How Was The Game? (June 19, 2013)
An ambush.
Orioles 13, Tigers 3
Everything went reasonably well for the Tigers today except the top half of the 4th inning in which the Orioles hit Rick Porcello (4-4, 76 IP, 4.74 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.2 WAR) hard and then, of course, the 9th inning. It was a peculiar 4th inning given that Porcello was dominant in the other 5 innings, 3 of which came before and 2 of which came after. He finished with 6 innings, 9 hits, 6 runs, 0 walks, and 4 K, but all six runs and six of the nine hits happened in the span of 11 batters before he got himself straightened out. I’m not concerned given how well he’s performed this season with career best 7.46 K/9, 1.54 BB/9, 3.66 FIP, and 2.98 xFIP even after today’s game. The offense made some noise, but only turned it into 3 runs, two of which came on a Tuiasosopo pinch hit double before the bullpen allowed 3 runs to give the Orioles sufficient cushion who then put up a 4 spot on Valverde in the 9th, who simply cannot get MLB hitters out at this point and needs to be released before Jim Leyland can use him again. The Tigers dropped their second series of the season to the Orioles, but still stand at 39-31 on the season, and thankfully never have to play the Orioles again this season. I say that because MLB doesn’t allow people in North Carolina (where I live) to watch the Baltimore Orioles* under any circumstances, so I’ve spend the last three days listening on the radio like a caveman. Things will get back to normal as the Red Sox come to town for four starting Thursday with Jose Alvarez (1-0 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 0.1 WAR) making his second start of the year in place of Sanchez.
The Moment: Tuiasosopo doubles in a pair to make it a game.
*Or the Washington Nationals
How Was The Game? (June 18, 2013)
Surprising.
Orioles 5, Tigers 2
One characterizes this game as surprising, partially because Justin Verlander (8-5, 92 IP, 3.72 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 2.8 WAR) pitched poorly despite some very good signs early and partially because Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder both popped out representing the tying run in the 7th inning and then Cabrera grounded into a double play to end the game. Verlander only went 5 innings, allowing 7 hits, 5 runs, and 4 walks while striking out 5. He gave up two homeruns, one to Hardy and one to Jones, that delivered all of the runs, but 11 baserunners in 5 innings is too many for Verlander regardless of how the runs were clustered. Britton kept the Tigers at bay, but started to open the door before being pulled. Tuiasosopo homered in the 5th and Jackson drove in a run in the 7th but the Tigers would get no closer. Downs, who is having a strong season, and Putkonen did nice work in relief, but the damage had been done. The Tigers will still have a change to take the series against a very good team behind Rick Porcello (4-3, 70 IP, 4.37 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.3 WAR) who is having his breakout season, as described here.
The Moment: Tuiasosopo homers the other way in the 5th.
How Was The Game? (June 17, 2013)
Another gem, this time from Scherzer.
Tigers 5, Orioles 1
We’re at the point, where it is hardly news now when a Tigers starting pitcher throws a brilliant game. It was Max Scherzer (10-0, 96.1 IP, 3.08 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 3.1 WAR) who did it tonight, delivering a 6 inning, 1 R, 2 BB, and 10 K line with the only blemish being a homerun to Chris Davis. The Tigers rotation is on pace to be the best rotation in MLB history and Scherzer is now the 2nd best pitcher in the AL by WAR, trailing only King Felix, who has made an additional start. The Tigers offense came from a 2 run bomb from Cabrera in the 1st, a Jackson single in the 2nd, a Martinez sac fly in the 5th, and a Peralta single in the next at bat. Leyland even brought Smyly in at the right time to get 9 outs! But the moment of the night, no doubt, was Scherzer striking out Davis with the bases loaded to end the 5th inning. Here’s how he got him, with exceptional control and terrific velocity:
I mean, what do you do against a guy who can offer this mix:
The win finally pushes the Tigers 10 games over .500 to 39-29 as they send Justin Verlander (8-4, 87 IP, 3.41 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 3.0 WAR) to the hill tomorrow looking to take the series.
The Moment: Scherzer gets Davis to strikeout with the bases loaded to end the 5th.
How Was The Game? (June 16, 2013)
Another gem for Fister.
Tigers 5, Twins 2
Doug Fister (6-4, 92.2 IP, 3.21 ERA, 2.68 FIP, 2.8 WAR) came into Sunday’s game having pitched phenomenally over the last several outings, and really the entire season, but had very little to show for it in the win column thanks to almost no run support (50 runs entering the day). But he got early support from Torii Hunter’s 300th career homerun and later from a very impressive Austin Jackson bomb.
Fister would handle the rest, retiring the first 11 batters he faced before allowing a walk and 15 of the first 16 before allowing a homerun to Dozier that broke up his no-hit bid (Dozier had both hits against Fister). He finished the day with a fantastic 7.2 inning, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K performance. It was classic, no drama, fast working Doug Fister. Hunter tacked on another with a 12 pitch AB that ended in an RBI double to help pad the lead for Benoit, who was called on to get the final four outs (!).
The win sends the Tigers to 38-29 as they head home from a .500 road trip to face the Orioles. Max Scherzer (9-0, 90.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 2.9 WAR) will get the ball in game one on Monday, looking to build on his excellent 2013 campaign.
The Moment: Jackson smashes a 2-run HR in the 4th.
How Was The Game? (June 15, 2013)
Not what you want to see.
Twins 6, Tigers 3
The Tigers were outscored by the Twins on Saturday, leading to a loss, but that isn’t the part of the game that is most concerning. That event was Anibal Sanchez (6-5, 81.2 IP, 2.76 ERA, 2.07 FIP, 3.1 WAR) being removed in the fourth inning, potentially with further shoulder issues. As I write this, it isn’t clear if he was hurt or just out of whack, but he only went 3.2 IP, and had an uncharacteristic 3 K and 4 BB. Hopefully we’ll know more soon, but you hope it’s good news because he has turned himself into one of the game’s best starters. The Tigers got two in the fourth on a Peralta single and one in the 8th on a Fielder ROE, but the Tigers allowed 3 in the 6th and never really seemed in it after that. They’ll try to shake it off and go for the series win Sunday behind the very excellent Doug Fister (5-4, 85 IP, 3.28 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 2.7 WAR).
The Moment: Peralta singles in two on a broken bat grounder.
How Was The Game? (June 14, 2013)
Another big night for Porcello.
Tigers 4, Twins 0
Earlier in the day, I wrote a very detailed piece about how Rick Porcello (4-3, 70 IP, 4.37 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.3 WAR) is becoming one of the game’s best starting pitchers and he took the stage tonight and delivered another stellar outing (seriously click the link, Porcello is awesome). It was brilliant. I audibly cheered in my own home as he pumped fastballs that crossed at the knees and changeups and curves that hitters couldn’t touch. His final line was 7 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 5 strikeouts, to improve on his already impressive season.
The Tigers struggled to get the offense going until the sixth inning when Jackson walked and the Twins gave Cabrera an intentional pass that set up a Fielder two run double, which set up Martinez and Peralta RBI doubles to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead. They wouldn’t need anything else as Porcello cruised to victory, the bullpen did the job, and got the Tigers to 37-28 on the year. They’ll look to take the series tomorrow with Anibal Sanchez (6-5, 78 IP, 2.65 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 3.3 WAR) taking the hill after missing his last start.
The Moment: Porcello dominates.
How Was The Game? (June 12, 2013)
Pretty much exactly what you’d have expected.
Royals 3, Tigers 2
Earlier this year I decried the performances of Justin Verlander and Yu Darvish in what was supposed to be a great duel, but Verlander and Shields lined up against each other today and gave the people what they wanted. The Tigers got single runs in the 1st and 5th and that would be it on the scoring as Verlander (8-4, 87 IP, 3.41 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 3.0 WAR) gave the Tigers 7 innings of shutout baseball that featured just 3 hits, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts and Shields offered 7 2-run innings himself. After some struggles in May, Verlander looks like he’s back on track and pitching like the $200 million man. Unfortunately, Jose Valverde is pitching exactly like himself as well, which means he isn’t pitching well. Leyland went to him after Smyly allowed a baserunner in the 9th and Valverde gave up a game tying homerun two batters later. At this point, you can’t be mad at Valverde because he simply isn’t good enough to pitch in close games. This falls squarely on Leyland and Dombrowski’s shoulders. I just feel bad for him now. I don’t support the use of a closer at all, but if you’re going to use one, they can’t be this bad. Coke came on in relief of Valverde and gave up a run in the 10th to end it. The Tigers have still won 6 of their last 9 and are eight games over the .500 mark at 36-28. They’ll take Thursday off in preparation for a three game set with the Twins this weekend. Rick Porcello (3-3, 63 IP, 4.86 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.0 WAR) and his rising star (and amazing 2.96 xFIP) will take the mound in game one and may have Austin Jackson behind him depending on how he feels after today’s rehab game.
The Moment: Lough makes a diving grab to rob Cabrera of an RBI double.
How Was The Game? (June 11, 2013)
A close one, but a good one.
Tigers 3, Royals 2
Looking to stop the Royals winning streak, the Tigers sent Max Scherzer (9-0, 93.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 3.0 WAR) to the mound looking to deliver another great performance and after struggling with command in the first inning, he turned in another fine outing by providing 7 innings of 3 hit, 2 run, 2 walk, and 6 strikeout baseball despite having issues deciding on an outfit:
The 8 and 9 hitters did most of the heavy lifting as Infante went 3-4 and Kelly and Garcia combined to go 3-4. The Tigers got out to an early lead, but wouldn’t score the winning run until the 8th inning on a Martinez sac fly. Valverde made it interesting, but escaped the 9th thanks in part to a generous call by the HP umpire that wasn’t good, but wasn’t as bad as Butler thought:
The win pushes the Tigers to 36-27 and they will go for the series victory behind Justin Verlander (8-4, 80 IP, 3.71 ERA, 2.57 FIP, 2.7 WAR) tomorrow in KC. In Verlander’s last start against the Royals this season, he went 7 innings and allowed 1 ER in an extra inning loss.
The Moment: Cabrera scores on a Martinez sac fly in the 8th.
How Was The Game? (June 10, 2013)
A little unfair to Fister.
Royals 3, Tigers 2
In the interest of tidy box scores, both clubs limited their scoring to the 3rd inning today as Miguel Cabrera delivered a 2 run HR in the top of the inning and the Tigers defense helped the Royals respond with 3 in the bottom half. Doug Fister (5-4, 85 IP, 3.28 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 2.8 WAR) was characteristically fantastic and only allowed runs in one inning that featured 2 infield hits, a regular hit, and a triple that should have been kept to a single if not for a poor play by Garcia and Hunter. Fister would end the day with a CG, 3 run affair with 0 walks and 3 K in the losing effort that also pushed his GB rate to 57.5% which is second best among MLB starters.
After four straight wins, it’s hard to complain, but Doug Fister deserves better and I would like to request that the Tigers spread their poor offensive games around and don’t use them all up with Fister on the mound. Max Scherzer (8-0, 83.1 IP, 3.24 ERA, 2.36 FIP, 2.9 WAR) will take the hill tomorrow looking to even the series and improve his own All-Star and Cy Young profile.
The Moment: After a strike-em-out-throw-em-out to end the 4th inning, all 9 Tigers thought there were only two outs and didn’t leave the field.
How Was The Game? (June 9, 2013)
A nice, clean sweep.
Tigers 4, Indians 1
It’s rare that everything goes right during a baseball game, but that seemed to happen today. Jose Alvarez (1-0, 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 0.1 WAR) was stellar in his MLB debut, delivering 6 innings of 3 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, and 7 strikeout baseball in place of Anibal Sanchez and left the game with the score tied 1-1 thanks to an Avila sac fly and a Raburn homerun. In the bottom of the 6th inning, as Alvarez was basking in his debut, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder got themselves on base ahead of the imposing Don Kelly who turned on a pitch low and in and sent it into the seats to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead. And then something even more amazing happened. Jim Leyland actually called on his best relievers and brought Smyly into the game for 2 innings before turning it over to Benoit who added a scoreless 9th. The win completes the sweep and moves the Tigers 5.5 games ahead in the AL Central thanks to a 5-1 homestand. They’ll hop a plane to KC and will have Doug Fister (5-3, 77 IP, 3.27 ERA, 2.63 FIP, 2.4 WAR) on the mound for game one of the series on Monday.
The Moment: Don Kelly breaks the tie with a 3 run homer in the 6th.
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