrible, in fact, downright awful in the first inning. If he comes out and dominates like we know he can, the other Tigers will see it as an omen, and the March towards October will finally be under way.
Make it happen Jeremy.
