Alex Gonzalez, the Tigers' 37-year-old shortstop who is subbing for the injured Jose Iglesias, heard some booing Monday afternoon after he made an error in the third inning.
The crowd of 45,068 at Comerica Park was restless, as Anthony Fenech reports in the Free Press.
He writes:
Before the season was a game old, Gonzalez would get his redemption.
With two outs in the seventh inning and the Tigers facing a one-run deficit, Gonzalez tripled into the left-center gap, tying the game and tiding the crowd over for at least a day.
And then he won it two innings later with a walk-off single to left, as the Tigers beat the Royals, 4-3 on Opening Day.
Gonzalez’s triple was set up by one of Austin Jackson’s own, off Kansas City starter James Shields and also to the left-center gap. After Shields walked Alex Avila, he was pulled in favor of Aaron Crow, who struck out Nick Castellanos but allowed Jackson to score from third on a wild pitch.
Then Gonzalez tripled, those boos became cheers, and after his single off Royals closer Greg Holland in the bottom of the ninth, those cheers became even louder.
