ATLANTA – Sure, if Ron Gardenhire knew that Daniel Norris was going to allow a two-run home run to Atlanta Braves rookie Austin Riley in the bottom of the sixth inning on Saturday afternoon, he wouldn’t have sent him back out.
Both Gardenhire and Detroit Tigers pitching coach Rick Anderson knew there was a chance Norris could find trouble in the sixth, even more so after Norris walked Nick Markakis with one out.
“Me and (Anderson) kind of looked at each other and went, ‘Oh, crap, here we go,’” Gardenhire said on Sunday morning at SunTrust Park.