Mother Nature wasn't done with the Tigers yet. After dealing with the news of ace Tarik Skubal heading to the injured list with loose bodies in his elbow—requiring a surgical procedure—the team faced another storm, this one literally in the skies.
The game against the Red Sox started 30 minutes early to beat a fierce storm forecast for later, turning what should have been a timeless baseball game into a race against the rain. For seven innings, it worked. Then came the eighth.
One pitch into the inning, a bolt of lightning struck so close it sent chills through the ballpark. Crew chief Dan Iassogna wasted no time calling for the tarp, halting play with the Red Sox leading 5-2. Fans were asked to move to the concourse for safety—a scene that felt more like a weather alert than a ballgame.
But the drama had already unfolded. Boston lefty Payton Tolle was nearly unhittable, retiring the first 12 Tigers in order. Detroit finally broke through in the sixth, but not with thunderous hits. A hit batter, a walk, and then defensive chaos: catcher Carlos Narvaez's throwing error put runners in scoring position, and Matt Vierling's broken-bat grounder to third created a mess of bat and ball hurtling toward Andruw Monasterio. Falling backward, Monasterio's throw skipped past Narvaez, allowing two runs to score and tie the game.
The Tigers' momentum was short-lived. In the top of the seventh, with fans still on the concourse and lightning flickering in the distance, the Red Sox struck back. Reliever Ricky Vanasco—who had thrown 28 pitches just the day before—surrendered a three-run opposite-field homer to Jarren Duran. The inning got uglier when right-fielder Wenceel Perez lost a fly ball in the lights (or perhaps the lightning), handing Masataka Yoshida a double. Manager AJ Hinch called on lefty Enmanuel De Jesus, but lefty-swingers Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer greeted him with RBI singles.
As the tarp covered the field and the storm rolled in, the Tigers were left to wonder what might have been—and to hope the delay wouldn't bring more bad news.