Detroit Tigers: Week 9 Heroes and Zeroes

Jun 7, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) hits an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at U.S Cellular Field. Detroit won 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

#4 Hero: Yoenis Cespedes

We were particularly harsh with our criticism of Yoenis Cespedes last week in this column and our previous podcast.  While he had three homers that week for the Detroit Tigers, we were concerned that he was not able to get the big hit when it was needed.

Cespedes had another homer this week, and it was a big one. While it did not give the Tigers a lead, it came in the sixth inning while Chicago’s Jeff Samardzija was in a comfortable groove against Tigers’ hitters, something he had been able to do in his two previous starts against them this season.

With two outs and Detroit seemingly going quiet again, Yoenis hammered an opposite field homer (his first oppo of the season) and pulled the Tigers within a run. Two batters later, J.D. Martinez gave them the lead and Cespedes hit a single later in the game to pad the lead and give Detroit their second win in a row after dropping eight straight.

Although his average (.455) and OPS (1.115) will garner the headlines from last week, his five runs scored is a big number for the Tigers’ struggling offense and hopefully a nice sign of things to come.

Next: Gose of a Player