Kansas City, Mo. – It’s been a long and winding road for Gage Workman since the Tigers drafted him in the fourth round in 2020. He was a Rule 5 pick of the Cubs last season, got released and picked up by the White Sox, released again and wound up back at Triple-A Toledo where he scuffled and ended up off the 40-man roster.
But that same road led him to the hero’s circle Sunday night.
His contract selected from Toledo earlier in the day after Kerry Carpenter was put on the injured list, Workman swatted a two-out, two-run, pinch-hit home run in the top of the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie and pushing the Tigers to a 6-3 win in the finale against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
First big-league homer in his long-awaited Tigers’ debut. Storybook.
And sorely needed.
The Tigers went into the game reeling from yet another injury and riding a five-game losing streak and the worst road record in baseball (6-16).
“We have guys here filling in for a large list of guys who are gone and that’s not changing,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Those guys are injured and they are gone. Focusing on what is in front of you is way easier when you eliminate any negativity from the day…There’s no evaluation that’s going to make that record change or make the situation change.”
Carpenter was the 17th player from the Tigers’ 40-man roster to land on the injured list. Eleven of those players would’ve been with the club on this road trip if they were healthy.
That’s a lot of missing pieces for a team whose strength is the sum of its parts.
“We have to deal with that reality,” Hinch said. “There’s no making up for lost time. That’s a wasted effort. You can’t change the things that already happened.”
Nine players on the active roster in the finale against the Royals either started the season at Triple-A Toledo or were not in the organization, including three starting position players.
And, fortunately in this case, Workman.
The Tigers, who have struggled with runners in scoring position in this series (2 for 19 in the first two games), scored five of their six runs with two outs.
Hao-Yu Lee delivered an RBI triple and Matt Vierling a two-run double, all with two outs in the third inning against Royals’ starter Noah Cameron.
The Tigers, deploying a full bullpen game (no bulk reliever), used Brenen Hanifee and Brant Hurter to go through the Royals lineup the first time.
The baton next went to Drew Anderson and he gave back the lead in two innings. Maikel Garcia doubled and scored in a two-run third inning and then he singled with two outs to tie the game in the fourth.
After Workman’s homer, lefty Enmanuel De Jesus set down seven straight hitters, getting the game Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen and the back end of the Tigers’ bullpen.
Finnegan escaped trouble with double-play balls in the seventh (getting Bobby Witt, Jr., to bounce into a rare 5-4-3 double-play) and in the eighth (Michael Massey).
Jansen, pitching for the first time in six days and just the second time in 11 days, dispatched the Royals in order in the ninth to earn his seventh save (483 in his career).
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Gage Workman plays hero in Detroit Tigers debut, win over Royals