The Tigers were less than nine outs from forcing an ALCS Game 7. Detroit had squandered multiple scoring opportunities during the game, but the magnitude of those failures wasn't felt until the seventh inning, when Shane Victorino slammed the Sox' ticket to the World Series to the Green Monster in left field.
Tigers vs. Red Sox, ALCS Game 6 GIF recap
GIFs from Game 6, including Max Scherzer’s mastery of nonverbal communication and Shane Victorino’s grand slam.
But before Victorino was a hero in the game, he looked like he might be one of the Sox’ goats of the game.
Max Scherzer found himself in a pickle early in the third inning, as he had walked the first two batters. However, with Victorino up, the righty took matters into his own hands and made a nifty sliding catch on a popup in front of home plate.
Let’s zero in on that 80-grade facial expression:
Scherzer again found himself in the center of attention immediately after the play, when Dustin Pedroia took him deep to left field...
So was it fair or foul?
Let’s zoom in one more time...
The shadow says it all: Foul.
What did Scherzer think of the close call?
We’re not quite sure how to decipher that expression, Scherzer does look like a man possessed.
Jacoby Ellsbury finally broke a scoreless game in the fifth inning, hitting a single to right fielder Torii Hunter. Xander Bogaerts, who had hit a double off the Green Monster, came around to score the game's first run.
But the Red Sox' lead was short-lived. With Clay Buchholz in trouble in the sixth inning, Red Sox manager John Farrell brought in Franklin Morales to face Prince Fielder. He couldn't throw strikes, much to the frustration of Red Sox Nation.
This guy wasn’t happy, either.
To further exasperate the Red Sox, Morales gave up a long single to Victor Martinez, driving in a pair of runs and giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
The double was enough to drive Morales from the game. Farrell then brought in Brandon Workman, who helped the Sox escape further damage... with a little help from Prince Fielder's belly-flopping ability.
That flop was so nice, we ought to see it from another angle, right?
Stephen Drew helped to keep the Red Sox in the game by robbing Miguel Cabrera of a potential RBI single with a pair of runners on in the top of the seventh inning.
Drew's diving snag loomed especially large when Jonny Gomes just missed a home run leading off the bottom of the seventh inning.
How about a replay?
When the Red Sox added two more baserunners, Torii Hunter wasn’t thrilled.
And that was before Shane Victorino did this:
Victorino’s slam put the Sox up, 5-2, and sealed Boston’s trip to the World Series.
Finally, let the celebration begin.
More from SB Nation MLB:
See More:
