Through most of Monday night’s series opener between the Mets and Tigers, there wasn’t a whole lot of action. Things were scoreless heading to extra innings.
But if you flipped over to watch the Red Wings hang on for a crucial win in the playoff race, you might have missed the excitement in the 10th inning.
Parker Meadows scored on a throwing error, Gio Urshela reached on an infield single and Javy Baez drove him in on a sac fly to take a 2-0 lead.
Then the hammer blow came from Carson Kelly, who hit a two-out, three-run shot to blow the game wide open. Shelby Miller would go on to retire the Mets in order in the bottom of the 10th to give the tigers a 5-0 lead, improving to 4-0 on the season.
That offensive explosion was the complete opposite of how the Tigers started the night, having been held hitless through 5 ⅔ innings.
Andy Ibáñez broke up Sean Manaea’s no-no with two outs in the sixth, but Kelly would be thrown out at the plate trying to score. Detroit only managed two more base runners before the 10th inning — a walk and a Baez infield single that was erased two pitches later on a double play.
While the Tigers’ bats were dormant most of the night, so too were the Mets’, thanks to a solid first start of the year for Reese Olson, who allowed three hits and two walks across 5 ⅔.
As they did over the weekend in Chicago, the Tigers’ bullpen showed up in a big way, allowing two hits through 4 ⅓ innings. Jason Foley was throwing gas again Monday night, fanning Jeff McNeil with a 101 mph fastball to end the 9th.
Casey Mize will take the mound Tuesday at Citi Field — weather permitting — as the Tigers look to improve on their best start since the 2015 season, when they opened the year 6-0.