MINNEAPOLIS — Baseball is just weird.
How everything can change in a blink.
The Tigers had a bad case of the blahs on Friday night — they were losing 4-1 to the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning — and then everything went kind of wacko in six straight at-bats that flipped the game and sparked a 7-6 win in the series opener at Target Field.
Riley Greene had a costume malfunction and blew out his belt — alas, his pants didn’t fall down as he went into second.
Spencer Torkelson had a pair of absolutely jaw-dropping monster blasts — but they were both foul by just a few feet. Then, he drew a 10-pitch walk.
And struggling Colt Keith hit a teensy, weensy little dribbler for an infield base hit — yes, he needed that, considering he came in hitting .171.
All of that set up Zach McKinstry, who simply flicked a ball into center field, driving in two runs, giving the Tigers some much needed life.
Then, Dillon Dingler got his third single of the game, driving in a run and tying it up, 4-4, and Trey Sweeney gave the Tigers the 5-4 lead with a ground ball force out.
Just like that, the Tigers turned this game upside down.
And just like that, some of Keith's frustrations started to turn. After that little dribbler, he seemed to relax and added a two-out RBI single in the seventh to push the Tigers lead to 6-4.
The rest of the game got stranger. Tigers relief pitcher Beau Brieske appeared to twist his ankle, delaying the game. Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers appeared to cut his finger, delaying the game. But there was no delay in Javier Baez, who added an RBI double.
In the big picture, this weird game set up this strange stat: The Tigers (8-5) have responded to getting swept in their season-opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers by winning eight of their next 10 games for the first time in franchise history.
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