Tigers Star Matt Vierling Delivers Season's Biggest Moment with Home Run
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The Detroit Tigers have been in the midst of a rough stretch of baseball for roughly a month now since just before the All-Star break.
Seeing their double digit divisional lead cut in half and a pitching staff which was the best in baseball at the start of the season be broken into shambles by injuries and inconsistency, things had not been going in the right direction for Detroit.
The bad times looked destined to continue on Friday night with the Tigers trailing the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 headed into the bottom of the eighth inning following what was by his standards a rough start for Cy Young ace Tarik Skubal.
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Dropping the first game of a series yet again to an inferior team with your best arm on the mound would have been a borderline disaster, but instead of letting that happen, Detroit fought back for what felt like the first time in a long time.
Fittingly, it was someone who has been criticized as much as any offensive player on the team this season who delivered the signature moment of 2025 so far for the Tigers.
With no outs and runners on first and second, Matt Vierling launched one high into the Detroit night sky to put his team on top for good with what was his first home run of the season:
Matt Vierling's first home run of the year comes at a perfect time for the @Tigers!
— MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2025
Detroit takes the lead in the bottom of the 8th! pic.twitter.com/cNvNJcbLPA
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Making things even better, new closer Kyle Finnegan continued his clean stat sheet with the Tigers, collecting his third save and fifth strikeout in three appearances after his acquisition was questioned and groaned over by fans.
Where Can Tigers Go From Here?
Vierling has struggled through injuries and poor performance this year, slashing just .233/.309/.302 in the 30 games he has been able to play. Perhaps though his massive shot is going to be the turnaround both he and this team so desperately needed.
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If Detroit can go on a nice run from here to lock up the division and head into the playoffs playing some great baseball, this will be a moment to point to as the night the season was not only save, but restarted for this team.
The Tigers and Angels will square off for the second game on Saturday night at 6:10 p.m. EST with a great pitching duel ahead between Charlie Morton and Yusei Kikuchi.
And if Friday night was any indication of what's to come, it should be another terrific night of baseball in the Motor City.
For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.
Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.