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| Paws celebrates win over TB Rays 2409.26. |
The Detroit Tigers are the hottest team in Baseball since early August.
One reason for their success is a consistent record at home [42-36] and on the road [43-38].
Detroit Tigers get another loss from Twins, now 1 win from AL wild-card playoff berth
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2024/09/26/detroit-tigers-one-win-away-from-1st-mlb-playoff-berth-since-2014/75403537007/
And then, finally, after 13 innings in Minneapolis, the Detroit Tigers’ magic number was … one.
The Minnesota Twins lost to the Miami Marlins, 8-6, in extras at home on Thursday night to fall a full three games behind the Tigers and the Kansas City Royals in the American League wild-card playoff chase. (The Tigers and Royals, who both won Thursday, are tied for the second and third wild-card berths, with the Royals owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.)
Minnesota’s loss Thursday means the Tigers can clinch their first postseason berth since the 2014 season — and end MLB’s longest active playoff drought — as early as Friday night with a win against the Chicago White Sox in Detroit. The game at Comerica Park is set to begin at 6:40 p.m. (Bally Sports Detroit). The Tigers have three games in total against the White Sox, with matinees Saturday (1:10 p.m.) and Sunday (3:10 p.m.) to end the regular season at home. The Tigers are 9-1 this season against the White Sox, with series sweeps in March (three games) and August (four games).
Even with a loss, the Tigers could clinch a playoff berth with another loss by the Twins, who begin a three-game series against the AL wild-card leaders, the Baltimore Orioles, at 7:40 p.m. in Minneapolis. The O’s lead the Tigers and Royals by three games. Below them, the Twins have the tiebreaker against both the Tigers and the Royals, meaning they're in if they win all three games over the weekend and either the Royals or Tigers lose all three. A three-way tie for the final two wild-card berths would send the Twins and Royals to the postseason and the Tigers home for the fall.SHAWN WINDSOR:Tigers on verge of doing something no Detroit sports team has done in a generation
The White Sox are playing to avoid the worst record in MLB history. Since passing the 2003 Tigers for the most losses in AL history (119) and tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in modern baseball history (120) on Sunday, the White Sox have won three straight games.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41329513/mlb-2024-detroit-tigers-al-central-wild-card-playoff-race-contention
How Detroit Tigers roared into 2024 MLB playoff contention
Minutes before the MLB trade deadline in July, the Detroit Tigers shipped out their fourth player of the week and arguably the best to move across the entire sport when they dealt right-hander Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Tigers proceeded to lose six of their next nine games. At 55-63 with barely a quarter of the season left, Detroit looked more or less like it has every year since Tarik Skubal joined the team in 2020: entirely forgettable.
Six weeks later, after securing another victory in a season that will end with him winning his first Cy Young Award, Skubal craned his neck in a half-moon to survey the Tigers' clubhouse. He saw the members of MLB's youngest everyday lineup and a patchwork pitching staff that has made the bullpen game into art. He was staring at a team that's now tied for the American League's final wild-card spot, a rise that has stunned the game -- and even one of the people at the heart of the surge.
"It's not traditional, and maybe not sustainable, but who cares?" Skubal said. "We need to win now."
The Tigers own a 25-10 record since Aug. 11, the best in baseball, with a major league-leading plus-62 run differential. The Tigers are winning close games (10-2 in one-run games), they are winning road games (12-5) and they are playing the sort of baseball that manager A.J. Hinch, who knows a thing or two about young, ascendant cores, has been preaching all season.
Left for dead at the deadline, still doubted and dismissed as signs of life turned into much more, the Tigers start their most consequential series in a decade Friday night in Baltimore, where they'll take on an Orioles team that like the other two current wild-card holders, the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins, has spent recent weeks on the struggle bus. Everything has conspired to give Detroit a real path to ending the longest postseason drought in baseball with its first berth since 2014: three games at Camden Yards, three at home against Tampa Bay and a season-ending three-game home set against the worst team in baseball history, the Chicago White Sox.
"We're young and all we want to do is win," said outfielder Riley Greene, who at 23 years old is among the most tenured Tigers. "We'll do whatever it takes."
What it takes is simple: finishing at least one game ahead of Kansas City or Minnesota, which both own tiebreakers over Detroit as determined by head-to-head record. The Royals and Twins did their damage before this incarnation of the Tigers materialized and started running roughshod through the sport. Detroit's sweep of Kansas City this week and Minnesota getting walked off in Cleveland on Wednesday and Thursday left the Tigers and Twins tied at 80-73.
On the surface, none of it makes sense. While their upside made the Tigers a sneaky potential contender in the AL entering the season, they cratered in June. The deadline exodus illustrated Detroit's priorities: As many signs as they had shown, as many we-got-something-here flashes as they had produced, gone were Flaherty, outfielder Mark Canha, reliever Andrew Chafin and catcher Carson Kelly. Generally speaking, teams do not get rid of productive players and then find the best version of themselves.
"I said in July that I thought we were going to get younger and we were going to get better," Hinch said. "And that was not a knock on anyone. We believed in our young players."
The rescue operation in August happened with an infusion of youthful talent over the course of about a week. Two days after a one-run win against San Francisco on Aug. 11, Kerry Carpenter (27), their slugging right fielder who had missed nearly three months with a stress fracture in his back, returned. Three days after that, Detroit called up shortstop Trey Sweeney (24) -- a player they received in the Flaherty deal -- and third baseman Jace Jung (23), another top prospect. A day later, Greene returned from the IL and Spencer Torkelson (25), the 2020 No. 1 draft pick they had demoted, rejoined a lineup filled with other 20-somethings: second baseman Colt Keith (23), outfielders Wenceel Perez (24), Justyn-Henry Malloy (24) and leadoff-hitting center fielder Parker Meadows (24).
"Then we started just rolling from there," said Matt Vierling, who at 27 is regarded as a veteran. "And it hasn't really stopped. This is the first time this group of guys has really tasted this. And I feel like we're just playing with house money. Almost no one thought we'd be here. What have we got to lose? Let's just see how far we can take this thing and keep it going. It kind of reminds me of a couple of years ago."
A couple years ago, Vierling was with a Philadelphia Phillies team that blitzed its way to the 2022 World Series on a wave of talent and vibes. He senses similar juju on this team, a function, he said, of how Hinch manages the roster. Tigers players know that Hinch is going to pinch hit based on matchups (they have the third-most pinch-hit appearances in MLB this year) and use his pitching staff more as out-getters than as traditional starters and relievers.
During their 35-game stretch with baseball's top record, the Tigers' starting pitcher has gone two or fewer innings 40% of the time. The only constants in the rotation have been Skubal -- who is 17-4 with an AL-best 2.48 ERA and has struck out 221 and walked 34 over 185 innings -- and rookie Keider Montero. With right-handers Casey Mize and Reese Olson returning to the rotation from the injured list in the past two weeks, Hinch has not needed to white-knuckle his bullpen decisions quite as much. It has become a simple operation: Whoever is best suited to succeed in a particular spot, you're up.
"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel," Hinch said. "We're just focused on strengths. How do we use what we have best? And we have a lot of pitching. We have arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and we have creativity where we're trying to just maximize what we're doing. I've been there, I've done this, I've seen this. We just have chipped away. We talk about winning series and winning weeks. We generally play good defense. We've got athleticism."
That dynamic ability was front and center in the finale of the Kansas City series, from Meadows tracking down everything in Kauffman Stadium's spacious center field to Jung's acrobatic slide at home to avoid a tag on a play where the ball beat him home by at least 10 feet. "It was just a freak play," Jung said. "If you told me to do it again 100 times, I probably could only do it a couple."
At this point, that's all they need. A lockdown pitching performance here. A clutch hit there. A wild slide. Most of the Tigers are too young to know any different. What they do know is that if they secure that final wild-card slot, it's likely to set up a matchup with the American League West champion Houston Astros, a franchise with which Hinch managed an upstart group of talented young players once upon a time.
"We just play hard every single day," Vierling said. "That's how these guys are brought up. That's how I was brought up. And we're never out of it because of that."
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2024/09/24/detroit-tigers-vs-tampa-bay-rays-score-updates-game-highlights/75364901007/
Detroit Tigers vs. Tampa Bay Rays score: Game recap, highlights from 2-1 win
The Detroit Tigers are one win closer to a playoff appearance.
The Tigers shut down Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1, on Tuesday to kick off the final six-game stretch looking for the first playoff appearance since 2014. The Tigers took the lead thanks to a two-run Wenceel Pérez double in the fifth inning while Tarik Skubal delivered another gem in seven scoreless innings. Beau Brieske got the final six outs and shook off a solo home run in the ninth to finish the save.
The Tigers (83-74) now have a 1½-game lead over the Twins and a half-game lead over the Royals. The Twins play the Miami Marlins at 7:40 and the Royals play the Nationals at 6:45.
The Tigers started Skubal, the American League Cy Young favorite, and the Rays rolled with the right-handed Ryan Pepiot, who gave up the game's only two runs.
Check out the game recap from the Tigers-Rays series opener at Comerica Park.
Detroit Tigers vs. Tampa Bay Rays game recap, highlights
Final: Beau Brieske closes out Rays for 2-1 win
Things got a little nervy late, but Brieske closed out the Rays to move the Tigers one game closer to the playoffs.
Brieske gave up a two-out solo home run to Brandon Lowe with two outs in the ninth, but rebounded to strike out Josh Lowe on a changeup. The Tigers now have a 1½-game lead over the Twins and a half-game lead over the Royals.
End 8th: Tigers enter final inning up 2-0
The Tigers could not add any insurance runs in the later innings but also kept the Rays bats' in check.
Rays reliever Mason Montgomery struck out six straight Tigers' batters in the seventh and eighth innings, and Beau Brieske responded with a scoreless eighth inning of his own that featured two strikeouts. Brieske is staying on the mound to start the 9th with closer Jason Foley also available if needed.
Middle 7th: Tarik Skubal throws 7 scoreless innings; Tigers lead 2-0
Tarik Skubal continues to deliver when it matters most for the Tigers.
Skubal is done for the day after throwing seven scoreless innings on 103 pitches. He ended his day with a 1-2-3 inning with inducing a Johnny DeLuca lineout, a Junior Caminero and striking out Christopher Morel with a 97.1 mph fastball on the outer edge on his final pitch. Skubal stood on the mound and let out a primal roar as Comerica Park gave the ace a standing ovation. He gave up two hits, one walk and struck out seven in what could be his final regular-season start.
Bottom 5th: Wenceel Pérez knocks in two with ground-rule double; Tigers lead 2-0
Pérez got the best of Ryan Pepiot at the end of a nine-pitch battle with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Pérez fouled off three pitches, watched a ball just off the outside corner, then slapped an inside cutter down the right field line that bounced over the fence to score two runs.
The Tigers loaded the bases with a series of great at-bats, capped off by Pérez. Trey Sweeney kicked things off with a one-out walk, followed by a Jake Rogers single and Parker Meadows walk to juice the bases. Meadows had two check-swings that were near strikeouts but held up enough both times to keep the inning alive.
Middle 5th: Skubal strikes out two; Game tied at 0
The Tigers ace brought his best stuff.
Skubal has thrown 73 pitches through five innings with two hits allowed, one walk and six strikeouts. He rung up Christopher Morel with a 96.7 mph fastball at the top of the zone to kick off the inning, then stranded a runner striking out Jose Siri with another high fastball at 97.1 mph.
End 3rd: Tigers held hitless early; Game tied at 0
Ryan Pepiot is dealing early. The Rays' starter has only allowed one baserunner on a first-inning walk to Wenceel Pérez, but has been perfect outside of that. He has struck out five of the 10 batters faced by utilizing an effective fastball-changeup combination.
Thankfully for Detroit, Tarik Skubal also came out dealing. Skubal has allowed two baserunners on a single and walk, but mowed down everyone else. Through three innings, he has four strikeouts on 46 pitches.
Middle 2nd: Tigers execute strike 'em out, throw 'em out; Tied at 0
The Tigers' main battery is responsible for the first highlight. After giving up the first hit of the game, Tarik Skubal froze Ben Rortvedt with a 95 mph sinker at the knees for a strikeout at 3-2, and Jake Rogers rifled a strike to second to catch a stealing José Caballero. Caballero had the first hit with a single to center field.
Start delayed to 2 p.m.
Mother nature is bouncing around the start time. After originally being scheduled for 6:40 p.m. then moved up to 1:10 because of weather concerns, the Tigers had to delay Skubal's first pitch until 2 p.m. The tarp is off now with an overcast sky hanging over downtown.
Pregame notes
To beat out the Minnesota Twins and to make the playoffs, the Tigers' magic number is 6, meaning they need a combination of six wins or losses from the team behind them in the standings — in this case, the Twins — to reach the postseason. The Tigers (82-74) have a one-game lead over the Twins (81-75), a 1½-game lead over the Seattle Mariners, and are tied with the Kansas City Royals for the second AL wild-card spot (with the Royals holding the tiebreaker).
The Tigers must finish one game ahead of the Twins or Royals, who hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series with Detroit 7-6.
The Tigers enter the stretch as one of the hottest teams in baseball with a 13-5-record and five straight series wins in September. A combination of elite pitching and clutch hitting with manager A.J. Hinch pulling the right strings has put them in a strong position. And the Tigers pushed the chips in even further Monday by calling up MLB's top pitching prospect, Jackson Jobe, to join the bullpen for the postseason hunt.
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2024/09/26/detroit-tigers-game-today-score-recap-tampa-bay-rays-colt-keith/75395546007/
Detroit Tigers pull off another rally to stun Rays, 4-3, can clinch playoffs Friday
The Detroit Tigers couldn't get anything going against Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Tyler Alexander.
Alexander, a crafty southpaw who pitched for the Tigers from 2019-23, shoved five scoreless innings with six strikeouts, limiting the Tigers to just four hits.
"We were not finding anything early," manager A.J. Hinch said.
After waiting out Alexander, the Tigers mounted a comeback in the later innings for a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Thursday's finale of a three-game series at Comerica Park, extending their winning streak to five games. The Tigers' magic number — the combination of Tigers wins and Minnesota Twins losses — to clinch a playoff berth is two.
Colt Keith finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
"We love to grind the whole game," Keith said. "Grind out at-bats and go to the end and take the lead. We've done that so many times this year. I love that about us. We never give up."
JEFF SEIDEL:Comerica Park had loudest, most intense crowd of Tigers’ season: ‘It was electric’
The Tigers (85-74) have a 30-11 record in their past 41 games.
"That's a huge win for us, especially how the game started and where we're at in the season," Hinch said. "We know what's at stake. This is an unbelievable experience. We don't want it to stop, and it doesn't have to stop if we can continue to play this way."
Right-handed reliever Jason Foley struck out Jose Siri to complete the sweep, which put the Tigers 2½ games ahead of the Twins in the American League wild-card race, with the Twins (who have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tigers) facing the Miami Marlins on Thursday night.
The Tigers also stayed even with the Kansas City Royals, who finished a sweep of the Washington Nationals on Thursday, for the second AL wild-card spot, but the Royals have the tiebreaker over the Tigers. Wins from the Tigers and Royals eliminated the Seattle Mariners from postseason contention.
On Friday, the Tigers begin a three-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox, who come to town tied for the MLB record of 120 losses but riding a three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Twins host the wild-card leading Baltimore Orioles.
"I know what it feels like to accomplish something," Hinch said, "and I want so desperately for these guys to get to taste it, and we're getting closer and closer by the day."
GET IN NOW:Tigers tickets at Comerica Park: Prices for final 3 games of playoff push vs. White Sox
On Thursday, the Tigers put the finishing touches on their comeback in the eighth inning by scoring two runs off left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger for a 4-3 lead.
Keith tied the game, 3-3, with an RBI single.
"I knew he was going to try to throw a sinker in to try to get me to roll over into the double play," Keith said. "I just really wanted to stay inside of it. That was my plan going into it. He threw those sinkers in, and I checked swing on one, and then the next one was right there on the inner half, and I was able to stay inside of it for a base hit."
At that point, there were runners on the corners with one out for Justyn-Henry Malloy, who pinch-hit for Kerry Carpenter. The Tigers wanted Malloy — instead of Carpenter — against the lefty reliever.
Carpenter understood.
"It always crosses my mind," said Carpenter, hitting .107 in 32 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, "and I know I would have had a really good chance to come through there, too. But I have a bunch of confidence in J-Hen."
The pinch-hit decision worked to perfection, as Malloy hit a sixth-pitch slider to center field. The ball traveled deep enough for Matt Vierling to make it 4-3 with a head-first slide from third base.
Vierling pumped his fist and screamed in celebration.
"I knew I got enough," Malloy said. "I know Siri has a good arm (in center field), but we have (third-base coach) Joey Cora, so he's sending V, and V's got good speed. ... He was safe, and it was like a party in the dugout."
The comeback began in the sixth inning against right-handed reliever Hunter Bigge. Three consecutive Tigers reached safely, all with two outs: Vierling worked a seven-pitch walk, Keith ripped a triple and Carpenter smacked a single.
The triple from Keith and the single from Carpenter drove in one run apiece, cutting the Tigers' deficit to 3-2. Carpenter came off the bench as a pinch-hitter, replacing Spencer Torkelson.
"I think everybody knows that we can get the job done," Carpenter said, "whether it's the hardest righty on Tork or the hardest lefty on me. No one's in there not confident just because we get pinch-hit for. It's just, pass the baton."
Reese Olson starts
Right-hander Reese Olson made his third start since returning from the injured list, increasing his pitch count to 72 pitches. He threw 50 pitches in his first start and 58 pitches in his second start.
"It's a lot of fun to come to the park every day," Olson said.
In his third start, Olson allowed two runs on four hits and zero walks with three strikeouts across four innings. The Rays tagged him for two runs on three singles in the third inning.
HIS TIME:How Jackson Jobe learned he would join Tigers: 'It came out of nowhere'
All three singles were hit past Keith at second base, including Brandon Lowe's two-run single with two outs. The other two hits came from Ben Rortvedt and Taylor Walls.
Olson bounced back by avoiding damage on a one-out single in the fourth inning. The 25-year-old owns a 6.75 ERA across 9⅓ innings in three starts since coming back from a right shoulder strain, which sidelined him for nearly two months.
"I didn't feel very sharp, command-wise, stuff-wise," Olson said. "But I was able to keep us in it enough, so the bullpen could pick me up, and then the boys scored late. I'm happy that I did a good enough job keeping us in the game when I didn't necessarily feel too sharp."
Casey Mize's new role
It was odd to see.
Right-hander Casey Mize worked as a reliever for the first time in his professional career, following 31 starts in the minor leagues and 59 starts in the major leagues. He hadn't pitched out of the bullpen since his freshman season at Auburn in 2016.
"First time in a long time," Mize said.
CALLING ALL FANS:Tigers' Tarik Skubal sends message to fans during postseason push
Eight years later, Mize jogged out of the bullpen for the fifth inning of Thursday's game against the Rays. The 27-year-old gave up one run on three hits and zero walks with four strikeouts across two innings, throwing 39 pitches.
A triple and a wild pitch in the fifth put the Rays ahead, 3-0.
But Mize impressed in the sixth, when he allowed a leadoff double but stranded the runner with three strikeouts in a row: Dylan Carlson (splitter, swinging), Josh Lowe (fastball, swinging) and Siri (fastball, looking).
"Pretty frustrated after the leadoff double," Mize said, "and then I knew I needed to get some miss and execute some pitches. It's such a close game, and I didn't want to put us in a deeper hole than we were in. I was certainly happy to get out of that."
There are so many things to talk about and so many places to start. But really, when you think about it, where do we start ... and what is there to say?
That the Detroit Tigers won again?
Yes, they did, 4-3, over the Tampa Bay Rays.
That they came from behind with two runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth? A three-inning push that began with a two-out, two-strike walk and eventually ended with a sacrifice fly against one of the nastiest relievers in baseball?
ACE HIGH:When will Tarik Skubal pitch next? Detroit Tigers have two dates, but Skubal hopes for one
Yeah, the Tigers just pulled that off and are two wins from the postseason with three games to play. A Minnesota loss on Thursday night would cut the magic number to one, but then, that’s getting ahead of the story.
For the story began in early August, and still, no one can adequately explain it, because sometimes some things just can’t be explained.
“This is an unbelievable experience,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “and we don’t want to stop, and it doesn’t have to stop.”
The Tigers skipper was smiling Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park, and if you looked closely enough, you could see a bit of disbelief in his smile. And why not?
Hinch has been around the game for more than 30 years. He has managed dominant teams and won a World Series, but he has never been a part of something quite like this.
Is there magic involved, someone asked?
“I don’t know,” he said, grinning, “but if so, bottle it up and keep bringing it to the ballpark. We believe ... (and) there’s a renewed energy every single day because of what’s going on and because of what we think we can accomplish. Whether that’s magic, whether that’s momentum, whether that’s mojo, whether that’s vibe ... we love it and we want more of it.”’
Clearly, something is happening here in a way that feels historic. Maybe not to baseball, but certainly to Detroit. Think of another team in this city that has come from so far behind so late in the season to the brink of something ... well, magical.
The Lions of two years ago? When they began 1-6, forced their owner to meet with reporters to give a “there, there” speech and reiterate her belief in the new coach and general manager, and then ripped off eight of the next 10 games?
That’s close, but those Lions narrowly missed the playoffs, because it’s hard to come from so far down. And no team in the last generation of Detroit sports has quite done what the Tigers have a chance to do.
The Tigers are now 30-11 over their past 41 games. That may not be an all-time streak in baseball — heck, the same franchise once famously began the season 35-5 — but this stretch of winning followed several months of losing.
It’s the context that’s so notable. The 35-5 Tigers were good from the start and kept winning until the final game of the season. These Tigers were eight games under .500 entering Aug. 11.
Eight.
On Aug. 10 — 118 games into the season.
And while the players might tell you they never gave up — and obviously, they didn’t — not one of them saw this coming. Do you blame them? How can you see history before it’s made?
Only one team in MLB history has made the postseason after falling eight games below .500 at least 115 games into the season, according to MLB.com: The 1973 New York Mets.
So, fine, the Tigers wouldn’t be the first. But considering MLB is 121 years old, I’d say the Tigers are two wins from history. Not just any old history, though. The kind that grabs a region by its heart and tugs.
Another comeback win? Another one-run win?
The Tigers have played 55 one-run games this season, the most in the majors, the most for the franchise since 1976. They’ve won 31 of those games. More incredibly, they’ve won 13 of their past 15 such games.
Yeah, something is happening.
No wonder Matt Vierling howled as he touched home plate in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday to give the Tigers their first lead of the day. He'd sprinted from third base on a sacrifice fly from by Justyn-Henry Malloy, who’d pinch-hit for Kerry Carpenter, who’d pinch-hit for Spencer Torkelson in the sixth inning and singled in Colt Keith, who’d tripled earlier in the inning to drive home, you guessed it, Vierling.
The same Vierling who stepped to the plate in the sixth with two outs and nobody on, and who drew a walk after falling behind reliever Hunter Bigge. As Hinch later noted, none of his guys try to be the hero. They just want to get on base, or move the runner, or find the green for a single.
That walk started the comeback. His slide into home finished it. After touching the plate, he screamed, hopped to his feet, pumped his fist, and screamed some more. Malloy met him back near home plate.
“I kind of blacked out,” he said.
When he came to, Vierling was “like, in my face. And I was like, ‘Yeah! That’s awesome. Let's go and keep going!’ It was a really cool moment.”
Hinch had told Malloy to be ready before the game. That Tampa had four lefties to throw out there, including starter Tyler Alexander — yes, that Tyler Alexander, who used to pitch here in Detroit. And that at some point he would need Malloy to pinch hit.
He wasn’t sure when. But he knew it was coming.
“It's just this game of chess on a baseball field,” Malloy said of Hinch’s maneuvering, “and it’s awesome. It's really cool to be a part of, to sit back and watch, and when you get your opportunity to go in there. ...”
Well, you get the idea. Stay ready. Be ready. If there is an explanation of this cosmic stretch of baseball, perhaps this is it.
As Malloy said:
“We all want those big spots. No one is afraid of them. Pitchers want the ball. Hitters want to be in the box. I think it’s just a fight at the bat rack.”
And none of them mind, not really. Yes, they want to play. Who wouldn’t? But they accept that there is something unexplainable going on, and they want to be a part of it however, and whenever, they can.
So, Malloy waits his turn. And Carpenter waits his turn. And Casey Mize happily takes the ball in the fifth inning after Reese Olson got the start. And Torkelson cheers from the dugout after he was pulled for Carpenter, who then cheers everyone after he’s pulled for Malloy.
On it goes.
The moves of a maestro. The sound of a symphony, where everyone knows how to play nearly every instrument, and no one quibbles over the position of the chair.
“It’s just a normal part of our game,” Carpenter said. “We know that if we pass the baton to the next guy, (the next guy) has an amazing chance to get the job done.”
Magic?
What else could it be?
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2409.26 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3373 days ago & DAD = 029 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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