Detroit Tigers rise early for morning start against Toronto Blue Jays in series finale
The Detroit Tigers were at Comerica Park earlier than usual for Sunday's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The final game of the four-game series began at 11:35 as a part of the MLB's Sunday Leadoff series in partnership with Roku. The nationally televised game is free to watch on Roku and gives baseball fans a fix during brunch.
The early first pitch pushed up roll call for Tigers players, hours earlier than what's typical for a normal day game beginning just after 1 p.m.
Players arrived to the park with coffee and breakfast in hand, but not everyone was a fan of the uncharacteristic start time.
"I think whoever schedules an 11:30 a.m. game is a big ole stinker," reliever Andrew Chafin said Sunday, while eating strips of bacon in front of his locker.
Bacon wasn't the only thing on the menu for Chafin before the game. He decided to treat himself, outside of the coffee that most players had.
"I had a bagel and a Frosted Flake crusted French toast or some boujee stuff," he said.
Players said the early start didn't have much of an impact on their sleeping schedules last night, but couldn't deny the difference in the atmosphere. Catcher Jake Rogers, a self-described morning guy and the first one dressed in uniform for the game, said it was unique.
"I'm here and I'm ready to go," Rogers said. "It doesn't really bother me none, but yeah, it's definitely different."
Players went through the typical pregame routines, as they would for any other start: stretching, hitting and taking fielding drills while the sun was still rising over the left field wall and scoreboard at Comerica. The pregame warmups, however, were in a slightly condensed window.
"We only have three hours so I'm just going to hit the cage," infielder Zach McKinstry said.
The Tigers (25-27) had nearly a full day off after Saturday's 2-1 win in a day game. Detroit is looking to win three out of four to take the series from Toronto (23-28), which would be its first series win at home since the end of April.
The Tigers are off Monday on Memorial Day before beginning the next series against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a two-game series at home. An added benefit of the early start Sunday is snagging a few extra hours of rest between games in the marathon 162-game season.
"We are getting to the point of the year where any time you can get quote-unquote 'extended time off' from the game or away from the field is a good thing," Chafin said.
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City Connect mojo
The Tigers will wear the alternate City Connect uniforms for the third straight game in the series finale. The Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak Friday while donning the new black-and-blue jerseys introduced two weeks ago.
The City Connect uniforms were initially only supposed to be worn for Friday home games, but the 6-2 win Friday prompted manager A.J. Hinch to ask Rogers if he wanted to wear the uniforms again. Rogers said yes, but first had to text Reese Olson, the starting pitcher Saturday, to conduct a poll. As the starting pitcher, it was ultimately Olson's final call which uniforms the Tigers would wear.
"I texted Reese, and he was like 'let's do it,'" Rogers said while head-to-toe in uniform. "That was kind of the poll.
"Then I went to A.J. and told him we are wearing it tomorrow and he said 'Okay.' Then we won again yesterday and so here we are again."
The Tigers were 3-1 in the City Connect uniforms entering Sunday. The uniforms debuted May 10 against the Houston Astros in a 5-2 loss. The first win came the following day against Houston in a game where Kerry Carpenter hit two home runs. The next two wins came this weekend against Toronto, where Carpenter homered in each game as well.
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Carpenter was out of the lineup Sunday against Toronto left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, on the bench along with other lefties Riley Greene and Colt Keith.
The players are split on whether or not sticking with the jerseys is a superstition inside the clubhouse. Chafin said "Every damn thing we do is superstitious whether you say it or not" because that's just second nature in baseball. McKinstry said he doesn't believe it's superstition.
As for Rogers, it may be too early to make a definitive call.
"I think we're just winning and having fun with it," the starting catcher said. "Superstition or not, we are winning with them on."
The decision to go back to the Motor City uniforms for Sunday was an easy one after Saturday's win. Hinch didn't want to mess with the team's newfound mojo after struggling throughout May coming into the series.
"I don't know if it's the reason, but we're not going to test it," Hinch told reporters after Saturday's game.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers rise early for morning start against Toronto Blue Jays
