Detroit, MI –Alex Avila looked gassed.  He looked like he needed a day off.  After catching a game that lasted nearly five hours, Avila had one more chore on a sparkling Easter Sunday at Comerica Park:  the post game interview with Fox Sports Detroit.  Such is life when you hit a stunning two-out, two-run, game winning homer in the 11th inning.

Good thing for Avila the Tigers are off tomorrow and Gerald Laird will catch Tuesday against the Rays.  That means two days off for the Tigers catcher. 

Avila took Mark Melancon over the right field wall to cap the Tigers 3-run 11th inning, sending the Red Sox out of town with a three game sweep.  For Avila, it put an end to the longest day of the young season.  “I felt like I was out there all day,” he said. 

Probably because he was.  Avila caught 206 pitches, 80 of which were thrown by starter Max Scherzer in his 2 2/3 innings.  That's a whole lot of squatting.

Let’s be honest, the Tigers should have lost this game.  Twice.   A three-run homer by Miguel Cabrera in the 9th inning tied the game and after the Red Sox again went ahead in the 11th, the scene was set for Avila’s heroics.  Avila described his team’s offense in succinct terms.   “We can blow up at any time.  We feel like we’re always in the game.”

This offense has a chance to be ridiculous.  The scary thing is the club’s two major power brokers, Cabrera and Prince Fielder, don’t necessarily have to hit home runs to contribute.  Each smacked an opposite field single before Avila clobbered a hanging breaking ball from Melancon to send the crowd into a frenzy.

This weekend has left us all wondering just how good this team will be.   Only time will tell, but the weekend was one giant party.