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Everything has happened quickly, said Christin Stewart, as do many of his home tours.
They scream like a laser – the speed of exit is what the kids call it nowadays – and this one was no different.
It was a game out of gear, he thought, and he was trying to stay short in front of the ball.
"I'm hitting hard," he said.
As this seventh-inning ball reached the corner of the right field, its distance was not in question. But if it would stay or not, it was fine.
From the best view inside the Tigers canoe, they thought it would be dangerous. Nicholas Castellanos did not know, going down the third baseline with his right hand high up in the air.
"I was doing all the Carlton Fisk stuff," he said.
And off the batter's field, Stewart did not know either.
"All you can do is hit," he said. "Sometimes we do not really know what the ball is going to do."
This one was right inside the right post, falling directly into the Comerica Park stand. Castellanos jumped for joy and Stewart skirted the goals with a new winning score added to his early season collection.
This one came to the seventh inning. It was a grand slam. This allowed the Tigers to win their fourth consecutive victory, 7-4 over the Royals, and perhaps most importantly to stop Stewart's fall early in the season.
"Sometimes," he says, "there is beauty in the fight. Because once you come out, it's a very beautiful thing. "
Stewart's grand slam – like his run against the Blue Jays on March 28 – on opening day one, was very positive on this weekend morning, with two outs, the goals loaded and the Tigers to the dragged.
But while the slam almost sealed another win, Stewart's previous victories – as well as the week's struggles since his first game of the season – also played a decisive role in the win.
The rookie played the match on Saturday afternoon without a hitch in 24 games since the first match, 0-0 for the 18 and in front of the first of the many upcoming tests early in the career. His veteran teammates and coaches – Castellanos and coach Lloyd McClendon – guided Stewart in his struggles and found a refined routine.
"Just tell my experience with him, try to stay with him every day so that all his natural abilities manifest themselves every day," Castellanos said.
But even as Stewart's attacks became more and more competitive – his decisive breakthrough two days earlier was a sure sign of progress – he still could not shake off the fall until the fourth inning Saturday, when A defender fell in the middle of three royals just inside the left lane.
"You keep swinging, good things happen," said Stewart. "Honestly, I did not try to be too high or too low, I just tried to stay calm anyway. Getting the first shot off the road, no matter how things were going, I was just happy to get into the base and yes, obviously, that calms you down a bit because you're going to fight for that shot . "
The first appearance of the match, characterized by a seven-foot walk, was marked by a glimmer of hope. During his slump, he walked five times – once intentional – and hit seven times.
"Let him play," said Tigers coach Ron Gardenhire. "He has everything under his eyes and now it remains only to stay focused. I do not think these guys will let him stay focused. They will keep it on base, I can promise you. They taunt him all the time. He takes a lot of trouble, but he can hit.
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Stewart's slam was more than enough for the final duo of Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene. The first scored an eighth without goal and the second recorded his sixth save of the season, earning a place in history. Greene is the third pitcher in league history and the first in the history of the Tigers to make six saves in the first 10 games of his team.
The throwing effort, again strong at the start and aided by a pretty solid relief from southpaw Daniel Norris, who will assume Matt Moore's rotation spot after he left the match with a sprained knee right, kept the game close enough for Stewart's heroic.
The ball fell on a fan named Don, who traded the first baseball he ever caught in a match against one of Stewart's bats.
"Not the stick, though," Stewart said.
No, this bat will stay near his locker, where he once again spoke to reporters after hitting a winning shot. Many players have had careers without touching one. In only one week this season, Stewart has two.
"I will not choose," he says. "We won both games. This is the most important thing. "
Contact Anthony Fenech at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech. Learn more about the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our newsletter.
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