The 2020 MLB season is officially underway, and the Detroit Tigers can hold their heads up after returning home from a three-game opening series against the Cincinnati Reds in which they won two of three games.
Definitely not a bad way to start the year.
Today’s hero was C.J. Cron, who launched his second home run in three days in the 9th inning off pitcher Michael Lorenzen, which proved to be the winner. Cron, who said he was looking for a fastball, ended up launching the ball opposite field:
“Thankfully he threw it a little bit more over the middle than he would have liked,” Cron said of Lorenzen.
“They had our numbers when it came to strikeouts, but at the end the day, we took two out of three from arguably the best staff we’re gonna face all year,” he said. “I think that’s a big confidence boost for us going back home and knowing we can play with anyone.”
Of course, the Tigers have set an unfortunate mark with strikeouts to start a year, already setting the franchise mark for highest strikeout number in the first three games of a season.
Meanwhile, skipper Ron Gardenhire is liking what he’s seeing from Gregory Soto, who was able to rebound from hitting batter Josh VanMeter in the 6th by retiring the next two batters, striking out Aristides Aquino, and then striking out the side in order in the 7th.
“This guy can really be a force in our bullpen,” Gardenhire said of Soto. “I think you saw it today against a really good hitting baseball team.”
The Tigers return home for a three game set against the Kansas City Royals starting tomorrow.
– – Quotes via Cody Stavenhagen, Jason Beck Twitter feeds Link – –
