Jackson Jobe makes MLB debut as Tigers top Rays

DETROIT — The calls began as the Tigers tacked on runs in the eighth inning Wednesday night.

“We want Jobe! We want Jobe,” one section of fans behind the Tigers’ dugout chanted.

Others picked up on it as Detroit’s four-run lead became six.

Once the Tigers built their final margin in a 7-1 win over the Rays, it was obvious that the latest victory in the Tigers’ charge to an American League Wild Card spot would close with Jackson Jobe’s MLB debut. No sooner did the bullpen door open than the hype video began on Comerica Park’s massive scoreboard for baseball’s top pitching prospect.

“That kind of welcome,” manager A.J. Hinch said after the game, “I don’t know how many of you have been welcomed to a big league park the way that Jackson Jobe just was, but that was pretty incredible.”

Even the Tigers’ closer — when they’ve had a set closer — doesn’t get this treatment.

“It was crazy,” Jobe said. “I don’t even think it’s fully hit me, but it would be tough to draw it up any better than that with this crowd and the position that this team’s in. That was special for sure.”

The last time Jobe pitched in a Tigers uniform, he ran in from the bullpen at Joker Marchant Stadium and fired 100-plus mph fastballs in the ninth inning of a Spring Training win over the Twins on March 12. That started Tigers fans’ anticipation of what Jobe could do in the Majors, even with only one outing above High-A ball at the time.

Wednesday’s performance was more composed, despite the hype. For one thing, Jobe is pitching at the end of his most extensive pro season to date, having thrown 91 2/3 innings across three Minor League levels before getting the callup on Tuesday. More than that, Jobe has grown as a pitcher, learning how to channel his impressive arsenal and set up hitters.

“He’s calm and competitive at the same time,” Hinch said. “One of his best attributes is his competitiveness. He will not back down. He will not shy away. He’s going to give his best stuff. It’s going to be over the plate. And he is a constant learner. He has tweaked a few things along the way. He’s not the same pitcher he was even dating back to the spring when we saw him electrify our Spring Training. … There’s a lot to like about his development, and he’s got the mindset to match.”

Said Jobe: “I think that Spring Training outing that I had really prepared me for this. I honestly felt more nervous in the moment for that one than I did today. I felt pretty comfortable up there.”

Jobe’s first pitch was a 96 mph fastball that sailed up and out of the zone to Christopher Morel. He got back in the zone with a 97 mph heater that Morel fouled back, then unleashed a 92 mph cutter on the outside edge that sent Morel flailing for strike two and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Jobe reached back for 99 mph at the top of the zone, but Morel fouled it off. After a changeup in the dirt, Jobe went back to the cutter, which Morel grounded to third for an easy first out.

“Jobe! Jobe! Jobe,” the crowd chanted.

“They won me over pretty quick,” Jobe said. “That was awesome.”

The rest of the inning flew by.

“There was no real in-depth scouting report for me. It was just, ‘Trust your stuff, go attack the zone,’ and that’s what I did,” Jobe said. “I trust [catcher Dillon Dingler] back there. I trust that my stuff plays up here.”

Ben Rortvedt lined Jobe’s first-pitch 99 mph fastball back up the middle for a single, but was erased on the next pitch on a Jose Caballero ground ball for a fielder’s choice at second. Caballero just beat the throw to first, but it only extended Jobe’s inning for one more pitch, a 98 mph fastball that Richie Palacios flew out to center to end the game and maintain Detroit’s two-game lead for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.

“You want it to be a perfect scenario, and it was as close as we could get to welcome him as a big leaguer,” Hinch said. “He’s officially a big leaguer now. I know he’s been one for a couple days, but he’ll go home tonight feeling like he accomplished something that he only dreamed about until today. He had a lot of people in town, and everybody should be proud, not only of what Jackson did but how our city welcomed him.”