A strange drama played out in Comerica Park on Saturday, April 4, as the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-6, in a game that ended in a Tigers’ win – with two outs left in the bottom of the ninth.
As the Tigers tried to hold onto a huge lead and finish this game, a nasty storm was barreling towards Detroit.
It was one eye on the radar – an ugly, ominous blob of blue, purple and yellow was marching across Michigan and heading toward Comerica Park, which is never good when trying to play baseball.
And the other eye on the field. The rain finally arrived in the eighth inning. Fans pulled out rain gear and others scrambled for cover, as Tyler Holton pitched in relief for the Tigers, holding onto a 9-6 lead, getting a double play and flyout.
Tigers fans embraced the moment, literally singing in the rain before the bottom of the eighth.
Then, Matt Vierling mocked Mother Nature by hitting a two-run homer, shooting a ball through sheets of rain over the right-field wall.
But that light rain turned into a nasty, driving rainstorm and huge puddles were forming on the infield, as relief pitcher Kenly Jansen tried to finish it for the Tigers. But the game was put into a rain delay with one out in the bottom of the ninth – the Tigers two outs from the win – and the tarp was pulled onto the field.
Not long after, the rain stopped, of course.
After a delay, the infield tarp was pulled off the field but the one over home plate remained in place. The managers met at home plate with the umpire, then went into the dugout.
That’s when it was called. The Tigers (4-4) won their second-straight game over the Cardinals (4-4).
Something for everyone
This game had a little bit of everything.
You like the long ball? Kerry Carpenter, Zach McKinstry, Gleyber Torres and Vierling all jacked home runs.
You like great situational hitting? Carpenter and Matt Vierling both hit sacrifice fly balls to drive in runs.
You like clutch hitting? McKinstry hit a double in the fifth inning, driving in a run.
You like some fancy defense? The Tigers twisted a picture-perfect double play in the sixth inning – from Spencer Torkelson to shortstop Kevin McGonigle back to Torkelson to end the top of the sixth.
You like drama? No, nobody likes drama when it’s watching the Tigers blow a huge, comfortable lead with rain on the horizon.
The Tigers took a 7-1 lead into the fifth inning, but everything fell apart with Jack Flaherty on the mound.
Flaherty, who had started the game, struggled with his control. In the top of the fifth inning, he walked two, hit a batter and gave up a double. He was taken out with the bases loaded and the Tigers holding a 7-2 lead with no outs.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch brought in Drew Anderson. On Anderson’s second pitch, Jordan Walker crushed a grand slam – an absolute monster blast – that traveled 459 feet, hitting the brick in left center.
That’s the fact, Jack
Flaherty got the start for the Tigers, pitching against the team that drafted him in the supplemental first round (34th overall) of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles.
But he struggled from the start, opening the game with a walk and hitting a batter, then got out of it.
In the second inning, he did it again, walking a batter and then hitting another, but he got out of it once again.
In the third inning, the script changed. Ivan Herrera got a double and then scored on a single.
So, he was trying to gut his way through it, until it fell apart.
Flaherty gave up five earned runs in four innings, walking four, while striking out six. He also hit three batters.
It was just the second time that Flaherty faced the Cardinals. And it was completely different than his first time when he set a career-high with 14 strikeouts on April 30, 2024 at Comerica Park.
Kerry Carpenter comes through
Carpenter has had a strange season, bouncing around the batting order.
He started out the year as the Tigers leadoff batter. But he struggled through a .063 stretch.
So, Hinch moved him to fifth while playing against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second series of the season.
“I wanted to ease off Kerry a little bit,” Hinch said at the time. “He seems to be swinging more and more, which is out of his norm. I mean, he can be a little bit more disciplined. I’ll get him back at the top at some point.”
Then, for the home opener, Hinch moved Carpenter to the third spot when the Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0. Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a walk.
On Saturday, Hinch put Colt Keith at the leadoff spot and pushed Carpenter back to cleanup.
And Carpenter responded, hitting his homer against Dustin May, a 28-year-old righty.
In the third inning, Carpenter had another great chance, hitting with McGonigle on third with one out.
The speedy rookie had singled and advanced to second on a ball that bounced off catcher Pedro Pagés.
That gave Carpenter a great RBI chance and he lifted a short fly ball to center. Victor Scott II caught the ball but had a bad throw.
McGonigle scored with ease, as the Tigers took a 4-1 lead.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers fans sing and dance in the rain during fun win vs Cardinals
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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