Very good, and then it totally unraveled.

Pirates 5, Tigers 3

This game can be thought of as a two act play. The first act got rave reviews as the Tigers jumped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to a three run 5th and a great start by Anibal Sanchez (5-5, 71 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.87 FIP, 3.1 WAR). But in the bottom of the 7th, this would be the start of act two, the Pirates jumped on Sanchez so quickly he didn’t know what hit him.

They got 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk in the inning to chase Sanchez with a final line of 6.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, and 9 K. Now trailing by two the Tigers made a run at a comeback, but ultimately came up short and will need to win tomorrow behind Doug Fister (5-2, 61.2 IP, 3.65 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 1.8 WAR) to split the four game, home and home series, with the Pirates.

The Moment: Cabrera smacks an opposite field bomb in the 5th.