DETROIT -- As hard as Zack Short fought to make it to the Major Leagues, it may have been even harder to fight back his smile as reporters peppered him with questions on Saturday afternoon. 

Short showed up for his postgame Zoom session with a flashy WWE wrestling belt draped over his right shoulder that was nearly as big as he was. The Tigers reserve belt honors for game MVPs, and there was no doubt who had turned in a heavyweight performance during Detroit’s 3-1 win over the Astros in Game 1 of a seven-inning doubleheader at Comerica Park.

“We were hurt by a guy that we really didn’t know -- the shortstop hit his first home run,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “He’s the one that beat us today. He hit a ball to center field, and our guys who played against him said they’d never seen him hit a ball like that one. The next one he barreled over the right-field fence.”

As the 27th man on the roster, Short -- Detroit's No. 20 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- knew his time with the Tigers would be fleeting. He’d held his own through five Major League games earlier in the season, but Saturday provided a chance to make a real statement.

Short did that and then some, not only flashing the leather at shortstop but providing the eventual knockout punch by way of an opposite-field homer that put Detroit in front for good.

When Friday’s rainout provided an extra day of rest for the pitching staff, manager A.J. Hinch opted to call up a position player for the day rather than an arm to help Detroit work through the split doubleheader. Short proved his skipper’s decision wise right away with a diving stop at shortstop in the second inning to rob Robel García of a base hit.

“I love watching that guy take infield and ground balls and all that stuff. He’s so smooth,” said starter Casey Mize, who earned the win with six innings of one-run ball. “I induce a lot of ground balls, so I feel comfortable when somebody puts one on the ground that Shorty’s going to get the job done and get the guy out.”

As sharp as Short looked in the field, he was even better at the plate, slugging the first extra-base hit of his career -- a double to center to open the third. His biggest contribution came in the bottom of the fifth inning though, when the 26-year-old connected off of lefty Framber Valdez for his first career home run. 

“I definitely blacked out,” Short said with a laugh. “I hit it pretty well off the bat. Especially for home runs, I really rarely go opposite field, so when I hit it, it was [at] the right angle to at least be a gapper. I was rounding first, and I saw [right fielder Kyle] Tucker jump. I was just hoping that that pretty big wall over there was high enough.” 

Short’s long ball came on a 1-1 changeup and was crushed over the right-field fence, but more importantly, it broke a 1-1 tie and gave Detroit the final advantage against the American League West leaders, who had won 11 straight games. 

"We wanted to give Zack an opportunity to come up and play," Hinch said during a pregame Zoom call. "I've told him time and time again that when we have any opportunity, we want to give him an opportunity to come up. It can be for one day, and who knows? [It] can be for longer."

Short has a .385 average in six games with Detroit this season, and he has so far proved a very capable defender with quick reflexes that allow him to make the flashy plays as well as the routine ones. One of the best fielding shortstops in the Tigers’ system, Short landed with Detroit in the Cameron Maybin trade with the Cubs on Aug. 31, 2020. 

He’s been up and down since, but if Short continues to hoist the MVP belt, it’ll be hard for the Tigers not to find a more permanent place for him in Detroit.  

Until then, he’s prepared to make the most of every opportunity. 

“It kind of goes without saying, whenever they bring you up, they trust you. At least that’s how I picture it,” Short said. “Whenever [Hinch] needs or wants me, I’ll be good to go, whenever the phone rings. … I try not to be cliché, but I’m just in a fortunate situation.”