*Photo from Cleveland.com*
It was the perfect ending for a legendary career. Matt Vierling homered, Javier Baez drove in a run, and the Detroit Tigers defeated the Cleveland Guardians with a 5-2 victory on Sunday afternoon in Detroit.
The regular season finale also served as the final home game in the career of Miguel Cabrera, retiring after 21 years in the major leagues. Before the game, his 3 kids threw out a first pitch to him, and they also announced him as the hitter in his first at bat of the game.
In the 8th inning, Cabrera came onto the field as a first baseman, the first time he played in the field since the 2021 season. The crowd roared when he came on, with the Tigers pausing for a long ovation. After he fielded a ground ball and tagged first for the out, manager AJ Hinch took him out of the game, leading to another long ovation from the crowd.
Cabrera kept his thoughts short after the game, saying that "They give me a chance to say goodbye. I’m going to appreciate this moment for the rest of my life."
Kerry Carpenter gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the first inning, scoring Parker Meadows with an RBI single. In the second inning, Baez doubled the lead to 2-0 with an RBI double that brought home Akil Baddoo. Andy Ibanez made it a 3-0 Tigers lead in the 3rd inning, hitting an RBI single that scored Vierling.
Brayan Rocchio got the Guardians on the scoreboard in the 4th inning, grounding out as Ramon Laureano crossed the plate to make it 3-1. That deficit became 3-2 in the 5th when Tyler Freeman hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 5th, Vierling gave the Tigers insurance runs, making it 5-2 with a two run home run.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the start for the Tigers, allowing two runs on 4 hits and a walk, striking out 5 hitters in 7 innings pitched. Will Vest worked a scoreless 8th inning before Alex Lange picked up his 26th save of the season in the 9th to close out the win.
Rodriguez said of winning Cabrera's final game that "I'm really proud that I had the opportunity to pitch in his last game and take the win. I can't really explain how it feels, but I really feel proud of all we've been through, our friendship and the game today."
Lucas Giolito started for Cleveland, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings pitched. In relief of Giolito, the Guardians saw Nick Sandlin, Enyel De Los Santos, and Trevor Stephan each throw a scoreless inning.
Sunday also served as the last game for Guardians manager Terry Francona, who announced this season would be his last as manager before retiring. He won the manager of the year award 3 times and led the Guardians to the World Series in 2016, winning two titles with the Boston Red Sox.
Cleveland first baseman Josh Naylor said of playing for Francona that "Playing for him has been a blessing and an honor. He’s such a good leader and a mentor for all of us. He taught us to play the game the right way, have fun and trust ourselves."
The regular season is now over for both teams. Neither of them will be playing in the postseason, so they'll head into the offseason looking for better results in 2024.
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