Jake Rogers' hilarious quote actually hyped up young Tigers to respond in another win

Sometimes inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of sources – like a 29-year-old, sub-.200 hitter on a roster full of young guns.

In a span of five plate appearances against Los Angeles Angels right-hander Johnny Cueto, the Detroit Tigers hit three long home runs to center field combining for 1,272 feet in Tuesday's 6-2 win at Comerica Park, and it all started at the bottom of the lineup.

Jake Rogers hit a first-pitch fastball 422 feet for a two-out, go-ahead home run in the fifth. In the next frame, Riley Greene smacked a sinker 425 feet and Kerry Carpenter hit a 425-foot, two-run homer of his own to make it 6-2.

Rogers, a veteran catcher on the cusp of losing his starting job to rookie Dillon Dingler, is hardly the guy you would expect to get the ball rolling on an offensive onslaught. He is slashing .196/.240/.376 this season alone, and his career numbers aren't much better. Still, he is a role player who proved his value in hyping up the young sluggers in Detroit's lineup Tuesday night.

"It's huge," Rogers said (via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press). "Those are big at-bats. I tried to get things going there at the bottom of the lineup and get it up to those guys, Murderers' Row. Every homer is a good homer."

How Jake Rogers hyped up young players to respond in another Tigers win

Rogers, an elder statesman in the Tigers clubhouse at age 29, has thus far survived Detroit's youth movement that has brought an influx of late-season call-ups and Major League debuts and coincided with the Tigers' recent hot streak that includes a 12-3 record in their past 15 games.

"I tell them all the time, 'If Rog can do it, anybody can do it,'" Rogers said. "It's fun when you win. It definitely helps when you score a lot of runs."

Indeed, it's fun when you win. Don't look now, but the Tigers (67-66) have now won five games in a row and are above .500 for the first time since June 4. They may not be a playoff team this year, but they're making some noise – and it might be time to start taking them seriously.

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