DETROIT -- The Tigers do expect to get Alex Avila back at some point this season.
James McCann, though, isn't going to give up the catching job without a fight.
After spending a lot of time watching Avila at the end of last season and the beginning of this one, McCann is making the most out of his time in the lineup. Thursday, he made his biggest impact yet, hitting an 11th-inning homer off Tony Sipp to give the Tigers a 6-5 win over the Houston Astros.
"He threw me an 0-2 splitter -- the same pitch that I had just swung at in the dirt," said McCann, who hadn't hit a walk-off homer since college. "I was looking for something up in the zone that I could put into play."
He did more than that, dropping the ball just over Colby Rasmus's glove and into the Tigers dugout.
"There's a different feeling when you hit a walk-off homer as opposed to some other kind of walk-off hit," he said. "I wasn't sure it was going to go out, because I lost sight of the ball, but I could tell from the reaction of the crowd."
McCann's first career homer was an inside-the-parker last month in Minnesota, so he's still waiting for his first routine shot.
"I'm hoping to play up here for a long time and get a lot more chances to hit them," he said. "I liked this more than the first one -- it is a lot more fun to jog around the bases than sprint."
McCann came to the majors as one of Detroit's top prospects. He was expected to hit for average and do well behind the plate, but there were questions about his home-run power and his ability to draw walks. Those haven't been answered yet -- he's only drawn four walks -- but the 24-year-old is growing into the job.
He's already won over the fanbase and his teammates with a strong throwing arm, and while he hasn't developed big power, his .434 slugging percentage is perfectly fine for a good defensive catcher.
More importantly, he has developed a rapport with the Tigers pitching staff, which hasn't missed a beat without Avila. Thursday, six Tigers pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts, including 12 from David Price.
"I got the walk-off, but what David did out there was just as important to winning this game," he said. "He was great, and then when we blew a 5-0 lead, the bullpen kept it at 5-5 until the offense could finally break through."
It finally did in the 11th, but barely.
"I didn't know if it was going to go out or not," Brad Ausmus said. "I knew the wind was pushing it a little in the right direction, but I wasn't sure.
"I was just praying."
