You never know when the moment will arrive and the mind will click. No matter the team or the record, the everlasting charm of baseball is its penchant for delivering unexpected magic.
Spencer Turnbull never knew when, or if, the moment would arrive. He spent much of his first three seasons with the Tigers battling doubts, nervous about pitch selection, anxious to prove he belonged. Just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, the mind met the moment, and Turnbull delivered one of the greatest pitching performances in Tigers history.
It certainly wasn’t a fluke no-no, nine strikeouts and two walks, first-pitch strikes to 24 of 29 batters.