The Royal "We"

When I went to a pair of Tigers games back in mid-September I thought I was done for the year, but then my work source came up with one last pair of tickets for a Friday night tilt against one of our biggest division rivals, the Royals.  With Detroit still in the thick of the Wild Card race at the time, plus wunderkind Michael Fulmer once again taking the hill, I was thrilled to be heading back to the park one more time this season.

Here's a look at my ticket, which is of the season variety and hence features Tigers players.  My two others this year were Jose Iglesias and Miguel Cabrera (both of which I kept), but needless to say I was thrilled to get Verlander on this one, which I took as a very good sign (even though he wouldn't pitch that day).

Here's a gander at my scorecard for what ended up being an 8-3 home team win:

A few notes:

• Fulmer once again lived up to his excellent reputation by retiring the first eight batters he saw, four of them by strikeout, including striking out the side in the second.  He'd finish the game with nine, and struck out eight of the Royals' starters in seven spectacular frames
• I get very angry when my favorite teams' pitchers walk guys.  Why?  Observe KC's Danny Duffy's first inning.  He walked three of the first four hitters, then allowed a run on a wild pitch/catcher's throwing error.  That might have been the worst of it but then Justin Upton actually came up big with a double to knock in another run.  The Tigers scored a pair on just one hit.  Throw strikes!
• Upton was surprisingly effective in this game, and for the first time that I got to see in-person.  His two-out double in the first inning was big, and then he absolutely smoked a no-doubter into the left field seats in his next at-bat
• Cameron Maybin and Victor Martinez joined in the homer fun as well, with the latter starting off the festivities with a solo shot in the third, and the former following up his teammates with a two-run shot the next inning
• Mark Lowe continued to show why he was such an awful free agent signing, coming into the ninth with an 8-1 lead and allowing a pair of runs on a single, walk, and two-out, two-run triple.  The walk was the only allowed by a Tigers pitcher this game, and (B)Lowe simply wasn't throwing strikes when he needed to.  Shane Greene came on to record the final out, and by strikeout no less
• This victory allowed me to end the year with a three-game winning streak I can take into next season!