Detroit Tigers, Game 94: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't

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The News' Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Tigers' 10-2 victory over the Phillies on Friday:

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One thing I loved

I think you’d need a heart made of stone not to love what’s happened for Eduardo Valencia over the last 24 hours. 

After hitting a home run in his debut at-bat on Thursday night against the Athletics and delivering an emotional postgame interview — he offered heartfelt words to his wife and his family in Venezuela — Valencia on Friday came up with an RBI single to put Detroit ahead of the Phillies in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

That 3-2 lead quickly ballooned to a 7-2 margin as the Phillies made an error on a Zach McKinstry hit that allowed a run before James Outman hit a two-RBI triple and scored via a balk a few pitches later — a rare balked-in run!

It’s just two games and a smattering of times in the batters box for the Venezuelan catcher, who has been in the minors since 2018 and got called up with Dillon Dingler’s hand injury, but he’s been a plus for the Tigers on the field and immediately endeared himself to fans. 

How can you not be romantic about baseball? 

Another thing I love(d)

Things are going far too well for this team right now for me to search for more existential dread — Detroit faced a position player on the mound on Friday — so let me sing the praises of these orange alternates.

Not only do I think they have a crisp and clean design that's a nice contrast from the normal home whites, they just seem to glow under the dusky mix of summer evenings and stadium lighting. Maybe it's that Detroit has started hitting more home runs and so it just seems better. Who knows!

Oh, and by the way: Detroit is now 7-1 in the orange alternates. I move they replace the abominable city connect uniforms (1-2 record this season) permanently.

I'm more ambivalent about the road blues, but I'm really growing to love these orange jerseys. Chad Smith looked good in one throwing out the first pitch, too.

Tigers' uniform tracker

Traditional home whites: 20-18

Alternate home oranges: 7-1

Motor City Connect home blues: 1-2

Traditional road grays: 12-21

Alternate road blues: 5-8

Three stars

(Season total in parentheses)

▶ James Outman (3)

▶ Spencer Torkelson (15)

▶ Kevin McGonigle (27)

Player of the game

(Season total in parentheses)

▶ Eduardo Valencia (1) — go-ahead RBI and a bit of a treat after last night, too.

Next Tigers game

▶ Game 95: Phillies at Tigers, 6:10 Saturday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1

ICYMI: Wednesday's Tigers recap

Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 94: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't

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