Tigers 6, White Sox 0: Daniel Norris closes out season with 2nd Tigers win

In a game missing the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Jose Abreu, Victor Martinez, and others, a trio of young Tigers led their team to an easy 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Daniel Norris collected his second win in a Tigers uniform, while Anthony Gose scored twice and Tyler Collins hit a three-run triple.

The Tigers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning. Gose singled to lead off the game, then moved to second on a two-out walk by Collins. Nick Castellanos lined a double into the right field corner to score Gose, but Jefry Marte struck out with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Both starters -- Norris and Chicago's Frankie Montas -- maintained the status quo for the next few innings. Norris only allowed one hit and one walk in five innings, while Montas struck out seven in four innings of work. The Tigers added a run off of reliever Zach Putnam in the fifth when J.D. Martinez's sacrifice fly scored Gose from third base.

After a scoreless sixth, the Tigers blew the game open in the seventh. Bryan Holaday singled to lead off the inning, but a pair of quick outs appeared to end any scoring threat. Dixon Machado drew his second walk of the game with two outs, then J.D. Martinez followed with a base on balls of his own to load the bases. Collins hit a liner past the diving Trayce Thompson in center for a triple, extending the Tigers' lead to 5-0. An RBI single from Josh Wilson in the eighth provided the final margin.

The Tigers collected a modest seven hits on the afternoon, while their pitching staff limited the Sox to just five total baserunners. Norris was sharp through five innings, while Randy Wolf pitched a scoreless frame in what may have been his final major league appearance. Jeff Ferrell and Ian Krol added 1-2-3 innings, and Kyle Ryan completed the shutout with a scoreless ninth.

ROARS:

Daniel Norris (+.297 WPA): His last start got a lot of attention for the wrong reasons, but Norris ended his season on a high note with a stellar performance today. Working on another strict pitch count, Norris held the White Sox to one hit and a walk in five innings. Final line: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 71 pitches.

Anthony Gose (+.065 WPA): The Tigers' center fielder was a spark plug early on, collecting a pair of hits and the Tigers' first two runs of the game.

Tyler Collins (+.122 WPA): After J.D. Martinez walked to load the bases in the seventh, Tyler Collins tripled into the right-center field gap to break the game open, giving the Tigers a 5-0 lead.

The BYB staff and fans: If any group of individuals deserves a roar for this season, it is our incredible staff here at BYB. We have seen some major turnover in the past 12 months, and it speaks to the quality and integrity of our writers that our site enjoyed its best year ever, even if the Tigers did not. My name may be atop the masthead, but running a site like this takes a group effort, and I could not even come close to doing this without the hard work and support of everyone else involved. Thank you, everyone.

Last but not least, thank you to our readers and fans. This has been a difficult season to watch, but BYB has continued to be a safe haven for Tigers fans to enjoy intelligent, rational discussion about our favorite team. Thank you for reading, commenting, and providing all of the constructive feedback that we take to heart here at BYB. As the kids say, you the real MVP.

HISSES:

The offseason: Even bad baseball is better than no baseball. It's going to be a long winter.

STREAKS AND STATS:

• Daniel Norris pitched 10 innings against the White Sox this season. He allowed one hit.
• With a triple and a walk, Tyler Collins hit .293/.376/.480 in 85 plate appearances from September 1 through the end of the season.
• There are 184 days until Opening Day 2016.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs