Tigers' first-round pick had hilarious commentary about weekend series vs Dodgers
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The 10 teams that picked ahead of the Tigers during the first round of the MLB Draft on Sunday night did Detroit a favor by overlooking Bryce Rainer. A high school shortstop out of Harvard-Westlake in LA (also the alma mater of the Tigers' own Jack Flaherty), Rainer was projected as the best shortstop in this draft class and probably should've gone in the top 10, but the Guardians, Reds, Rockies, et. al. decided to explore other avenues, leaving the Tigers a clear choice in Rainer as their first-round pick.
As a southern California native, it's no surprise that Rainer grew up a Dodgers fan. This weekend, he watched his future team take two of three games in come-from-behind, walk-off fashion from his hometown team in what capped off an awful pre-All-Star break stretch for LA and a resurgence for Detroit.
After the Tigers picked him on Sunday, Rainer said, "I would be lying if I said I wasn't watching both games and wondering how in the hell the Dodgers lost both of those games. But I think I'm gonna have to change my point of view on that now."
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Welcome to Detroit, Bryce! 👊#RepDetroit #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/1Y2VYArQRu
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 15, 2024
Dodgers fan turned Tiger Bryce Rainer is having to change his tune on Detroit's series win over LA this weekend
After losing their first game against the Dodgers without much fanfare, the second and third games were spectacles to behold. LA was enjoying leads in both games heading into late innings — five runs going into the bottom of the ninth on Saturday, one run on Sunday — but the Tigers were able to defy the odds and emerge victorious in both. Saturday's game might be the crown jewel of the Tigers' season; down by five in the ninth, Matt Vierling got a rally started with a two-run double, Carson Kelly continued his hot hitting stretch with an RBI single, then Colt Keith tied things up with a two-run homer off of Dodgers closer Evan Phillips with just one out to go.
Gio Urshela got to play walk-off hero with a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the 10th, locking in one of the most enjoyable "wheeeee!" moments of the season.
With those two wins over the Dodgers, the Tigers improved their July record to 9-4, while the Dodgers are sitting 4-8. It'll be a while before Rainer gets to join in on that kind of fun at the major league level, but it was certainly good cause for him to rearrange his allegiances quickly.
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