Tigers 5, Padres 2: Welcome back, eighth-inning heroics!
Good pitching a clutch knocks from McGonigle and Dingler carried the Tigers on Friday night.
Mar 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Kevin McGonigle (7) hits a two-run single during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images The first game of the season was a smashing success: rookies mashing, pitchers dazzling, and a can of whoop-butt was opened right off the hop. Would the Tigers be able to duplicate their early success in San Diego on Friday night too?
Well, it took a few innings to come to fruition, but just like we’ve seen in the past couple of years, these Tigers seem to have a taste for late-in-the-game comebacks at their best, with a clutch hit from a rookie being the fatal blow in a 5-2 Tigers win. Making his regular-season Tigers debut was Framber Valdez, the biggest offseason pickup for Detroit. After eight solid seasons in Houston, the last four of which were very good, he came north to reunite with his former manager and maybe pick up a little more hardware, hopefully?
In that four-year stretch he averaged a 3. 21 ERA (127 ERA+, 3. 29 FIP), 1.
159 WHIP, a bit below 192 IP, 8. 8 K/9IP and 2. 3 BB/9IP.
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