I said that considering where we were at in the season, Friday’s loss was as big a gut punch as you’re going to have. I would argue that today’s win could end up being one of the most important of this early part of the season. I’ve stated time and again that this was going to be a difficult road trip against two first-place teams. To be able to come away from Cincinnati with a comeback victory has to have us feeling pretty relieved.
When we talk about this team, more often than not, we discuss how effective their starting pitching is, and while Keider Montero wasn’t awful today, Detroit won this game because of the offense. In fact, I think in all three games of the series, the offense really came to play. Yes, there were some opportunities in which they left runners in scoring position, but this is a park where the ball flies. For as frustrating as it was seeing Cincinnati club a lot of homers, Detroit was playing in the same park, and their core responded, putting some runs on the board early and then landing a crooked number in the seventh inning to take control for good.
A.J. Hinch might have a new favorite player because Hau-Yu Lee made him look like a smart manager today. In a high-leverage situation, he pinch-hit Lee for Colt Keith, who was hitting well over .300. They say that hitting is contagious, and Lee’s homer was a prime example of that. It was great to see them take the lead, and the fact that they were able to add on two more runs, including from Spencer Torkelson, who has now homered in a franchise record five days in a row, was such a huge moment for this team.
It might get overlooked because the offense added some insurance runs, but that was a big day for the bullpen. It set up well for Detroit’s backend to have some fresh legs. I think there would’ve been a pretty big meltdown had they fooled around as they have at points this season. That looked more like the bullpen that we expected to see coming into the season.
While this road trip is far from over, I think Detroit bought itself a lot of goodwill with today’s victory. Hopefully, they use this one to get back on track. Detroit finally has an off day tomorrow, but they will be back in action on Tuesday against the Braves. Casey Mize will be taking the ball in Atlanta.