DETROIT – The Tigers won another close game Friday to send fans home happy on Opening Day in Detroit.
At first, it looked like the Tigers were going to coast to another victory, as Tarik Skubal mowed through the A’s lineup for five innings.
Heading into the sixth, the Tigers held a 3-0 lead thanks to a fourth-inning rally that featured a Matt Vierling homer, a Spencer Torkelson RBI double, and a Riley Greene RBI single.
But out of nowhere, Oakland started to put together much better at-bats against Skubal.
A Zack Gelof double and Brent Rooker homer made the game 3-2 in the sixth, and Shea Langeliers just missed tying the game on a long foul fly.
Mark Canha gave the Tigers a little more breathing room with a solo homer in the bottom half, but a homer by Abraham Toro brought the A’s right back within a run in the seventh.
Skubal walked the very next batter, and that was the end of his afternoon.
Will Vest came in with the tying run on first base and served up a pinch-hit double to Ryan Noda. An RBI groundout tied the game at 4-4 heading to the seventh inning stretch.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Torkelson led off with his second double of the game. Greene and Canha couldn’t bring him home, but Gio Urshela came up with yet another key hit.
In an 0-1 count, Urshela got a high 99 mph fastball painted on the outside black and poked it down the right field line for an RBI double.
A.J. Hinch used Jason Foley in the eighth inning against the heart of the Oakland lineup, so he turned to Andrew Chafin to get the save in the ninth.
He got off to a bad start, walking Toro to put the tying run on first base right away. After a strikeout, he walked Noda to put a pair of runners on.
Hinch left Chafin in to retire the No. 9 hitter Nick Allen, but then turned to last year’s closer, Alex Lange, to try to get one final out.
Lange dusted Gelof with a nasty curveball to seal the victory.
The Tigers improved to 6-1 on the season, which is tied with the Yankees and Pirates for the best record in the league.
Detroit and Oakland will play Game 2 of their series at 1:10 p.m. Saturday.