The Detroit Tigers were considered by many to be a sneaky potential playoff team in the American League, but through the first two months of the 2022 season, they haven't necessarily shown it.
Heading into Friday's game, the Tigers were 18-30, 11 games back of the division-leading Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.
Detroit had a great opportunity to make up some ground on Minnesota, playing an unusual five-game set that began on Monday.
Tuesday was a double-header for the two teams after the Tigers took the series opener on Memorial Day.
Game one in the afternoon wasn't as kind to Detroit, but Tuesday night, game two of the doubleheader, was much more favorable, thanks to the hitting on Jonathan Schoop.
He came up to the plate in the bottom of the first inning with a .181 average, having struggled on the offensive side of the ball.
Luckily, a two-run homer was a great start to an eventual 2-for-3 day at the plate with four RBI.
Those four runs were all that the Tigers needed in a 4-0 win over the Twins, securing at the minimum a series split against Minnesota.
It was a historic day or two for Schoop, who recorded his 1000th career MLB hit on Monday. He joins Andrelton Simmons and Andruw Jones as the third Curaçao-born player to join the 1K hit club.
The nightcap was also the debut of Detroit prospect Kody Clemens, the son of MLB great Roger Clemens.
Kody went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut, but he's got quite a bright future ahead of him as do many on this young Tigers roster.
Detroit and Minnesota face off again on Wednesday night before the series finale on Thursday afternoon.
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