Pirates 5, Tigers 3: Detroit falls in extra innings

Matthew Boyd was strong again on Tuesday evening, and the Detroit Tigers mustered a late rally to send their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates to extra innings. Unfortunately, a blast from Starling Marte sealed the game and the Tigers could not strike back, dropping the first game of their home stand in 10 innings, 5-3.

Boyd came out dealing, striking out the side swinging in the first inning. He should have been out of the second unscathed, but Miguel Cabrera and the infield mixed up their roles and botched what should have been the third out, allowing the Pirates to plate their first run. Boyd would cruise through the rest of his outing relatively easily, save for a two-run blast from Jung Ho Kang in the fourth. Boyd shut down a potential threat in the fifth, with some help from the Pirates. Pittsburgh put two into scoring position, but called for a sacrifice — Worst Play in Baseball™ — and that was that. Boyd retired the final two hitters of the inning, and finished the night with seven quality innings. His line: six hits and three runs allowed, one walk, and seven strikeouts.

The Tigers offense remained anemic for most of the night, though they had their moments. Their first threat was cut down at the plate in the third inning, as Dave Clark sent Gordon Beckham from second on a single. Pablo Reyes uncorked a strike from short left field to just get Beckham before his hand slid in. The Tigers finally got on the board in the fourth — the first earned runs Joe Musgrove allowed in 2019 — after a double, a single, and a passed ball allowed Cabrera to trot home. Christin Stewart doubled home the Tigers’ second run, but they would get no more. Musgrove settled into a groove from there and struck out five in the next four innings.

Buck Farmer and Blaine Hardy kept the Pirates off the bases in the eighth and ninth, and kept the Tigers within a run. Christin Stewart led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a line drive double off Keone Kela. Stewart was then lifted for the speedier Dustin Peterson. Jeimer Candelario followed with a line drive into right field, and Peterson scored easily as JB Shuck’s throw home was nowhere close. Just like that, the game was tied. A wild pitch from Kela then moved Candelario into scoring position, but Beckham and Greiner could not advance Candelario, and JaCoby Jones grounded out weakly to end the inning.

On to bonus baseball!

The good feelings were short-lived. Shane Greene looked like he would get around a lead-off single in the 10th, but Starling Marte hit a first pitch two-run home run into the deepest part of the visiting bullpen. The Tigers went quietly in the bottom of the 10th as Harrison, Catellanos, and Cabrera failed to start any rally.

Good tweet of the game

Bad tweet of the game