Detroit Tigers infielder Zach McKinstry had the Detroit Red Wings on his mind Tuesday morning in the clubhouse.
He was fired up about the Red Wings’ 5-4 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena, coming back from three goals down to keep their playoff hopes alive entering the regular season finale.
“Did you see the Wings’ comeback?” McKinstry said.
Yes, everyone saw (or heard about) the epic comeback from the Wings in some way.
JEFF SEIDEL:Yes, Red Wings put themselves in this playoff hole. But the climb has been amazing.
If you didn’t watch Monday’s game, you probably watched the highlights. Players and coaches from the Tigers watched live while eating late-night dinner in the clubhouse after their game next door at Comerica Park.
Lucas Raymond, a 22-year-old forward in his third NHL season, tied the game with 1:17 remaining in the third period before winning the game with 25 seconds remaining in overtime.
That was Monday night. But there’s more work to be done.
“I know they’re excited, but this is a business trip from this moment on,” Wings coach Derek Lalonde told reporters after Monday’s comeback win. “We need to turn the page and give ourselves an opportunity to win.”
On Tuesday night, the Red Wings play another game against the Canadiens, this time in Canada, to complete the regular-season schedule. If the Wings beat the Canadiens, and if the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Capitals, then the Wings make the playoffs.
Even a Wings loss in overtime or a shootout could put them in the playoffs, but in that case, only if the Capitals lose in regulation and the Pittsburgh Penguins lose.
The Wings will be eliminated with a loss in regulation.
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“We’re locked in,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said after Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers. “Everybody’s asking where we’re going to watch the Wings play. Unfortunately, the plane is out of town. We’re not going to get to go to Montreal.”
The Tigers — in third place in the American League Central with a 10-7 record — were inspired by the Wings’ comeback to stay alive in the playoff race.
The players took that inspiration on the field against the Rangers, delivering a comeback win. A double from Kerry Carpenter tied the game in the sixth inning, then the Tigers took a 4-2 lead with a two-run eighth inning.
“We’re never out of it,” Carpenter said. “We never go into the eighth inning down and thinking we’re going to lose. We’re always thinking that we’re going to win each game we play. It doesn’t matter who we’re facing.”
Matt Vierling and Gio Urshela, facing a left-handed reliever, hit clutch two-out singles in the eighth inning.
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Before the comeback, right-hander Casey Mize — the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick — completed six innings of two-run ball with zero walks and six strikeouts. It was his first start at Comerica Park since April 9, 2022, after missing all of last season recovering from elbow surgery and back surgery.
“It’s good to win the close one,” Mize said. “Sometimes, you wish you could just win a big one every now and then and try not to lose the big one, but it’s just all the emotions of baseball. We’re experiencing them a lot, but it’s what makes it fun. Coming out on this side of it is good. I feel like in the DNA of good teams, winning the close game is important. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
The Tigers are struggling on offense through 17 games, but there have been dominant pitching performances from both the starters and relievers. The offense, though, is averaging just 1.88 runs in the first seven innings of games.
But the Tigers still have 10 wins.
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The pitching staff, more often than not, has kept games within striking distance for the slow-to-start offense, and the offense is relying on a lot of comebacks this season, scoring 28 of their 60 runs in the eighth, ninth and extra innings.
That’s 46.7% of runs in the late innings.
“We all, as a team, watched the Wings last night,” Hinch said, “and we took a page out of their book — wait until the very end, make everybody really nervous, come through with the win. It’s a good time to be in Detroit.”
The Tigers didn’t have the pressure of their season on the line like the Red Wings, but when the regular season concludes in early October, the comeback win against the Rangers in mid-April could make a big difference in the standings.
Every win matters, right?
Just ask the Red Wings.
“You never know,” Hinch said. “Not now, we don’t think it does, but these wins are huge. I’m proud of our group. Pretty quiet day to begin with and then a flurry finish. Fun win.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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