Remembering Alex Avila’s greatest Detroit Tigers moments
By Jacob Boes
2. Alex Avila hits a grand slam off Stephen Strasburg to break the tie
Avila has always had a good deal of thump in his bat and he had it on full display on July 30, 2013, against the Washington Nationals at Comerica Park.
Stephen Strasburg was at the height of his stardom at the time; a season in which he’d pitch to a 3.00 ERA across 30 starts; striking out over a batter per inning and supplying a 2.9 bWAR with electric stuff.
Avila would propel the team to a 5-1 win thanks to his grand slam to one of the deeper parts of the park which broke the tie in the sixth inning. Anibal Sanchez was the starter for the Detroit Tigers; he went seven innings before handing it off to Jose Veras and then Joaquin Benoit to finish it out.