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The Detroit Tigers finished off a sweep against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night with a second straight walk-off win. Javier Baez hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning to lift the Tigers to a win on Tuesday, and then a new hero emerged on Wednesday night. Justyn-Henry Malloy came in to pinch-hit in the ninth inning with a runner on third base and two outs in a 5-5 game. He hit a line drive over the second baseman's head, and the Tigers picked up a 6-5 win to earn the series sweep.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 29-15 on the season. That is the best record in the league. Justyn-Henry Malloy credits the selflessness of the team as they continue to play an elite brand of baseball.
“You come to the ballpark ready to win,” Malloy said after the game, according to an article from MLB.com. “There’s a feeling of momentum. There’s a feeling of just wanting to contribute, and you know that you have a role. I think the amount of buy-in with that role, it just creates a really selfless atmosphere where guys are ready to jump in the game. How can I impact? How can I help the guys out? How can I move a guy over? How can I run the bases for my boy so that his at-bat gets easier? It really is a selfless act of trying to play the game, and I think our group’s doing an incredible job of doing so.”
The Tigers love to go to these pinch-hit at-bats in late-game situations like the one on Wednesday, and Justyn-Henry Malloy is often used in those instances. He stays ready and knows that his number might be called at any time.
“Just being prepared,” Malloy added, “just knowing that when I do have the opportunity to step into the game and try to impact it, it’s going to be a big moment at some point, and I just try to stay ready for that moment. Tonight was one of those nights where I stayed ready and got rewarded, so it’s pretty cool.”
Tigers manager AJ Hinch is always thinking about strategy. He could've used one of his best hitters, Spencer Torkelson, in that situation. However, he was thinking ahead and knew that Malloy was the best option.
“If I hit Tork, they can walk him to get to Carp,” AJ Hinch said. “I can hit somebody else for Carp, and then it keeps going down the line. However they were going to play it, we were going to have a counter.”
The Red Sox are a good team and they played the Tigers tough all series long. Detroit still found a way to win all three games. That's what great teams do, and so far this season, these Tigers look like a legitimate World Series contender.
