The Pirates and Tigers knew it would be an emotional day in Detroit yesterday, and it lived up to the pregame hype. In the end, a rare bad outing for Mason Montgomery allowed the Tigers to erase a two-run deficit in the ninth and beat the Bucs, 4-3.
Justin Verlander made his first start in six months, and the 43-year-old threw five-and-a-third innings, giving up just two runs, solo homers by Brandon Lowe and Jakob Gonzalez, in his final appearance in Major League Baseball. Verlander returned to Detroit this season hoping for a great year with his original team, but injuries limited him to just two games, on March 30th against the Diamondbacks and yesterday against the Pirates. After he got Lowe to foul out on his final pitch, Verlander’s 7-year-old daughter Genevieve ran to the mound for a tear-filled hug and the two of them walked off the field together.
Lost in the sentimental final appearance by the future Hall-of-Famer was that the Pirates’ Kirby Yates also said farewell. Yates made the first start of his 12-year MLB career, throwing one-and-two-thirds scoreless innings and striking out Dillon Dingler on his last pitch. Detroit fans gave him an ovation as he hugged his Pirates teammates. Yates, who was acquired from the Angels at the trade deadline, Yates made 518 MLB appearances, all in relief until yesterday, finishing with a 32-29 record, a 3.35 ERA, 101 saves over 495 innings, and two All-Star games.
Montgomery surrendered three runs in the ninth inning, the first runs he’s allowed in 25 appearances, with the game ending on Eduardo Valencia’s two-run home run.
The Pirates’ season ends today with Jared Jones (5-6, 3.87 ERA) starting against Tigers righty River Ryan (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Coverage begins with Pirates Insider at 2 PM on WCCS.
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