How Was The Game? (April 19, 2013)
Full of missed opportunities.
Angels 8, Tigers 1
I’m not entirely sure how to describe the game in which the Tigers fell to 9-7 on the season, but it goes something like this. Pitchers allowed runners to reach base, but didn’t allow many of them to score. Anibal Sanchez went 6.2 innings, allowed 11 hits, and allowed 3 runs (2 earned). Hanson went 6 innings, allowed 6 hits, and 4 walks, but allowed no runs. The Tigers had a ton of opportunities to score but ended up leaving 20 men on base over the course of the evening. In the 8th inning, the game got away from the Tigers when with the bases loaded, Jackson and Tuiasosopo misplayed a catchable fly ball with two outs. I wouldn’t consider this one a well played game as far as these things go, as both offenses failed to capitalize on chances and both pitching staffs got into a lot of trouble. The Tigers will send Rick Porcello to the hill Saturday on big Fox (read: where I can’t watch them because of stupid blackout rules that end after this season) and will look for their 10th win of the season at 3pm eastern after not scoring over the last 18 innings.
The Moment: Anibal Sanchez avoids being struck in the head by a Pujols line drive and quite literally gets his hat knocked off. In the next inning, he would actually be hit in the arm with a batted ball.
How Was The Game? (April 18, 2013)
The appropriate length!
Mariners 2, Tigers 0
Just 13 hours after taking the second game of the series in 14 innings, the Tigers and Mariners hooked up for the final game of the three game set and runs were just as hard to come by in this one, but they played the standard 9 innings. The only scoring came in the bottom of the 7th as the Mariners worked two runs across against Verlander who was otherwise brilliant over 7 innings, striking out 12 while walking just one. The bats made some hard contact from time to time but never got anything going against the Mariners. At any rate, the Tigers won the series and head to LA 9-6 after winning four straight series. They will send Anibal Sanchez to the hill tomorrow against Mike Trout and the Angels.
The Moment: Endy Chavez makes a diving catch to keep Prince Fielder off the bases in the 9th
How Was The Game? (April 17, 2013)
A thing of beauty.
Tigers 2, Mariners 1 (14 innings)
For my birthday, baseball got me a Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez pitching duel. It was exactly what I wanted. Both were dazzling on Wednesday in Seattle. They each allowed single runs, Felix in the 5th, Scherzer in the 7th, and dominated the rest of the evening. Scherzer went 8, allowed 6 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and struck out 12. Felix, not to be outdone, went 8, allowed 4 hits, 1 run, no walks, and struck out 12. It was a thing of beauty in every way. One of the better pitched games on both sides that you’ll see this season. I said yesterday they could combine for 25 strikeouts, they nearly did, topping out at 24. It was so much fun. Eight innings of magic, and then they handed it off to the children who allowed more baserunners, but no runs until Brayan Pena delivered an RBI groundout in the 14th inning to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Benoit handled the bottom half of the inning and a game that featured 40 strikeouts came to a glorious end at 237am in the east as Torii Hunter gunned down Justin Smoak at the plate via Prince Fielder’s relay to Brayan Pena, who had to withstand a serious collision. There are probably a great many subtle storylines worthy of discussion from this game that is an early contender for Game of the Year, but I’m simply too exhausted to analyze them. I left it all on the couch tonight. Tigers improve to 9-5 and go for the sweep behind Verlander later today.
The Moment: All of it. Just all of it.
How Was The Game? (April 16, 2013)
Good, but I only saw 2/3 of it.
Tigers 6, Mariners 2
With respect to the phrase above, let it be known that on the eve of my birthday, when all I wished to do was relax on my couch with the Tigers, MLB.TV saw fit to meltdown for a solid three innings. Alas, it returned in the 4th inning and it had not seemed to affect the team. Cabrera drove in Jackson to take an early lead in the 1st inning and Fister sailed smoothly for the first three. The 4th was an adventure as Doug surrendered 2 runs, but Cabrera came to his rescue with a 2 run homerun to right centerfield that returned the Tigers to the lead in the 5th. The Big Fella wasn’t done, however, and drove Jackson in again in the top of the 7th to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead. They would add two more in the 8th thanks to two based loaded walks by Jackson and Hunter. Fister would maneuver his way through 7 and the bullpen did the rest to secure the Tigers’ third straight victory and their 8th overall on the season. The Tigers struggled against the Mariners last season (1-5) and an early win should help reverse that trend for 2013. Max Scherzer will meet Felix Hernandez Wednesday night at 10pm, so schedule an appointment with your television. There could literally be 25 strikeouts, which would be worth seeing with your own eyes.
The Moment: Miguel Cabrera gives the Tigers the lead with a 2 run homerun in the 5th
How Was The Game? (April 14, 2013)
A big win.
Tigers 10, A’s 1
It went like this for the Tigers on Sunday. Score early, score often, don’t let them score. When that happens, as it did for them today, you win and win easily. The Tigers scored twice in each of the first two innings, four times in the fourth frame, and once each in the 7th and 8th, while allowing just one run in the bottom of the 4th. Sanchez struckout 8 over 7 innings and Porcello delivered two easy innings in relief to get some work in due to the upcoming off day that will allow the Tigers to skip him this time through the rotation. Austin Jackson had 4 hits including his first homerun, scored 3 runs, and drove in 3 ahead of Torii Hunter who had 3 hits of his own. Every starter except Infante had at least one hit in the big offensive effort that included 14 hits and 5 walks. The Tigers improve to 7-5 on the season after taking their third consecutive series as they slowed down the hot A’s this weekend in Oakland. They’ll head north to Seattle for a three game series starting Tuesday and will send Doug Fister to the hill against Aaron Harang.
The Moment: Hunter slides around the tag at home to score the second run of the game in the first inning.
How Was The Game? (April 13, 2013)
Closer than it needed to be.
Tigers 7, A’s 3
Needing a boost after a tough 12 inning loss on Friday, the Tigers called on Justin Verlander. Verlander was only able toss six innings thanks to a long, laborious 4th, but he was effective, allowing just 1 run and striking out 6. The offense carried the day thanks in part to homeruns from Hunter, Fielder, and Peralta. The bullpen struggled again with Alburquerque, Coke, and Benoit piecing together the final nine outs while allowing two runs. For a game in which the Tigers offense put up 7 runs and sent Verlander to the hill, this one felt too close in the late innings. The Tigers’ relievers need to get a handle on their command in a hurry or we’re going to have some high antacid bills coming this summer. It certainly didn’t help that Dotel, Downs, and Smyly were unavailable due to workload concerns with the lefties and an elbow issue with Dotel, but you need to be able to trust your bullpen to hold a six run lead. With today’s win the Tigers improve to 6-5 and send Anibal Sanchez to the hill against Jarrod Parker tomorrow looking for a third straight series win.
The Moment: Torii Hunter launches a long 2-out homerun in the 3rd inning.
How Was The Game? (April 12, 2013)
Exhausting.
A’s 4, Tigers 3 (12 innings)
As the Tigers opened their first big road trip, they sent Max Scherzer to the hill to face the A’s and he gave them a typical Max Scherzer start. He didn’t have great command and his mechanics looked screwy, but he fanned 11 batters in 6 innings and only allowed 2 runs. The Tigers got their early offense from a 3-run Prince Fielder bomb and the A’s managed to tie it up by manufacturing a run in the 7th. We got bonus baseball as no one could score before the end of 9 and then Josh Donaldson delivered for the A’s with a walk off homerun in the 12th against Brayan Villarreal. You generally can’t get too upset about things like these, except for the fact that Leyland went to Villarreal before Benoit because he was saving Benoit for a save that would never come. You have to use your best relievers in games like these or it will cost you and it did tonight. After ten games, the Tigers stand at 5-5 and send Justin Verlander to the hill to face off against Brett Anderson at 4pm tomorrow.
The Moment: Josh Donaldson hooks an opposite field homerun to end the game in the 12th.
How Was The Game? (April 11, 2013)
Freezing cold and raining, but a nice easy win.
Tigers 11, Blue Jays 1
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead and chased Josh Johnson during a 5 run 2nd inning and added 4 more in the 5th to put this one out of reach easily. Despite the nasty weather, Doug Fister had no trouble silencing the Jays’ bats, twirling 8 innings of 1 run baseball enroute to his second win of the season. Only Dirks failed to register a hit among the Tigers starters and he did his part with a nice assist from the outfield in the 3rd inning. The bats punished the Jays and Fister cruised on the way to a series win and a 4-2 homestand today, leaving the Tigers 5-4 as they hop on a plane and head west for nine games in Oakland, Seattle, and Los Angeles. We’ll be staying up late tomorrow night to watch Max Scherzer go toe to toe with Bartolo Colon from O.co Coliseum.
Also of note, if you’re just dying for stats, is that after 9 games, the Tigers have 6 everyday players with OBPs north of .370. That bodes well.
The Moment: Miguel Cabrera triples to deep RCF in the 2nd inning
How Was The Game? (April 10, 2013)
It got away from us.
Blue Jays 8, Tigers 6
The day began with a two hour and twenty-nine minute rain delay and ended with a whimper in the face of a home plate umpire who wanted to go home. The Tigers jumped ahead with a run in the first and second innings and a strong opening from Rick Porcello and entered the fifth inning up 2-0. Porcello gave up a run in the top half and the offense broke out in the bottom half as the Tigers chased Buehrle and worked some walks to take a 6-1 lead. But it unraveled quickly as the Porcello allowed a couple quick baserunners in the 6th and was promptly pulled by Leyland for Downs who let Porcello’s baserunners come around. It would be no better in the 7th as Villarreal walked three batters without recording and out and yielded to Dotel who allowed all of them to score. The comic relief came in the 8th inning as Octavio Dotel took a comebacker directly between his legs, resulting in a short delay while his teammates laughed at him.
The Tigers bats weren’t as ferocious today as they were yesterday, but still managed to put up 6 runs against a solid Jays team. Porcello pitched well for most of the game even if the line doesn’t show it because he got yanked in the midst of a rough inning. The bullpen was the trouble today at Comerica Park, but we were treated to a Prince Fielder infield single. Regardless, the Tigers will send Doug Fister to the mound tomorrow against Josh Johnson with a shot to take the series.
The Moment: Octavio Dotel takes a groundball in a personal area in the 8th.
How Was The Game? (April 9, 2013)
A nice clear win.
Tigers 7, Blue Jays 3
The Tigers extra base power was on display at Comerica Park today as Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila hit homeruns while Fielder, Hunter, and Tuiasosopo each added doubles. Cabrera also chipped in with 4 hits in order to outdo Torii Hunter who added 3 on way to his 2,000th career knock. Anibal Sanchez did his part with 7IP featuring 8K, 1BB, and 2ER. It was, all in all, a well played game by the Tigers as they moved to 4-3 on the season while knocking off the buzzworthy, but struggling Jays. Yet, none of this was the story from Tuesday’s game. Thanks to a cut on Victor Martinez’s finger, Don Kelly ended up playing LF. This would prove to be a sage choice by Jim Leyland as JP Arencibia hit a long fly ball to left field that had homerun distance in the 2nd inning. Unfortunately for Mr. Arecibia, Don Kelly takes no prisoners.
Here, for you viewing pleasure, is Don Kelly taking a homerun away from Arencibia. It shall also double as today’s The Moment. Man, Don Kelly is just awesome.
Good luck trying to drop one in on the Tigers when this is their worst outfielder.
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