AJ Hinch, Alex Lange prove how vital Tigers fans are to team success after Astros win

Monday night's game against the Astros was an absolute feast for Tigers fans. Jack Flaherty pitched the best start of his Tigers career — seven innings, no runs — while the offense teed off of Spencer Arrighetti and Tayler Scott. Eight out of nine starters recorded at least one hit (the exception was Javy Báez), and Trey Sweeney led the pack in RBI with a three-run homer. Colt Keith, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Wenceel Pérez also all contributed to Detroit's 10-0 rout.

Troy Melton pitched a hitless eighth inning, and Alex Lange returned to a major league mound for the first time since late May 2024 to close out the game. He gave up two hits and a walk but kept the Astros scoreless.

He said after his appearance, "I'm getting goosebumps right now reliving it. All the fans down in the bullpen all day saying 'welcome back' is pretty special, and running back in one more time was a lot of fun. I was definitely more nervous than my debut. [...] It's a long 14 months. [...] You're back with your boys, and you're back with the team that you love and care so much about. It's pretty special."

It's no surprise, either. Tigers fans have been coming out in full force this year. Typically in the bottom 10 in attendance as of late, Detroit is 18th in 2025, averaging 29,000 fans per game. And everyone saw how they came out for the playoffs.

AJ Hinch and Alex Lange shout out Tigers fans for excellent Comerica Park showing

Manager AJ Hinch also credited fans — who completely packed the stands at Comerica Park during the Astros opener — for the good vibe atmosphere that fuels the team. "We've talked over and over about how fun this place is to come to work," Hinch said. "The fans respond. I know they're riding this season out with us. This team represents what the fans want and what they deserve, and they're showing up. [...] Our guys talk about it. Other teams talk about it. This is a special place to play."

The Tigers had a July that everyone wants to forget, but they've won 10 out of 17 games in August, their division lead over the Guardians is increasing again, and they wrestled their American League-best record back from the Blue Jays. Even with some thirty-odd games left, things are looking good.

No one could really blame Tigers fans if they sort of tuned out from 2015-2022, when Detroit was in the throes of some of the franchise's worst years. Last year, they gave fans a reason to come back and stay, and it's all paying dividends as they get closer and closer to making that deep playoff run everybody's been dying for.