Free Press sports writers Anthony Fenech and George Sipple give their thoughts on the first few games of the Detroti Tigers’ 2018 season from Comerica Park.
JaCoby Jones used his legs, glove and bat to help the Detroit Tigers win again.
Jones hit a walk-off home run to left to give the Tigers a 3-2 win in 10 innings over the Kansas City Royals on Friday afternoon at Comerica Park in the first game of a doubleheader.
Jones joked that he might have started celebrating — he put his finger up as he began to round the bases — too quickly on the homer. “I put it up very quickly and as it started getting close to the fence, it might hit the wall. Luckily it went out.”
Jones finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
“My last at-bat, I was just trying to put the ball in play and get on base,” Jones said. “Luckily I put a good swing on it, line drive and it went out. I’m just aggressive and I want to make stuff happen, make the game exciting. That’s just how I play the game.”
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Jones had a couple of other exciting moments on Friday.
He made a leaping catch at the wall in left in the ninth inning on a ball hit by Alcides Escobar off Shane Greene. Jones said he wasn’t sure if the ball was going to go out or not when he made the leap.
“I took steps on the warning track, so I knew the wall was getting close,” Jones said. “I’m was like, ‘I’m just going to jump and catch it.’ I don’t really know if it was going to go out or not. Probably not. Made the catch, so who cares?”
In the fifth inning, Jones stretched a single into a double on a ball hit to left-center. That allowed James McCann to score.
“I was just going to second,” Jones said. “I didn’t know Mac was going. I thought it was going to be runners on second and third.”
Jones went on to steal third and score on a sacrifice fly to center by Dixon Machado.
Of his three contributions — defense, baserunning and walk-off homer — Jones preferred the homer.
“Hitting the walk-off homer is no doubt the best thing ever,” he said. “Just a sense of excitement for your team. You won the game and you hit a homer. Any time you hit a homer is good. Especially when it’s a walk-off. A game like that we’re battling, when you can walk-off, it’s a great feeling. I was pumped up, excited. I’m still excited.”
Jones said he just wants to “cause havoc” for the opposition because of his speed.
“That’s my game, that’s what I do on bases is be aggressive and make stuff happen,” Jones said. “I do whatever I can to get on base and make stuff happen for the team.”
The home run was Jones’ first extra-base hit of the season. He has hit .353 (6-for-17) on the homestand. He’s batting .300 (9-for-30) over 13 games this season.
ones is getting the chance to play more since Mikie Mahtook was demoted to Triple-A Toledo after hitting .129 over his first nine games. The Tigers could have brought Mahtook up to serve as the 26th man for the doubleheader, but instead called up Mike Gerber from Triple-A Toledo.
Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said Mahtook needs to continue working in the batting cage and getting at-bats to work out of his slump.
Michael Fulmer allowed two runs on eight hits over seven innings, helping the Tigers extend their winning streak to four games.
“He’s just an outstanding player, he’s an athlete,” Fulmer said of Jones. “He can do it on the defense, and obviously the offense too. It’s exciting to watch this whole team develop and never quit.”
Gardenhire said he appreciates Jones’ agressive play.
“We’ve seen some good baserunning plays already this year,” he said. “We expect more of him. He’s aggressive. If you give him an inch, he’s going to take a mile. I like that. I like the way he plays. If he was out, I’ll yell at him.”
The Tigers improved to 8-9 entering Friday’s second game against the Royals.
“I’m sure everyone still has really low expectations for us,” Jones said. “We don’t care about what people think about us. We’re just going to keep playing ball, playing for these guys, just playing for each other and see what happens.”
Jones is enjoying the Tigers’ early season success.
“Every time you show up to the ballpark, you should be excited to play,” he said. “That’s what we talk about and that’s what Gardy talks about, just staying loose and having fun and playing the game.”
Contact George Sipple: [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.
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