'It's just all about winning': Tigers pull out another nailbiter on Opening Day, sit at 6-1
Tony Paul
Detroit — It's been tight, and it's been all right.
The Tigers continued their mastery of close ballgames early here in 2024, with Gio Urshela's two-out, opposite-field double into the corner, breaking an eighth-inning tie. The bullpen held up yet again, as Detroit held on for yet another win-by-a-whisker, this one over the Oakland A's, 5-4, before a capacity and rowdy crowdy of 44,711 on Opening Day at Comerica Park.
Spencer Torkelson led off the eighth inning with a sharp double to left, then stayed there as Riley Greene and Mark Canha struck out, before Urshela came up clutch against the A's fifth pitcher of the day, reliever Lucas Erceg (0-1).
The Tigers improved to 6-1, with four of those wins by one run, and the other two coming in extra innings.
"It's a dangerous way to live," manager AJ Hinch said. "You've gotta stack wins when you have the opportunity.
"We do have a resilient group. This has been a good streak of pretty good baseball."
Detroit won for the 13th time in its last 16 openers at Comerica Park, thanks to two guys playing in their first Opening Day in Detroit with the Tigers: Canha, who hit a big — in feet, and consequence — home run, and Urshela, who now has eight hits through his first four games as a Tiger, after signing earlier this year to help fill a void at third base — in a blip transaction that was as light on dollars ($1.5 million) as it was light on attention.
Then, again, there was the mighty, mighty bullpen, which pieced together another 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball. The Tigers' bullpen now has an ERA of 0.93.
With two on in the ninth inning, Alex Lange got the only batter he faced for the final out — and his first save of the season — with leadoff man Zack Gelof chasing a curveball low and away for the strikeout, kicking off the celebration in downtown Detroit.
Lange was summoned after Andrew Chafin got the first two outs, sandwiched around a pair of walks. Jason Foley (2-0) was dominant in a 4-4 tie in the top of the eighth, with two strikeouts. He needed just nine pitches to make it through the heart of the A's lineup.
Box score:Tigers 5, A's 4
"I just know, six wins and one loss right now," said Torkelson, who had a pair of hits. "It feels good, honestly, yeah. But a lot of season left. It's still only been seven games. We've still got 155 more.
"A lot of season left, but we're in a good spot."
Only the Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers have a single loss. The homeless A's, playing in Oakland this year, Sacramento in the coming years, and eventually, Las Vegas, are 1-7.
Oakland got impressive work out of left-handed starter JP Sears early, as he cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit. The second time through, though, it went south, and fast. The Tigers took the early 3-0 lead in the fourth, sparked by Matt Vierling's leadoff homer to left, at 107 mph off the bat. That made for the first raucous, reactionary roar at Comerica Park in 2024.
"It's awesome to hear (the fans) go nuts," Vierling said. "It felt great. It's kind of why I want to play the game, just the energy that the crowd brings, the competition, everything like that."
Andy Ibañez, starting over Colt Keith with a lefty starter on the mound, followed with a single, and came home on Torkelson's double. Greene then drove in Torkelson with an opposite-field single.
A's starter JP Sears needed 31 pitches in the fourth inning, and then he was tagged for a long home run to left field by Mark Canha in the sixth. Canha blasted it 414 feet to left field and then gave a frozen stare to what seemed to be Oakland's dugout. He said afterward there was no ill intent there, and that he just got caught up in the moment, and the buzz of Opening Day.
"It's easy to get up for Opening Day," said Canha, acquired this offseason in a trade with the Brewers. "That's about as good as I can hit a ball. That's the best feeling you can have in baseball, is when you hit a ball like that.
"It's been a while."
That homer, Canha's second as a Tiger, gave Detroit back the lead, 4-3, after its early 3-0 advantage slipped away.
Tarik Skubal, pitching Opening Day in Detroit after pitching the season opener against the Chicago White Sox last week, started super strong before the A's tagged him in the sixth inning, with Brent Rooker hitting a two-run homer to left for the first runs against Skubal this season. After a home run by Abraham Toro and a four-pitch walk to JJ Bleday, Skubal left with one out in the seventh, covering his mouth with his glove, unhappy with how things unfolded, even though the crowd was appreciative, with a nice ovation.
He went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits, while striking out nine. He was feeling it early. After the sixth strikeout — Shea Langeliers to end the fourth inning — Skubal darn near moonwalked off the mound. He walked two. Skubal threw 92 pitches, 62 for strikes. Clearly, he wanted to go more.
"My goal was to eat as many innings as I possibly could to take the wear off the bullpen," said Skubal, among the American League favorites for Cy Young. "Because they've been doing a great job."
That continued again Friday, with four relievers blanking the A's.
Skubal was relieved by Will Vest, who allowed a double to pinch-hitter Ryan Noda to put runners at second and third with one out. Nick Allen followed with a shot that Ibañez speared at second base. Ibanez didn't have time to make a throw to the plate, so he settled for the out at first, allowing the tying run to score. But his fine play on the ball prevented the go-ahead run from scoring.
And that paved the way for more heroics from the Tigers, who don't have a lot of hits, but have a lot of timely hits.
"I don't think it's ever easy," Torkelkson said. "It's just all about winning, whether it's by 10 runs or one run.
"We really don't care, at the end of the day."
@tonypaul1984