Max Clark pulls through on field and at bat in Tigers’ win

Despite a rough latter half of the game, the Tigers beat the Pirates 8-5.

After limping their way through a no-good-very-bad weekend series against the White Sox, the Tigers were hoping for a better result as they headed to Pittsburgh. The home of a bunch of yellow bridges, Primanti Brothers sandwiches, and the best view in baseball, the Tigers would have to best their NL rivals and they picked a good time to do it with Paul Skenes slumping terribly and the Pirates, but the Pirates actually have a nearly identical record to the Tigers at the moment, so truly no one knows how this road trip is going to pan out. The Tigers had Framber Valdez on the mound, up against Carmen Mlodzinski for the Pirates.

Gleyber Torres took a leadoff walk in the first to start the game. With two outs, Colt Keith singled, then Zach McKinstry singled to bring Torres home. A Hao-Yu Lee single then brought Keith in and the Tigers were up 2-0 at the turnover of the first.

Valdez made short work of the Pirates in the home half, getting them out in order.

In the second, with two outs, Torres singled. Kevin McGonigle then homered, quickly doubling the Tigers’ run count. Dillon Dingler singled, but the Tigers weren’t able to bring in any additional runs.

Nick Gonzalez took a leadoff walk for the Pirates in the bottom of the inning. Brandon Lowe then singled to put two on. The Tigers got the next three outs in order, including one magnificent catch from Max Clark.

In the top of the third, Lee got a one-out single. Then with two outs, Clark singled. Unfortunately, even with two runners on, the Tigers weren’t able to add to their lead. The Pirates went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

For obvious reasons the Pirates dipped into their bullpen early, turning things over to Isaac Mattson in the fourth. Dingler got a two-out walk, but the Tigers left him stranded. In the home half, Lowe got a two-out single, but a strikeout ended the inning.

McKinstry got the fifth going with a leadoff double. Lee then drew a walk. As both runners tried to advance, McKinstry was caught at third, but Lee reached second safely. Newbie Brett Callahan reached thanks to a fielding error and Lee advanced to third. Max Clark then singled, bringing Lee home.

Jake Mangum got a leadoff walk to start the home half. Nick Yorke followed that with a single. Henry Davis hit into a force out, but with an assist from a Lee error, Mangum scored and Yorke was out at second. The Pirates were on the board. Originally Jared Triolo was ruled as hitting into a double play, but a review overturned that call pretty quickly and the Tigers had to settle for just one out. The final out came on another strikeout, a rarity for Valdez, but do what works.

Yohan Ramírez was the new pitcher for the sixth. McGonigle singled, then a wild pitch allowed him to advance to second. With one out, Keith walked, then McKinstry walked to load the bases. Lee walked, bringing in a run. Then Callahan singled, bringing in two more runs.

In the home half Gonzales doubled. Then with two outs, Rafael Flores Jr. walked. Jake Mangum then walked to load the bases. A Yorke double then cleared the bases, so all those early runs were probably good. That was it for Valdez who was replaced by Kyle Finnegan. Henry Davis then singled, scoring another run. I don’t know the numbers off the top of my head for how many times this season the Tigers have blown a substantial lead in the sixth or seventh inning, but it’s definitely more than once. As that was the last of Valdez’s baserunners, his final line was 5.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K on 91 pitches. He started out decently but the wheels fell off in a grand fashion as the game proceeded. I’m not a baseball manager but I feel like, perhaps, middle relief might be a better option for Valdez. The Tigers finally got out of the inning but the damage was certainly done.

Kirby Yates was the new Pirates pitcher for the seventh. He got the Tigers out in order. Esmerlyn Valdez reached thanks to a fielding error by Javier Baez. Gonzales walked, and that was it for Finnegan, who was replaced by Drew Sommers. Sommers induced a groundout, then struck out the final batter to escape the inning with no damage done. Phew.

Gregory Soto, a familiar face for Tigers’ fans, was the next out of the Pittsburgh bullpen. McKinstry and Lee singled back-to-back. But Soto got the final two outs and sent the Tigers back to the dugout. The home half started with a single for Mangum, but the Tigers challenged the call, and after review it seemed clear that Sommers, who was covering first, did get his cleat on the bag before Mangum reached, and the call was overturned. The next two batters struck out.

Camilo Doval came in for the ninth. Javier Baez was hit by a pitch, then Torres walked. McGonigle grounded into a double play, and a Dingler popout ended the inning with no additional runs scored, so it would be up to Kenley Jansen to keep the Tigers in the lead. Jansen was in fine form and got through the bottom of the inning with no major drama to secure the Tigers’ win.

Final: Tigers 8, Pirates 5