And if you thought Saturday’s game reminded you of a game in 2004, yesterday’s game reminded you of that whole series! Three ninth-inning rallies in as many games to win the set! I mean, what? You’re not supposed to have two walkoffs for two straight wins. That’s unbelievable. Unless you’re the Boston Red Sox, of course. Then it’s entirely believable.
I guess that’s the team’s way of telling us that the standings may look bad but we’ll be alright.
Buchholz delivered a most excellent start. He tossed a full eight, gave up two runs on three hits, walked four, and struck out five on 109 pitches. He walked more than usual, but because his outing was so long, he made it work. Four walks over eight innings is about one walk every two innings. You’d rather not have him walk anybody, but that’s not terrible by any means.
He threw a good fastball, and his changeup and slider were decent. He only allowed two runners to move into scoring position during his entire outing. His worst inning for pitch count was the fifth when he threw seventeen; his best was the eighth with seven. Which is why he came out to pitch the ninth.
Those two runs he gave up were scored by his runners, but they weren’t given up on his watch. Heading into the ninth inning, Buchholz had pitched fourteen and one-third scoreless frames. But he opened the ninth by giving up a single and a walk. That’s when he was relieved by Paps.
Meanwhile, the bottom of the order had built a three-zip lead. Patterson hit an RBI single in the second, and in the third after two walks we added two with Beltre’s RBI single and Kalish’s sac fly. Verlander threw thirty-one pitches in the second and seventy-five through his first three innings.
Special thanks to Youk for preserving that lead with a perfect lunging grab of a line drive in the fifth that probably would have scored the runner from second.
And you would think that a three-run lead would be safe with a closer. Usually it is. Yesterday it wasn’t. Paps allowed both of his inherited runners and one of his own to score, tying it up. Which was infuriating. You’re not supposed to rely on the walkoff because the walkoff is unreliable. It’s there if you absolutely need it, but it’s better to not need it at all. Paps eventually picked up the win, which is terrible because there’s no way he deserved it over Buchholz and there’s definitely no way Buchholz deserved a no decision, but he also picked up a blown save, his fifth of the season, which he earned one hundred and ten percent. He blew it big time. Regardless of the outcome of the game, he blew it.
Luckily, the Tigers didn’t want to win too badly after all. Lowrie reached on an infield single to start things off and came out for McDonald to run. Patterson walked. Scutaro laid down a bunt, and Weinhardt picked it up but threw it down the first base line. McDonald scored on the error.
There are few things better in baseball than watching your team, tired and dirty from hustle and grit, mobbing after a hard-earned win. And I’m thinking we’ve pretty much got to be the best comeback team ever. First 2004, then 2007, then almost in 2008, then the last game of the ALDS in 2009, and don’t forget all these regular season contests. I watched that bunt go down, I saw Weinhardt pick it up, and I said to myself that’s it. We’re done. The game is over. Because what are the chances he’d actually miss that throw and give us the win? It just goes to show you that you always have to believe. It was wild. And it was awesome.
It was our first walkoff on an error since we beat the Orioles on September 3, 2008. I’m telling you, the Tigers gift-wrapped the ninth all three of these games. We didn’t open the first one, but we sure did open the last two.
Beltre finished the night two for four. That’s his thirty-ninth multihit game this season, a team high. Lowrie went two for three; it’s like he never left. And Scutaro went two for five and is currently creeping his batting average up to .300.
So we no longer have to talk about scoring at most four runs in however many games. Now we can say we scored eight runs in the ninth innings alone of our last three! It doesn’t get much better than that. Those kinds of wins are great for morale and the win column. What could be better? It’s good to know you’ve got a team on your hands with a lot of character and a lot of resilience. We of all people should know how useful the walkoff skill is in the playoffs. All we have to do now is get there. And I have a feeling that these two series will play a very important part in that. What a great way to start the month of August. Yup, it’s August already; only two months until October. Speaking of 2007, Cleveland is coming to town tonight. So let’s get cracking.
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