By no means was Friday a banner day for the Detroit Tigers, who emerged from their series opener against the Seattle Mariners on the wrong side of a blowout 12–3 loss.
However, it was a banner day on a smaller scale for one man: Tigers catcher—or should one say —Jake Rogers.
With his team in a nine-run hole in the ninth inning, Rogers took the mound for the third pitching outing of his career. After inducing a groundout from first baseman Donovan Solano and hitting right fielder Luke Raley with a 73 mph fastball, Rogers coaxed third baseman Ben Williamson into a lineout to end the inning.
Fired up, Rogers inquisitively gestured toward an umpire with his glove, implying that he wanted to be checked for foreign substances after his mound success.
Rogers, in addition to his pitching heroics, owns eight RBIs this year. Can you say two-way player?