Detroit Erupts for Seven in the Eighth, Stuns Colorado 11-7
Detroit trailed 7-4 heading into the eighth inning and then scored seven unanswered runs to close out Colorado 11-7. Hao-Yu Lee was the engine of that comeback, going 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, including a two-run triple to right that put the game away.
The story of the first half looked like Hunter Goodman's night. In the third inning, Goodman homered to left — 362 feet — scoring McCarthy and Norby to put Colorado up 3-0, a swing that pushed Detroit's home win probability from 47% down to 25%. That three-run shot was the biggest single probability move of the game, and it looked like Colorado had seized control. Detroit answered immediately in the same inning: McGonigle went deep to right center at 389 feet to make it 3-1, then Clark singled to right to score Greene and pull it to 3-2. The fourth inning tightened things further — Colorado extended to 4-2 on an error-aided double by Amador, but Detroit clawed back to tie it 4-4 on Lee's RBI double and a Keith single. Colorado pushed back ahead in the sixth when McCarthy singled to left, scoring Beck and Amador, and reached second on a throwing error by Greene in left — COL 6, DET 4. Ezequiel Tovar added a solo shot to left in the eighth, 355 feet, to make it 7-4, and at that point it appeared Colorado had enough cushion to close it out.
Then the eighth inning happened, and it was a complete unraveling. Detroit sent ten batters to the plate and scored seven runs without Colorado recording an out until the damage was done. Torres doubled to left to score Lee, Greene singled to score Torres, and then Torkelson walked to score McKinstry and tie it 7-7. Another walk — Malgeri — scored Valencia to give Detroit the lead at 8-7. A sacrifice fly by Peck scored Clark to make it 9-7. Then Lee, already with two hits on the night, tripled to right to score Torkelson and Malgeri and push the final to 11-7. Seven runs, one inning, game over.
On the mound, neither starter was sharp. Tanner Gordon gave Colorado 4.0 innings, allowing 10 hits and 4 earned runs with 5 strikeouts. Andrew Sears lasted 4.1 innings for Detroit, giving up 7 hits and 4 earned runs with 5 strikeouts of his own. Brennan Bernardino was the steadiest arm of the night, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings for Colorado in relief — but it wasn't enough to survive that eighth. Kenley Jansen closed it for Detroit with a clean 1.0 inning, two strikeouts, nothing allowed. The final score flatters neither pitching staff, but Detroit's lineup looks like it found something real in that eighth inning, turning what appeared to be a comfortable Colorado lead into a runaway Detroit win.