How Was The Game? (May 17, 2015)
Close enough.
Cardinals 2, Tigers 1
Sweeping one of the best teams in the league was probably too much to ask, but the Tigers gave it a good run. Cabrera tagged one to right center in the first to knock in Kinsler, but the Tigers really couldn’t get much else going the rest of the evening, and the Cards plugged away with a run in the 3rd and then a Kolten Wong bomb in the 6th off Alfredo Simon (8 GS, 50.1 IP, 3.04 ERA, 3.83 FIP) to take the lead. Simon pitched well enough and Lynn was very good for most of the night, leading it to feel as if neither team was ever really threatening. In the 8th, the Tigers got two men on, but a big double play from Maness ended the hoep. They got a man on in the 9th but couldn’t score, falling 2-1. The club heads home to face the Brewers with Kyle Lobstein (6 GS, 35.1 IP, 4.33 ERA, 3.64 FIP) going on Monday.
The Moment: Cabrera rips one to right center in the first that kept going.
How Was The Game? (May 16, 2015)
Satisfying.
Tigers 4, Cardinals 3
With the rain pouring down, Miguel Cabrera reached 400 home runs in the 1st inning, and then we basically had to wait around for an hour and a half to see if it was going to count. After the rain delay, it took David Price (8 GS, 53 IP, 3.40 ERA, 3.77 FIP) a couple of innings to find his groove, facing 11 hitters in the first two innings and surrendering a pair of solo shots. After that, he settled in nicely, retiring 13 in a row until Jhonny Peralta took him deep in the 6th. Price danced through the 7th, seconds from danger, but managed to avoid disaster. The Tigers added a pair of 3rd inning runs, setting up a even game into extras. The Tigers pushed across a run and then Rajai Davis made an incredible throw to cut down Holliday trying for two. Soria would survive the rest and give the series to the Tigers. Alfredo Simon (7 GS, 44.1 IP, 3.05 ERA, 3.53 FIP) will get the ball Sunday night for the sweep.
The Moment: Davis guns down Holliday in the 10th.
How Was The Game? (May 15, 2015)
Impressive.
Tigers 10, Cardinals 4
As far as opponents go, they don’t get much tougher than the Cardinals. On Friday night, the Tigers didn’t seem to notice. A Cespedes home run was the difference early and Shane Greene (8 GS, 47 IP, 4.21 ERA, 3.52 FIP) gave the Tigers five solid innings, but the lion’s share of the action came after he left the ball game with some elbow pain. They grabbed an extra run in the 5th and then the offense unloaded in the 7th inning with dingers from Cabrera and Martinez. They added a run in the 8th but two 8th inning runs from the Cards brought it within two. The bats responded again with five hits and four runs in the 9th to make a clear impression on the remaining fans in St. Louis. The Tigers will spend the evening fretting about Greene’s health, but there’s no fretting about the way the club has played over the last couple of days. David Price (7 GS, 46.1 IP, 3.30 ERA, 3.27 FIP) will look to keep it going on Saturday.
The Moment: Cabrera and Martinez go back to back.
How Was The Game? (May 14, 2015)
A response.
Tigers 13, Twins 1
The Tigers got a very nice outing from Anibal Sanchez (8 GS, 51 IP, 4.76 ERA, 3.69 FIP) on Thursday, but they didn’t need it. Not even a little bit. Huge days from Gose, Cabrera, Castellanos, and Holaday supplemented contributions from Kinsler and Martinez to basically dominate the Twins on getaway day. They scored in 6 of their 8 innings, include three 3 run innings to lift them to a series victory. The bats shined, Iglesias made a crazy play, and Sanchez cruised. All was right in the world. Shane Greene (7 GS, 42 IP, 4.71 ERA, 3.48 FIP) goes Friday in St. Louis.
The Moment: Cabrera caps a 2-homer day.
How Was The Game? (May 13, 2015)
Uninspired.
Twins 6, Tigers 2
On Wednesday night, the Tigers offense continued their sputtering streak and the pitching simply wasn’t able to offset the lack of run scoring. Kyle Lobstein (6 GS, 35.1 IP, 4.33 ERA, 3.64 FIP) gave up a 1st inning dinger to Torii Hunter and then got tagged for five runs on five hits and a walk in the 3rd before giving way to the bullpen, who actually managed to shut the door the rest of the way. While the pen gave them a chance to hang in there, the Tigers only cashed in on a pair of runs in the 6th and failed to keep it going in the 7th, allowing the Twins to even the series. The rubber match will be Thursday, with Anibal Sanchez (7 GS, 43 IP, 5.44 ERA, 4.16 FIP) toeing the rubber.
The Moment: Cespedes guns down Dozier in the first.
How Was The Game? (May 12, 2015)
Closer than it needed to be.
Tigers 2, Twins 1
The Tigers will say after this one that they struggled to get things going offensively against a pitcher they should have been able to get after. They had some good contact but they strung nothing together against Gibson, scoring only on a JD Martinez homer to right in the 4th. Alfredo Simon (7 GS, 44.1 IP, 3.05 ERA, 3.53 FIP) got an introduction to facing the Twins, pitching into the 8th inning while allowing just one run. He had some stressful innings, but dispatched the problems without incident. It took an extra inning of baseball, but Anthony Gose doubled and Ian Kinsler singled to continue their dominance of the Twins in 2015. They’ll go for another series win with Kyle Lobstein (5 GS, 33 IP, 3.00 ERA, 3.24 FIP) on the hill Wednesday.
The Moment: Ian Kinslers pokes one into right center to end the game.
How Was The Game? (May 10, 2015)
A letdown.
Tigers 1, Royals 2
After splitting the first two games in the series, the Royals and Tigers decided to split the first eight innings of this one as well. The Royals got their run on two doubles to open the 2nd inning, but then Shane Greene (7 GS, 42 IP, 4.71 ERA, 3.50 FIP) didn’t allow a base runner until the 7th inning and looked a lot more like the early season Greene than the last couple of starts-Greene. The Tigers got their run in the 3rd on a single by Gose and a hilarious error by Infante followed by a single from Kinsler to plate the runner. It was all pitching and no hitting the rest of the way, all the way to a rain delay in the 9th. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom half but couldn’t score and surrendered a run in the 10th. In the home half, Romine singled and Gose and Kinsler walked trying to sacrifice before a double play, walk, and strikeout ended it. Alfredo Simon (6 GS, 36.2 IP, 3.44 ERA, 3.88 FIP) on Tuesday.
The Moment: Gose and Kinsler both walk trying to bunt.
How Was The Game? (May 9, 2015)
Deflating.
Royals 6, Tigers 2
After walking off on Friday, the Tigers got off to a rocky start from which they could not recover on Satuday. Anibal Sanchez (7 GS, 43 IP, 5.44 ERA, 4.15 FIP) gave up a home run on the first pitch of the game and then another run two batters later. The 2nd inning wasn’t any better, as the Tigers found themselves down 4-0 before they batted a second time. Each team added two runs after that, and the Tigers saw some signs of life from Victor Martinez, but they couldn’t get to Guthrie the way they should have and Sanchez couldn’t hold the Royals off the board. We got to see a great throw from Cespedes and Alburquerque only allowed one base runner, if you’re looking for the positives. It’ll be Shane Greene (6 GS, 34 IP, 5.56 ERA, 3.74 FIP) Sunday to win the series.
The Moment: Castellanos triples to right center.
How Was The Game? (May 8, 2015)
Backwards.
Tigers 6, Royals 5
After splitting a four game set last week, the Tigers kicked off the homestand by surviving the Royals on Friday night. David Price (7 GS, 46.1 IP, 3.30 ERA, 3.29 FIP) got hit around a bit and then left the game in the 7th after stepping on a bat while backing up the plate. The Tigers got most their runs in a big second innings which featured five hits and a walk and gave all four of those back in the 4th inning. The Royals took the lead in the 7th and the Tigers tied it up in the bottom half, making it a bullpen game against a team whose bullpen you don’t want to test. Fortunately, Gose led off the 9th with a double and Kinsler dropped down a bunt that wound up in right field, propelling the W. In addition to the back and forth, the Tigers got two of their four 2nd inning runs thanks to some sloppy plays at the plate from Sal Perez and some fine slides from Castellanos and Romine. The club will look to take the series tomorrow with Anibal Sanchez (6 GS, 37 IP, 5.11 ERA, 3.75 FIP) taking the ball.
The Moment: Gose rips a double to set up the walk off bunt-error chaos.
How Was The Game? (May 7, 2015)
A sign of progress.
Tigers 4, White Sox 1
Now a simple 4-1 win on getaway day might not get anyone that excited, especially after such an ugly loss on Wednesday, but there was one big thing that happened on Thursday that you can’ ignore. Granted, Kyle Lobstein (5 GS, 33 IP, 3.00 ERA, 3.23 FIP) had a terrific day and the bats tacked some runs on against the Sox, but the story of this game was Brad Ausmus learning his lesson and going to his best reliever with four outs left in the game. Ausmus is a huge fan of the three inning save, but the Tigers don’t have a lot of good relievers and four outs is not really much harder than getting three. The best part is that Soria struck out every batter he faced, providing Ausmus with some much needed positive reinforcement. Hopefully, this will become a trend. Although if David Price (6 GS, 40 IP, 2.93 ERA, 3.01 FIP) has anything to say about it, Soria won’t be needed Friday against the Royals.
The Moment: Joakim Soria struts in to get the final four outs.
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