Walking Off The Win In The 11th

Sunday afternoon’s match up with the Toronto Blue Jays was a back and forth event into extra innings, and it was just the type of win a Tiger fan could wish for. If you thought a 3-3 tie after the 1^st was any indication of how Sunday afternoon’s game was going to play out, you would have been wrong. Anibal Sanchez gave up three runs in the first on a single, and back to back home runs. Sanchez settled in and kept the Blue Jays off the board until the 5^th. Meanwhile, Tiger hitters answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the 1^st, on two sac fly’s from J.D. and Cabrera, and a double from Upton.

Tiger batters were back at it again in the 4^th, tacking on a run on the strength of two doubles from Presley and McCann. However, the Blue Jays weren’t done with Sanchez. A home run from Bautista would score two in the 5^th, giving Toronto the 5-4 lead.  The score would stay that way until the bottom of the 8^th. After a review on a ball off the top of the wall, it was ruled that J.D. Martinez did in fact homer to right, tying the game. After a Victor Martinez single, Romine would pinch run and make it to second on a steal. However, the Tigers would have to settle for taking a 5-5 tie to the 9^th.

This game would be settled in the bottom of the 11^th. Avila singled. Castellanos made it to first on an error and Upton was walked. Then it was all “W’s” for the Tigers. With Miguel Cabrera at the plate and bases loaded, the Tigers won on a walk off walk, 6-5.

Anibal Sanchez pitched six innings and gave up five runs on nine hits with no walks and three strikeouts. While no Tiger had a multi-hit game, the Tiger’s offense was bolstered by hits from eight different batters.

The Tigers improve to 41-49 on the season. They now head to Kansas City for a four game series with the Royals, followed by a three game series with the Twins in Minnesota. Monday night’s match up will send Jordan Zimmerman(5-7  5.87 ERA) to the mound, taking on Royals’ starter Jason Vargas(12-3  2.62 ERA). Our coverage begins at 7:50, on 95.3 WBCK.