So the Tigers found themselves down 4-0 to Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals. No biggie, right? I mean, he's only the reigning Cy Young winner. Whatev'. They got dis.
And if you tuned out of this one early? Oh, ye of little faith. The Tigers definitely reward their fans for perseverance. It may have taken 11 innings, but a win is a win is a win.
What a strange game it was. Jeremy Bonderman came within a pitch of walking the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning. Then he escaped without allowing a run. Great, right? He's got his first inning devils, but he survived.
And then the wheels flew off in the second inning. Five of the first six batters reached base for the Royals. It was 4-0 before the Tigers even recorded a second out. Against Greinke, that's game, set, match.
Except it wasn't. Ryan Raburn started a seventh-inning rally with a walk. Three consecutive one-out singles later, the Tigers chased Greinke from the game and trailed just 4-3. Momentum carried them all the way to a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning on a home run by -- who else? -- Raburn.
Did I mention Bonderman was still on the mound? After the rocky second inning, he stayed on the mound until an out into the eighth inning. Perseverance there, too.
Of course, the game went to extra innings after Daniel Schlereth allowed a home run. Will Rhymes hit a triple to clear the bases, scored, and watched his team go up 9-5 when Austin Jackson dropped down a squeeze bunt to score Johnny Damon. Strange game.
Don Kelly led at the plate with three hits, while Alex Avila, Brandon Inge and Raburn each had two. Jhonny Peralta's hitting streak has reached 11 games. Rhymes' extra-inning triple gave him his 11th game too..
As impressive as it was to rally from four runs down against Minnesota on Thursday, rallying from four down against Greinke -- even if he isn't as good this season -- still impresses me more.
One thing is for certain: Don't tune out on this team. Not for a game, and not for the season. They're still pretty exciting.