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J-Up keeps showing knack for clutch homers
- Updated: September 23, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Upton could feel the lethargy trapping the Tigers. They had to turn around from a Wednesday night rainout to a Thursday split doubleheader. Pat Dean, a spot starter forced into action from the Twins’ bullpen, had hit his spots to keep Detroit’s bats quiet. The intensity of a postseason race was tough to find.
“It was dragging a little bit,” Upton said after his go-ahead homer put the Tigers up for good in a 9-2 win in Game 1. “We weren’t really getting the bats going. But no matter how you get them, you’ve gotta get them.”
It took Upton one swing to bring the Tigers back to life.
“One run in a big league ballgame isn’t a lot,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “But Justin Upton, in terms of being a story, think about some of the home runs he’s hit over the past month.”
Half of Upton’s 26 home runs this season have been hit since Aug. 21, a 13-homer outburst over just 94 at-bats. But it’s about more than quantity.
Six of Upton’s last 13 home runs entering Thursday’s nightcap had been hit in the sixth inning or later. Five of those six either tied the game or pulled Detroit …
