Detroit Tigers Pay Tribute to Chris Cornell

Legendary rock vocalist Chris Cornell passed away unexpectedly in a Detroit Hotel after playing a show at the Fox Theater on Wednesday night.

Freep Sports tweeted out a picture of the notes prior to the start of the Tigers’ game against The Baltimore Orioles. The Seattle Mariners also paid tribute with a moment of silence before their game in Chicago versus the White Sox.

Power Trip

The Tigers were playing .500-ball coming into the series, and were in desperate need of some production from their designated hitter, Victor Martinez.

Martinez was hitting .200 with just two RBI in his previous five games. On Tuesday, he cranked his first home run in 12 games, and drove in three runs.

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The power surge continued into Thursday as the Tigers’ offense collected eight hits in a 6-5 victory. Detroit ended a streak of eight straight quality starts for Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy (5-2).

Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and Seth Smith all hit home runs off of Tigers’ starter Jordan Zimmerman (4-2), giving the Orioles a 3-0 lead before the third inning. Zimmerman allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings on the day.

Been Away Too Long

Last Friday was the first time Tigers’ right fielder J.D Martinez had played all season because of a sprained foot. Since coming off the disabled list, Martinez has hit .500 with five home runs and 11 driven in.

On Thursday, J.D. Martinez cranked a three run home run off Bundy in the third inning, his only hit of the afternoon. He also drew three walks.

Having both Martinez’s in the starting nine gives Detroit’s offense some flexibility when Miguel Cabrera needs days off like he did Thursday. Once Cabrera comes back from his strained oblique, Detroit’s offense will feel much deeper to opposing pitchers.

Live To Rise

The Tigers are currently 20-and-19, and are tied for second place in the AL Central with the Cleveland Indians.

Detroit is the only team in the division with an above-.500 record at home, though they’re sub-.500 on the road. They play the Texas Rangers over the weekend at Comerica Park before heading on a 10-game road trip through Houston, South Chicago, and Kansas City.

At this time last season, the Tigers were 19-and-21, riding a four-game win streak, and five games back in the division.

Tigers’ manager Brad Ausmus was quick to comment about J.D Martinez’s hot start to the season following the game.

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My Wave

During his time at the top of the grunge music scene, Cornell battled substance abuse and other demons which also plagued his peers. According to CNN, concert goers said something looked “off” about Cornell during the performance, and the band ended their set with a very ironic song: “In My Time Of Dying” by Led Zeppelin.

In my time of dying, I want nobody to mourn/ All I want for you to do is take my body home. 

That’s how the song begins. That’s how our time with Chris ends.