The Detroit Tigers secured an 11-6, rain-shortened win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park on Saturday.
Hinch’s unconventional tactics pay off
Manager AJ Hinch made unconventional moves during the game. Hinch pinch-hit for one of the Tigers’ hottest hitters in the fourth inning after he’d already delivered two hits. Hinch said, “It’s part of how this team is built.”
Colt Keith’s third at-bat came around with one out in the fourth inning and the Tigers were up 6-0. Parker Meadows was at third and the Cardinals summoned lefty reliever Justin Bruihl to face the lefty-swinging Keith. Hinch sent up right-handed hitter Matt Vierling, who delivered a sacrifice fly. This scored what for a few innings looked to be an important run. The move also allowed the Tigers to play with their best outfield defense for the remainder of the game, with Vierling in right, Meadows in center and Riley Greene in left. Zach McKinstry moved from right field to replace Keith at third base.
“We have a massive strength in Matty V.,” Hinch said. “I talked to Colt in the dugout and I didn’t even have to. He totally understands how we’re trying to win.”
Keith was the first person to greet Vierling in the dugout after the sacrifice fly. He was there in the celebration line later when Vierling clubbed an opposite-field, two-run home run in the eighth.
“Our guys are all-in,” Hinch said. “That’s why I love them.”
Offensive highlights despite weather delays
The game itself, with 12 walks and six hit-batsmen and a ninth-inning rain delay, wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. The Tigers don’t care about style points.
“Amazing,” said Kerry Carpenter, who kick-started the offense with an opposite-field, two-run homer in the first. “If it was up to us hitters, we’d put up 11 runs every game, but of course it doesn’t always go like that. It was nice to give our pitchers some breathing room. Whatever we can do to help them. They’ve bailed us out a lot.”
McKinstry, Gleyber Torres and Vierling also hit home runs. The Tigers scored in five of their eight innings. Meadows had a pair of hits and a walk.
Rain brings early end to proceedings
The game was played in a steady rain from the seventh inning on. It was coming down hard with one out in the top of the ninth when umpire crew Mark Wegner called for the tarp. The infield was soaked through.
After about a 30-minute delay, the game was called.
“We talked about the small window we had to work on the field combined with the forecast that was ahead and no assurance that there was going to be more time to play,” Hinch said. “You can’t just get back on the field and play with the way that field was.”
“It’s whatever is in the best interest of player safety.”
Flaherty struggles with command
It was a tough day for Tigers starter Jack Flaherty, who, despite the big lead, never was able to lock in his command. He walked four and hit three, a feat no Tigers pitcher had done since 1925.