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WEST SACRAMENTO, CA – The Detroit Tigers beat the Athletics, 8-6, at Sutter Health Park. And if anyone remembers this game, it’ll be for the news that broke sometime during the sixth inning.
Tarik Skubal is a Los Angeles Dodger. Right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith and outfielder Zyhir Hope are now part of the Tigers' organization.
After weeks – no, months of rumor and speculation – it finally happened, and it’ll be a minute before anyone can judge president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ return for Skubal.
GRADING THE DEAL: How did Detroit Tigers fare in Tarik Skubal blockbuster?
In the meantime, this team and its manager, A.J. Hinch, insist they can still win. They did again Saturday, Aug. 1. And though most will remember the night for one of the biggest trades in recent franchise history, some will remember the night for other reasons.
Like Max Clark.
Wait, didn’t we just do this? The rookie gets a call-up and makes history in his big-league debut? Not that Clark made history again ... unless you count personal history, or Tigers history – more on that in a moment.
The security guard who helped find the fan who corralled Clark’s home run ball in the sixth inning sure did. The fan tossed it to Kenley Jansen in the bullpen. You only homer for the first time once.
It took Clark two games to get his first home run, and his two-run shot gave the Detroit Tigers a 6-2 lead, and they held on from there.
His fellow 2023 first-round pick, Kevin McGonigle, led off the game with an opposite field home run, and Clark no doubt figured he had to match him. When he did, that marked the first time in the Tigers' history that two 21-year-olds homered in the same game – not even Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker managed that feat.
But also, Gleyber Torres.
The second baseman had struggled since returning from his month-long stint on the IL with an oblique strain. Entering Saturday’s game, he’d gone 6-for-25, including a 0-for-5 Friday in the series opener.
Torres hit a single in the first inning then made the play of the game in the second inning, when he gloved a grounder after falling onto his back and flipping it to Javier Báez, who turned a double play to first.
That sequence saved left-hander Framber Valdez from getting potentially lit up. And when Torres hit a two-run home run in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie, he saved Valdez again, who ...
... kept falling behind hitters, often 2-0, and gave up eight hits and more hard-hit balls than that and somehow found ways to keep the damage to a minimum.
Valdez has been inconsistent this season (an understatement), but against the struggling Athletics he found enough to keep them at bay until Torres and Clark hit their home runs to open up the game.
He threw seven innings, giving up two runs and nine hits.
Ex-Oakland farmhand Kyle Finnegan, meanwhile, struggled again ... to locate, to get outs, to get through the eighth for the Tigers as he gave up a three-run home run before being pulled after a third of an inning for Jacob Waguespack, who gave up a single to put the tying run on base, but got two outs to end the threat.
Kenley Jansen began the ninth by giving up a leadoff double. Got the next two batters, then gave up a soft infield dribbler that scored Tyler Soderstrom. He got the third out on a deep fly ball.
A deep breath? More trades? A reset? Some bullpen help? (See: Finnegan and Jansen).
We’ll see about the last three. Taking a deep breath is just good for mental health. And the Tigers will do a bit of that, and go for the series sweep when Keider Montero takes the mound against the A's on Sunday (4:05 p.m., Detroit SportsNet).
What’s clear is that this game will be remembered as the end of an era and possibly the beginning of something equally special. Two 21-year-olds homering in the same game? Yes, it could be a statistical fluke, random timing. It could also be a poetic inflection point for the night the best pitcher in baseball was traded while two promising youngsters showed Tiger fans a future remains.
Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal gone, but Max Clark keeps raking for Tigers in win vs A's
Continue reading...
Tarik Skubal is a Los Angeles Dodger. Right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith and outfielder Zyhir Hope are now part of the Tigers' organization.
After weeks – no, months of rumor and speculation – it finally happened, and it’ll be a minute before anyone can judge president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ return for Skubal.
GRADING THE DEAL: How did Detroit Tigers fare in Tarik Skubal blockbuster?
In the meantime, this team and its manager, A.J. Hinch, insist they can still win. They did again Saturday, Aug. 1. And though most will remember the night for one of the biggest trades in recent franchise history, some will remember the night for other reasons.
At the plate: Take it to the Max (Clark)
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Like Max Clark.
Wait, didn’t we just do this? The rookie gets a call-up and makes history in his big-league debut? Not that Clark made history again ... unless you count personal history, or Tigers history – more on that in a moment.
The security guard who helped find the fan who corralled Clark’s home run ball in the sixth inning sure did. The fan tossed it to Kenley Jansen in the bullpen. You only homer for the first time once.
It took Clark two games to get his first home run, and his two-run shot gave the Detroit Tigers a 6-2 lead, and they held on from there.
His fellow 2023 first-round pick, Kevin McGonigle, led off the game with an opposite field home run, and Clark no doubt figured he had to match him. When he did, that marked the first time in the Tigers' history that two 21-year-olds homered in the same game – not even Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker managed that feat.
But also, Gleyber Torres.
The second baseman had struggled since returning from his month-long stint on the IL with an oblique strain. Entering Saturday’s game, he’d gone 6-for-25, including a 0-for-5 Friday in the series opener.
Torres hit a single in the first inning then made the play of the game in the second inning, when he gloved a grounder after falling onto his back and flipping it to Javier Báez, who turned a double play to first.
That sequence saved left-hander Framber Valdez from getting potentially lit up. And when Torres hit a two-run home run in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie, he saved Valdez again, who ...
On the mound: Oh, Framber
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... kept falling behind hitters, often 2-0, and gave up eight hits and more hard-hit balls than that and somehow found ways to keep the damage to a minimum.
Valdez has been inconsistent this season (an understatement), but against the struggling Athletics he found enough to keep them at bay until Torres and Clark hit their home runs to open up the game.
He threw seven innings, giving up two runs and nine hits.
Ex-Oakland farmhand Kyle Finnegan, meanwhile, struggled again ... to locate, to get outs, to get through the eighth for the Tigers as he gave up a three-run home run before being pulled after a third of an inning for Jacob Waguespack, who gave up a single to put the tying run on base, but got two outs to end the threat.
Kenley Jansen began the ninth by giving up a leadoff double. Got the next two batters, then gave up a soft infield dribbler that scored Tyler Soderstrom. He got the third out on a deep fly ball.
Next up: Let's make a deal?
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A deep breath? More trades? A reset? Some bullpen help? (See: Finnegan and Jansen).
We’ll see about the last three. Taking a deep breath is just good for mental health. And the Tigers will do a bit of that, and go for the series sweep when Keider Montero takes the mound against the A's on Sunday (4:05 p.m., Detroit SportsNet).
What’s clear is that this game will be remembered as the end of an era and possibly the beginning of something equally special. Two 21-year-olds homering in the same game? Yes, it could be a statistical fluke, random timing. It could also be a poetic inflection point for the night the best pitcher in baseball was traded while two promising youngsters showed Tiger fans a future remains.
Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal gone, but Max Clark keeps raking for Tigers in win vs A's
Continue reading...
