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Tigers upstage Ohtani with five-run rally in ninth, Urshela walk-off in 10th

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Tigers upstage Ohtani with five-run rally in ninth, Urshela walk-off in 10th

Detroit — Zach McKinstry was still pumping his fists triumphantly in the clubhouse following the Tigers most incredible, most improbable 11-9, 10-inning walk-off win over the N.L. West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday at Comerica Park.

How improbable? The Dodgers were 47-0 this season when leading after eight innings and they went into the ninth with a 9-4 lead.

“Huh,” McKinstry said. “That’s cool. Now they’re 47-1.”

Much to the astonishment of the 40,196 folks who stuck around, a lot of them Dodgers fans, that is fact.

“Amazing,” said Gio Urshela, who provided the winning home run in the bottom of the 10th off reliever Yohan Ramirez. “We’d been fighting all game today. Go to the ninth down by five — amazing. The entire lineup put something to win this game.”

Let’s work backwards here. The Tigers, after the five-run explosion in the bottom of the ninth capped by a dramatic two-run homer by rookie Colt Keith, were back in the soup in the top of the 10th. The Dodgers loaded the bases against reliever Will Vest with one out and the always dangerous Freddy Freeman was at the plate.

BOX SCORE: Tigers 11, Dodgers 9, 10 innings

MLB STANDINGS

“Right before, Zach said, if it’s hit to him, for me to get to the bag (at second),” said second baseman Keith. “I told him I would.”

Freeman hit a ball up the middle, just to the shortstop side of second base. McKinstry fielded it on his knees and made a slick flip to the bag. Keith made a textbook turn and fired a strike to Urshela at first base to complete the inning-ending double-play.

“I was just thinking, don’t let it go by me,” McKinstry said. “I just kind of put my body on the line there and had a good flip and we turned it. That was an awesome play.”

The energy and emotion from the Tigers players was palpable, electric.

“That was one of the coolest moments I’ve had,” said Keith, who had a game full of big moments Saturday.

“Colt is in such a good place mentally and physically and most importantly, emotionally,” said Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch. “I know from the very beginning he felt like he belonged. But you still have to prove it to the boys and you have to prove it to the fans and you have to prove it to yourself sometimes.”

He checked every box, especially in the ninth and 10th innings of this one.

The Tigers looked dead in the water when they came to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Down by five runs and with two of their veterans already out of the game. Mark Canha reported wrist soreness after his one at-bat in the second inning. Shortstop Javier Báez’s back stiffened up on him again and he was removed in the fifth inning.

More: Rare flash of temper from Tigers’ Jake Rogers tests limits of umpire-catcher relationship

Both were expected to undergo testing Saturday night.

“We’re a scrappy team,” Keith said. “We’ve had a lot of ninth-inning wins (19 come-from-behind wins) this year. We will come back and at least give ourselves a chance. That’s what we did. We never gave up. Down 9-4, I felt like there was no change in the dugout. No falter.”

Matt Vierling ripped a two-run double off reliever Ricky Vanasco to make it 9-6. That forced Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to bring in closer Evan Phillips for the second day in a row.

Carson Kelly, who produced 804 frustrating feet of fly balls to center field earlier in the game, dumped an RBI single to left — 9-7.

Then with two outs, Keith, who doubled in two runs in the second inning, ambushed a first-pitch cutter that was inside and off the plate, and drove it out to right field. His ninth home run of the year tied the score.

“We said he was first-pitch cutter like 70% of the time,” Keith said. “So I told (hitting coach) Michael Brdar that I was going to pull it if he threw me one. He threw me one in and I was able to get it in the air.”

The ball flew 364 feet and dropped into the short shrubs just over the wall in right field.

“I don’t know how to appropriately comment on this game other than it’s an amazing feeling to see the guys happy inside that clubhouse,” Hinch said. “What a comeback.”

More: Rare flash of temper from Tigers’ Jake Rogers tests limits of umpire-catcher relationship

By the end of the game, Hinch had used every player on his bench, as well as five relievers. Ryan Vilade ended up playing three positions, right field, first base and left field. It was supposed to be a day off for Urshela.

“I’m sure glad I didn’t give him one,” Hinch said.

Keith over his last 11 games is hitting .410 with a double, two triples, five home runs and 13 RBIs.

“It’s really good to see,” Urshela said. “Everybody knows how he was the first two months of the season. He’s been working really hard and I’m really happy for him to be seeing all the results. I feel good for him.”

For Keith, it was less about his day than what the team accomplished. He was still pinching himself afterward.

“Honestly, that was one of my coolest moments yet,” he said. “Playing the Dodgers. Obviously they got a billion dollars worth of players and to be able to beat them with the boys here. It was fun.”

Keith, a left-handed hitter, finished the day with three hits, a walk and four RBIs. Two of the hits came against left-handed pitchers. His two-run double in the second inning was off a cutter from Dodgers lefty starter Justin Wrobleski. He stayed on that one and drove it to the left-center gap — further evidence of his growth and comfort in the batter’s box.

“Each of these experiences is going to make him more and more settled,” Hinch said. “And he’s never satisfied. This guy can go out and do what he did today and he’ll talk about the one at-bat he didn’t like. He’s a perfectionist by nature and he’s also a grinder by nature.

“That’s a great trait.”

There was one last feel-good moment Saturday. Vilade, only 25, has played 696 games in the minor leagues. He got to the big leagues with Colorado for three games in 2021 and was playing in just his sixth game with the Tigers. And in his 22nd plate appearance spaced over those four years, he finally swatted his first big-league homer in the fifth.

“It’s special,” he said. “Just a great moment. Unforgettable. But this game, though. Down five in the ninth, tie it up, Colt, Gio big homers. Just a special day.”

Wenceel Perez followed with his fourth homer of the season.

“I didn’t really feel it,” Vilade said of the ball off his bat. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime swing. I can’t really explain it. I’ve been waiting for that moment for a long time.”

Hinch was asked where this win ranked among his big moments with the Tigers.

“I don’t remember a lot,” he said with a laugh. “There have been some really fun wins but this is going to rank right up there. You can never be mad after a win, but you can be a little extra excited after a win like today.”

Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky

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