Tigers collapse again vs Guadians on walk-off HR by Brayan Rocchio CLEVELAND – Tie game. Ninth inning. Drew Sommers on the mound for the Detroit Tigers in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Friday, Sept. 4. Brayan Rocchio at the plate. Rocchio crushed a home run – his second of the game (to go with a tying grand slam in the fourth inning), as Cleveland walked it off with a stunning 7-6 win. The loss, which began after a 64-minute weather delay, drops the Tigers (64-76) to 6½ games back in the chase for the final American League wild-card spot, held by the Guardians (71-70), ahead of their second game on Friday. Detroit also fell to nine games back of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, with the White Sox hosting the Minnesota Twins later on Friday. Game 2 of the Tigers-Guardians doubleheader was delayed by 30 minutes and will start at 7:45 p.m. on Apple TV. At the plate: Tigers put on early air show Several jets buzzed over Progressive Field – they were practicing for this weekend’s Cleveland National Airshow – as the Tigers went to the plate in the first inning. As the game was played, you would hear a loud roar – sometimes, so loud you couldn’t help but duck – and whoosh! A jet would go screaming over the stadium. It wasn’t just distracting. It was unnerving. In fact, in those moments when the jets disappeared, it was almost surprising to hear the normal sounds of baseball. But in the midst of all that noise and jarring chaos, the Tigers put on their own air show. The Tigers had a tremendous approach at the start of this game, being patient and waiting for their pitches. Kevin McGonigle and Riley Greene all earned walks.#detroit_tigers #progressive_field #keider_montero #brayan_roccio #cleverland_guardians
Welcome to Rocctember, Cleveland The Guardians’ Brayan Rocchio has turned his late-season surge into a yearly spectacle, a tradition as reliable as the cold winds of winter in northeast Ohio. Friday’s game against the Tigers marked another chapter in his postseason legend, as the shortstop delivered a pair of historic hits to propel Cleveland to a 7-6 victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Progressive Field. Rocchio’s walk-off solo home run and his first career grand slam in a single game cemented his status as a postseason hero, joining an elite group of MLB players who have achieved the same feat. Rocchio’s performance was nothing short of extraordinary. The walk-off home run, a Statcast-projected 366 feet over the right-field wall, came in the ninth inning after the Guardians had fallen into a 6-1 hole. The grand slam, a first-pitch four-seamer that traveled 405 feet over the left-field wall, followed in the same inning, making him the sixth player in MLB history to hit a walk-off home run after a grand slam in the same game. The list of predecessors includes legends like George Kelly, Hank Greenberg, and Jack Clark, underscoring the rarity of his accomplishment. The victory extended the Guardians’ lead for the American League’s third Wild Card spot to one game over the Blue Jays and Rangers, both of whom would play Friday night. Cleveland also entered Game 2 of the twin bill 2 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading White Sox. For Rocchio, the win was more than just a game-winning moment—it was a personal triumph after a challenging second half of the season. Rocchio’s struggles began after the All-Star break, when injuries to José Ramírez, Chase DeLauter, and Angel Martínez forced manager Stephen Vogt to reshuffle the lineup.#cleveland #stephen_vogt #progressive_field #brayan_roccio #guardians
