*Photo from Newsday*
The Detroit Tigers were down to their final strike, staring at a loss to the New York Yankees. Robbie Grossman had other ideas. Jeimer Candelario hit an RBI single, Grossman hit a walkoff homer, and the Tigers defeated the Yankees with a 3-2 walkoff win Friday night.
Bryan Garcia got the win for the Tigers, allowing one run while striking out two hitters in the 10th inning, improving to 1-1 this season. Casey Mize got the start for the Tigers and continued his strong stretch, allowing one run on 5 hits while striking out 7 hitters across 5 innings pitched, getting the no decision. Kyle Funkhouser, Jose Cisnero, Michael Fulmer, and Gregory Soto also pitched.
Candelario got the Tigers on the board in the 3rd inning, with an RBI single that scored Grossman to give Detroit a 1-0 lead. In the 5th, Roughned Odor tied the game for the Yankees with a solo homer to right field. It remained 1-1 until the 10th inning, when Aaron Judge scored on a passed ball to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the 10th, down to their last strike, Grossman hit a two run walkoff homer to make it a 3-2 Tigers win.
Tigers manager AJ Hinch said of Grossman that "I think what he's doing on the field, we get to see and everybody gets to see how he prepares, is very impressive, how he's evolved as a player. It's very personal for me, because I saw him as a young player and I've seen him mature and grow. I'm very proud of him for being able to get to free agency, have a choice of where to play and choose us and reunite with him."
Justin Wilson got the loss for the Yankees, allowing the homer to Grossman in the 10th. Gerrit Cole turned in another great start for New York, allowing one run on 6 hits and one walk, recording 5 strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. Wandy Peralta, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman each had shutout innings of relief in between Cole and Wilson.
Cole said that "Obviously, I've pitched better, but I thought we did a good job with what we had. We were able to outlast the other starter, that's a good takeaway, I guess, and keep us in the ballgame. There's some positives there, and there's some stuff to try to get after this week, and continue to try to get better."
The pitching matchup between Cole and Mize was not just any ordinary matchup, it was a matchup of number one overall draft picks. Cole, a UCLA product went first overall in the 2011 draft to the Pittsburgh Pirates, with Mize, an Auburn pitcher, being taken first overall in 2018 by Detroit.
Mize said of his duel with Cole that "I definitely want to rise to the challenge. Obviously, he's a great pitcher who's had an amazing career, and that's a good team we just beat tonight. I definitely want to rise to the challenge of the pitcher I'm facing and the lineup I'm facing."
The Yankees and Tigers continue their series this afternoon, with Deivi Garcia getting the start for New York, and Spencer Turnbull starting for Detroit.
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