HOUSTON — Matt Vierling left some of his DNA in the right-field corner at Tropicana Field Sunday, diving head-long nearly into the sidewall trying to catch a foul ball.
"I'm going all out, man," he said.
His DNA was all over the Tigers' first win of the season Monday, too.
Vierling, who had three singles earlier in the game a run-saving catch, blasted a two-run home run in the 11th inning off reliever Hector Neris, giving the Tigers a dramatic 7-6 win over the defending World Series champion Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Reliever Trey Wingenter pitched a scoreless 10th inning. Garrett Hill, in a rare opportunity to close, allowed the ghost runner to score on a fielder's choice ground out. But he was able to get Jose Abreu to pop out to end the game.
The Tigers, after blowing a four-run lead in the fifth inning, were one out, one strike away from winning this game in regulation. Instead, one misplay, one piece of clutch hitting by a known Tigers killer and we got bonus baseball.
The Tigers led 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, that lead courtesy of a majestic opposite-field home run by Riley Greene in the top of the seventh. He shellacked a 97-mph fastball from reliever Bryan Abreu, hitting it 414 feet into the balcony seats in left-center field.
Alex Lange, after three clutch scoreless innings by rookie right-hander Mason Englert, was tasked with closing it out. He gave up a one-out single to Alex Bregman but then got Yordan Alvarez to hit a hard ground ball to Spencer Torkelson at first.
It looked like a game-ending double-play. Torkelson stepped on first for one out but his throw to second nailed Bregman in the back. That kept the game alive for Jose Abreu. With two strikes, he lofted Lange's pitch to the wall in left field.
Left fielder Austin Meadows leaped, seemed to get his glove on it, but the ball popped out when he hit the wall. Tie game.
The Tigers built the 4-0 lead against Wayne State product Hunter Brown.
They scored two runs in the second, rattling off four opposite-field singles. The last, a two-out knock by Eric Haase, plated the two runs.
Brown was his own worst enemy in the fifth, walking three Tigers’ hitters. A two-out, opposite-field single by Javier Báez drove in one run (breaking a 0-for-11 skid) and a bases-loaded walk to Spencer Torkelson by reliever Phil Maton brought in the other.
The lead was gone in five batters.
Lefty Matthew Boyd, making his first start since September of 2021, was in command through four innings. He escaped some command issues in the first two innings, but going into the fifth. with a four-run lead, he’d allowed only one hit and two walks.
He would only get one more out.
A leadoff walk to No. 8 hitter Mauricio Dubon and a checked-swing single by Martin Maldonado put runners on the corners to start the inning. A fielder’s choice 5-4 ground out by scored one run and put Boyd’s pitch count at 76.
With the meat of the Astros order coming up for the third time – right-handed hitting Bregman, left-handed hitting Alvarez and right-handed hitting Abreu – manager AJ Hinch went to his bullpen for leverage reliever Jose Cisnero.
The best-laid plans…
Cisnero hit Bregman and gave up a game-tying, three-run homer to Alvarez. Cisnero threw him back-to-back 91-mph changeups off a first pitch fastball at 95 mph. Alvarez crushed the second one 435 feet into the seats in right field.
It was Alvarez’s 100th career home run – getting to the century mark quicker than any player in Astros’ history.
Cisnero loaded the bases again after the homer but got bailed out by a brilliant diving catch in right field by Vierling. Dubon, a right-handed hitter, hit a hard (93 mph off the bat) sinking liner. Vierling got a good jump on the ball, dived and plucked it just before it hit the turf, saving at least two more runs.
Vierling also contributed three singles in the game.
Englert was impressive. In easily the highest-profile outing of his young career -- he's only made three starts above High-A ball -- he entered a 4-4 game and put up zeros in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, allowing only two singles.
