DETROIT — For Alex Gonzalez, being a 37-year-old major leaguer has its own advantages. Less than a week after being acquired by Detroit, Gonzalez found himself in a critical situation Monday with the game tied at 3-all and runners on first and third base in the ninth inning. Such a pressure-packed situation might cause some up-and-coming stars to chase balls in the dirt or swing wildly and recklessly at pitches — a sign of pressing at the plate. A sign of inexperience. But with 6,220 career at-bats under his belt, Gonzalez has seen it all. He knew what to expect. And what he saw from Royals closer Greg Holland was a belt-high fastball. What he saw was a mistake. He took Holland's one-out mistake and lined it over Alcides Escobar's head into left field to score 23-year-old pinch-runner Tyler Collins and give the Tigers a dramatic 4-3 win in walk-off fashion.
