DETROIT — Keider Montero expended 48 pitches in his first two innings Wednesday at Comerica Park. The taxing workload was worrisome for a pitcher who only 15 days ago twirled a complete game in 96-pitch, economical fashion.
But for so long, now the Detroit Tigers have been beyond reproach. Hits fall when they need them. When they are in the field, batted balls go straight to leather when it matters most. So here the Tigers were again, runners on first and second with only one out in the first inning. That’s when Montero struck out Jonathan Aranda, then got Johnny DeLuca to fly out to right field. In the second inning, the Tampa Bay Rays loaded the bases. Montero again escaped the jam. Since Aug. 1, opponents entered play having hit only .213 against the Tigers with runners in scoring position, the lowest mark in the league. Houdini had nothing on this team.
In the bottom of the first inning, Zack Littell threw a center-cut slider to Parker Meadows, the rangy center fielder who has been the most dynamic player over a magical six weeks of baseball. Meadows dropped his bat’s barrel to the ball and sent the sphere buzzing, on a line and out of the park. There were still empty seats on a cloudy day at Comerica Park. Some of the crowd was still filing in. But fans in the 25-year-old stadium let loose a trembling roar, the type this ground between Montcalm and Witherell has rarely felt for the better part of a decade.
The @Tigers are on the board right away after a Parker Meadows leadoff homer 😤 pic.twitter.com/2isRY2CElS
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2024
“Especially when you escape the top of the first, I think everybody, collectively, fans, coaches, players, managers, we kind of take a deep breath and everybody settles in for the game,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We know we have nine innings, but there’s something different about having the lead this time of year when you know you’re chasing something.”
That’s how the Tigers started another dizzying day. By the ninth inning — after more memorable relief from Sean Guenther, Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Holton and Will Vest; after Riley Greene ripped an RBI single and Meadows dashed from second to home in personal-best time; after Spencer Torkelson broke out of his latest slump with a towering two-run shot to left; and after more hits just kept rocketing toward green grass — the Tigers held a 7-1 lead that would last.
Another night had gone according to script, this one even lacking the drama that has followed the cardiac cats all September. And now the stage was set to formally introduce the season’s latest plot twist.
In the eighth inning, Tigers fans began chanting for a 22-year-old pitcher who had never before thrown at this ballpark. “We want Jobe,” the crowd yelled. “Jobe, Jobe, Jobe.”
Jackson Jobe warmed before the eighth but did not enter. In the bottom half of that inning, Detroit solidified its lead with RBI hits from Torkelson and Dillon Dingler.
Then, just after Kerry Carpenter struck out to end the frame, a rookie right-hander from Oklahoma jogged in from the bullpen.
Just two days ago, the Tigers ignited social media and invigorated their fan base when they announced they were bringing up arguably the game’s best young pitching prospect to debut in the thick of a postseason push. Jobe had practically packed his bags and loaded his car, prepared to return home to Oklahoma City after the Triple-A season concluded. Instead it was his family, including pro-golf father Brandt Jobe, heading to Detroit.
Welcome to The Show, @jacksonwjobe! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/fhOMgMhmgh
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 26, 2024
Jobe entered as highlights from his high school days and stops in the minor leagues played on the video board. Fans who once anguished when the Tigers selected him at No. 3 overall ahead of talented shortstop Marcelo Mayer now yearned for him to entertain. Even teammates awaited seeing the young flamethrower in action.
“To have the crowd chant his name, I was getting goosebumps in center field,” Meadows said.
By the time Christopher Morel entered the batter’s box, Jobe toed the rubber and, in a split second, delivered to home plate. His first pitch was 96.6 mph, a ball high. After only eight more pitches, cameras centered on Jobe as he sealed the Tigers’ 29th victory in their past 40 tries. Morel grounded to third. Jobe surrendered a single but then recorded a fly out and a ground out to finish the evening. His fastball topped at 99.3 mph. His cutter flashed its wicked movement. It left everyone, Jobe included, wanting more.
“They won me over pretty quick,” Jobe said of the fans. “They did. That was awesome. I want to do that again.”
After Wednesday night’s victory, the Tigers’ magic number to clinch a spot in the playoffs dropped to three. A champagne celebration could come as soon as Friday. Although he is barely old enough to drink, the Tigers hope Jobe can help them taste such success.
Before the game, Hinch had spoken again on this team’s historic run, only he suggested a change in phrasing.
“We still don’t talk about it as a stretch because stretches end,” Hinch said. “We just really feel like we can win any series we play, and so when everyone says, ‘Hey, this is a great run or this is a great series or this is a great stretch,’ that means it has to stop at some point, and I don’t think any of these guys are prepared for it to stop.”
Hours later, Hinch took his seat in front of a blue backdrop for his postgame news conference after another fulfilling evening. Johnny Kane of Bally Sports Detroit asked the opening question, and he shared an anecdote he picked up from a fan in the stands, one of the many observers all in on this rebirth of meaningful baseball in Detroit.
“I’ve been a fan of the Tigers my whole life,” the man told Kane. “But I’m proud of them now.”
(Photo of Dillon Dingler and Jackson Jobe: Duane Burleson / Getty Images)
