Call to the pen
Fansided

The week’s heroes: Yelich, Toro and Kurt Suzuki

By Bill Felber

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 3: Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki (28) heads home after hitting a walk off 3 run game winning homer during the Washington Nationals defat of the New York Mets 11-10 in the bottom of the 9th inning at Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC on September 3, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 3: Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki (28) heads home after hitting a walk off 3 run game winning homer during the Washington Nationals defat of the New York Mets 11-10 in the bottom of the 9th inning at Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC on September 3, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

9 Ryan O’Hearn, 41 percent

This was a very bad week to be a member of the Detroit bullpen. On Monday Buck Farmer surrendered Kepler’s decisive hit. The next night, Ryan O’Hearn capped a game that saw the Tiger pen twice undermine their team‘s hopes for a rare victory.

The Tigers led 4-3 entering the bottom of the eighth only to see Alex Gordon single home the tying run against Gregory Soto. Then with two out and Jorge Soler at third, Soto wild pitched the lead run across the plate.

In the top of the ninth, Ronny Rodriguez’s two-out single scored Victor Reyes with the tying run and gave the Tigers a second chance at victory…one the pen would undermine almost at the earliest possible moment.

Zac Reininger, called on to start the inning, retired Brett Phillips on a line out. But O’Hearn followed by hammering Reininger’s first pitch into the seats in left field for a walk-off homer and a 6-5 win. The victory was Kansas City’s first walk-off win since May, and only their third of the season.

But it was a too-familiar story for the Tigers, their ninth walk-off loss of the 2019 season. It also marked Detroit’s ninth loss in the last 10 games, and a second straight by a single run.

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