Inside the Article:
The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-2 to kick off their three-game series. The victory came thanks to the bat of Andy Ibanez who had a night for himself going 2-3 with a walk, a home run, an RBI, and three runs scored.
Key Points:
- The Tigers get the series started against Cleveland with a 6-2 win.
- Andy Ibanez goes 2-3 on the night
- Ibanez hit a home run and scored three runs.
AJ Hinch comments on Andy Ibanez
The Detroit Tigers called up Andy Ibanez along with Zack Short from AAA Toledo on April 29th when they placed Kerry Carpenter and Matt Manning on the Injured List. Ibanez in Toledo went 19-64 before the call up hitting .297 with five home runs and 16 RBI. Ibanez got off to a slow start once he joined the Tigers in four games, he went 0-10 but now entering last night he had a five-game hitting streak that he extended to six last night and has gone 9-17 in his last six games including last night. Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch commented on that last night after the game.
“He’s playing every day and he’s contributing, which is nice, everyone has embraced him. I know the first 10 at-bats weren’t great, but I applaud him for staying in there mentally, and physically he’s had really good at-bats. Really sparked us.”
– AJ Hinch
The Tigers have turned to the Red Wings for their home run celebration this season sporting a hockey helmet and hockey gloves and ripping a slapshot after a player hits a home run. After his home run last night, Ibanez got to take part in the celebration and had this to say about it.
“I never played hockey,”
– Andy Ibanez
Bottom Line
The Detroit Tigers are currently riding high having gone 6-1 to start May which is a crucial month for them as they play teams that are currently struggling this season. The lineup has produced as of late as well with the Tigers outscoring their opponents 39-29 in May. The Tigers have two more games against the Guardians and tonight they will face the Guardians ace in Shane Bieber. He’ll be a tough test for this lineup but if they produce as they have as of late they should be able to get to him and pull out another win and another series win.
