Blue Jays Shut Out Tigers on Miguel Cabrera Celebration Day

On Sunday, the Detroit Tigers hosted the Toronto Blue Jays for the rubber match of their three-game weekend series. The home team also chose to honor franchise legend Miguel Cabrera with a pregame celebration to honor his historic 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 600 doubles (and counting) over his MLB career. The only other players with such achievements are Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols, who is also an active player.

Miguel Cabrera became just the seventh player in @MLB history to collect 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

Today, he is presented a crystal sculpture, commemorating the day, as he joins one of the most select clubs in all of sports.@MiguelCabrera | #DetroitRoots pic.twitter.com/epsTxwxD7s

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) June 12, 2022

After the first pitch was thrown, the visitors stole the show. Swingman Ross Stripling had a quality start, throwing six scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Tigers starter and potential All-Star selection Tarik Skubal allowed four runs on seven hits over 4.0 IP.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. opened the scoring with a two-run homer to left center field, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was 2-3 with 3 RBI. The Tigers managed only one more hit off reliever Trent Thornton.

After the game, Cabrera answered reporters’ questions about the difficulty of taking a loss after receiving pre-game honors. The future Hall of Famer commented that the Tigers, who are ranked last in team batting with a collective fWAR of -2.4, “need to do a better job offensively” and have to “get better at-bats.”

We hear from Miguel Cabrera after he's celebrated for his 500th homer and 3,000th hit . #DetroitRoots pic.twitter.com/oQvmQ42WRS

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) June 12, 2022

The Tigers will continue a lengthy homestand with three games against the Chicago White Sox starting on Monday at 7:10 PM ET. Lance Lynn will make his season debut for the Sox against Rony García (0-1 , 4.50 ERA in 11 appearances).

Featured Image: Detroit, MI – December 2019. Signage and sculptures on top of the Comerica Park main entrance. Detroit Tigers baseball stadium by Jay Fog / Shutterstock.com.