The Tigers survived a whole lot more drama than they probably wanted Friday night, holding off the Pirates 8-7 in the opener of the series.
For a team that wasn’t playing for postseason position, the weekend still carried some weight. Fans were in the building to celebrate the final weekend of Justin Verlander’s career, and the Tigers clearly wanted the night to feel like more than just another September game.
Jackson Jobe got the start for Detroit, with Bubba Chandler taking the ball for Pittsburgh. And in a nice touch, Verlander used part of his farewell speech to recognize former teammate and Pirates manager Don Kelly.
The game opened quietly enough. Pittsburgh went down 1-2-3 in the first, and Detroit answered with an inning of its own that ended without a baserunner.
The Pirates struck first in the second. Oneil Cruz worked a leadoff walk, then swiped second for his 30th steal of the season.
Ryan O’Hearn followed with a single to drive him in, and after the second out, Spencer Horwitz doubled home another run. Jobe escaped the inning there, but Detroit was staring at a two-run hole.
The Tigers answered fast. Eduardo Valencia drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning, and with two outs Brett Callahan singled to move him to third. Then Spencer Torkelson sent a triple into play - his first of the season - and suddenly Detroit had cut the deficit in half.
That was just the start of the Tigers’ big inning. In the third, Kevin McGonigle walked with two outs, Valencia singled him to third, and Riley Greene followed with another walk.
Dillon Dingler then punched a single through to bring in two runs and flip the game. Callahan walked to load the bases again, and Torkelson struck out, only for the third strike to get away.
That wild pitch brought home two more runs and chased Bubba Chandler from the game.
Detroit kept piling on in the sixth. By then Jobe was finished after 5.1 innings, and his line was a strong one: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K on 86 pitches.
Drew Sommers took over and finished the inning after allowing a walk to Nick Gonzales. In the bottom half, Valencia walked again - his seventh of the night - Greene singled, and Dingler reached on a fielder’s choice that included a throwing error, allowing another run to score and pushing the Tigers ahead 7-2.
Torkelson then added more in the seventh, leading off with a solo homer. That left him just a single shy of the cycle. John Peck followed with a single of his own and advanced on a wild pitch, but Detroit couldn’t tack on anything else.
The Pirates made it nerve-racking in the eighth. Konnor Griffin was hit by a pitch to start the frame, but Lowe grounded into a double play.
Then the bats came alive: Bryan Reynolds walked, Cruz and Gonzales hit back-to-back singles, O’Hearn added another RBI single, and Rafael Flores Jr. launched a homer to suddenly turn it into a one-run game. Tyler Holton came in and ended the inning there.
Detroit had a chance to answer in the bottom of the eighth when Valencia opened with a double off Brandon Eisert, but the Tigers couldn’t cash it in - and Torkelson never got the single he needed for the cycle.
Kenley Jansen took the ninth and shut the door in order, locking down win 498 for the Tigers.
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