Dramatic.

Tigers 4, Orioles 1

Drew Smyly (5 GS, 33.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 0.5 fWAR) didn’t have his best when this one started, allowing a solo home run to Adam Jones in the first and struggling through the next two, but when all was said and done, he had himself six, one run innings. Unfortunately, his offensive comrades had nothing on their side of the ledger. The Tigers had a chance in the 7th, but gave it away on a Torii Hunter TOOTBLAN and a GIDP by Martinez. Then the 9th inning came, and boy did it ever. Avila led off with a ground ball to beat the shift and then Davis ran and stole second on a very close play which needed a review (which was amazingly tense) to make sure he got to stay on the base. Kelly lined out, Kinsler went down, and it was up to Hunter. He worked a walk to extend the inning for Cabrera and then Cabrera did what Cabrera does, sending the baseball into the Orioles’ bullpen to put the Tigers on top. VMart added a no doubt bomb immediately after and the Tigers road a huge 9th inning to a series win. They’ll play with house money, as Rod likes to say, on Wednesday behind Justin Verlander (8 GS, 54 IP, 2.67 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 1.6 fWAR).

The Moment: Cabrera gives the Tigers the lead with a 9th inning blast.

A return.

Tigers 4, Orioles 1

I made no secret of the fact that Monday’s game was my first in person rendezvous with the Tigers since 2012 due to “living nowhere near an MLB park” and it didn’t disappoint. Rick Porcello (7 GS, 44.2 IP, 3.22 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 1.1 fWAR) was quite good, allowing only a single run in six innings of work, and that run only scored because Rajai Davis took a creative route to the baseball. He didn’t mow through the O’s with strikeouts, but he got quick out after quick out, leaving after only 83 pitches (perhaps due to illness, it wasn’t clear?). The bats did what they needed to do, pushing across two in the fourth and then two more in the 8th on an Ian Kinsler bomb. Things got interesting after that homer, as Bud Norris drilled Torii Hunter. Hunter was upset, Norris got run, and the benches and bullpens emptied. Humorously, no one came close to blows, leaving everyone standing around pretty much just posing for the camera. There’s nothing funnier than bullpens clearing for no reason, and that’s what we had tonight. The bullpen would hold it and the Tigers grabbed game one. It’ll be Drew Smyly (4 GS, 27.1 IP, 2.96 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 0.4 fWAR) on the mound Tuesday looking to take the series.

The Moment: Kinsler launches one to left, sealing the game.

An outfield only a mother could love.

Twins 4, Tigers 3

Robbie Ray (2 GS, 11 ⅓ IP, 0.79 ERA, 2.38 FIP, 0.4 fWAR) did his part. It looked like the offense did their part. The bullpen sort of did their part, even. The problem child on this Mothers Day was the defense in the outfield corners as Hunter and Davis both made crucial defensive mistakes in the late innings that opened the door to Twins’ runs. Cabrera drove in one with a sac fly, Jackson singled in a run, and Kinsler homered which gave Ray a 3-0 lead with which to work. Ray tossed six scoreless innings, but they were only moderately impressive and gave way to a bullpen that got into trouble in the 7th and 8th and allowed runs due to poor defense. They pushed back a little in the 8th, but could not rally, falling to the Twins in the game and the series. The team will head to Baltimore for three games (and so will I!) with Rick Porcello (6 GS, 38 ⅔ IP, 3.49 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 0.9 fWAR) taking the ball in game one. As a programming note, How Was The Game? will be late over the next three days because I’ll be at the ballpark and not in front of a computer all game!

The Moment: Kinsler homers in the 5th.

A love letter to Leyland.

Tigers 9, Twins 3

The Tigers honored Jim Leyland on Saturday, so of course, they played a perfect Jim Leyland game. It opened with a Don Kelly home run robbery and continued with a a power heavy offensive assault that featured home runs from the two biggest bats in the lineup. Max Scherzer (8 GS, 53 IP, 2.04 ERA, 2.78 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) threw a bad pitch to Brian Dozier which ended up in the seats and kept him from going deep into the game, but he was otherwise able to keep the Twins at bay. They pushed across three runs in the second and then Cabrera launched a three run bomb which Martinez would match later on in the game. Al-Al and Joba threw scoreless innings in relief and then it was time for a #PhilCokeInning in which the only runner was erased on a fine 3-6-3 double play. The Tigers will go for the series win on Sunday with Robbie Ray (1 GS, 5.1 IP, 1.69 ERA, 1.77 FIP, 0.2 fWAR) taking the mound for his second career start.

The Moment: Don Kelly robs a home run in the first.

A Hughes disappointment. 

Twins 2, Tigers 1

Justin Verlander (8 GS, 54 IP, 2.67 ERA, 2.90 FIP,  1.6 fWAR) didn’t have a whole lot of trouble with the Twins on this night, unfortunately, just two runs across seven innings simply didn’t cut it. Verlander gave up a pair in his final inning, but was otherwise pretty comfortable out on the mound on Friday night as he struck out five and walked two. The problem was that the Tigers couldn’t get anything going against Phil Hughes who had them off balance all night. They scattered a few hits and stole a couple of bases, but they didn’t have any serious pressure on the Twins starter through seven innings. In the 9th they pushed across a run on a pair of doubles, but could not find the equalizer. The loss drops them to 20-11 as they prepare for Saturday’s game with Max Scherzer (7 GS, 47 IP, 1.72 ERA, 2.47 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) getting the ball.

The Moment: Castellanos makes an outstanding leaping grab.

A small correction.

Astros 6, Tigers 2

After days and days of punishing their opponets, the Tigers finally dropped a game, their first in ten tries. Drew Smyly (4 GS, 27.1 IP, 2.96 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 0.4 fWAR) wasn’t bad, but he struck out two, walked three, and allowed three oruns in 5.1 innings and gave way to the bullpen too early. Reed allowed a run and Miller gave up two more before things were said and done, and the offense couldn’t put together a 7 run day. Castellanos drove in Jackson in the 2nd and Martinez went deep in the 4th, but Keuchel kept the Tigers off balance, sending them to the showers unhappy for the first time in what seemed like forever. The Tigers still took the series 3-1 and enter the weekend set 20-10 on the season. They’ll call on Justin Verlander (7 GS, 47 IP, 2.68 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 1.3 fWAR) to get things going against the Twins on Friday night.

The Moment: VMart stays hot, homering in the 4th.

A little bit closer.

Tigers 3, Astros 2

After completely obliterating the Astros on Tuesday, the Tigers played a closer ballgame on Wednesday behind Rick Porcello (6 GS, 38 ⅔ IP, 3.49 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 0.9 fWAR). Cabrera put them on the board with a two run shot in the first inning and Victor added a solo shot for good measure later on. Porcello was quite good again, and cruised through the first six innings, only allowing a pair of runs as he began to tire in the 7th. He struck out five batters and generated 12 swinging strikes in exactly 100 pitches as he guided the Tigers to their 20th win in 29 tries and their 8th straight. They will go for the four game sweep and 9th straight win Thursday afternoon with Drew Smyly (3 GS, 22 IP, 2.45 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 0.5 fWAR) on the bump.

The Moment: Cabrera barely clears the right field wall, and George Springer, in the first.

A Ray of hope.

Tigers 11, Astros 4

If Robbie Ray (1 GS, 5 ⅓ IP, 1.69 ERA, 1.80 FIP, 0.3 fWAR) was scared during his first major league start, it didn’t show in the results as he allowed a single run in 5 ⅓ innings while giving up five hits and walk to go along with his five strikeouts. Ray had some trouble in the first and sixth, but ultimately performed well in his MLB debut, grabbing eight swinging strikes in 86 pitches. The bats did their part too, getting runs in many innings courtesy of many players. I had originally tried to identify all of them for you, but it became a very long sentence. Everyone had hits and stuff. The bullpen also managed to not ruin things completely, which is always a plus and gave the Tigers their 7th straight win and their 19th overall. They’ll try to lock up the series on Wednesday behind Rick Porcello (5 GS, 32 IP, 3.66 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 0.7 fWAR).

The Moment: Robbie Ray exits to his first Comerica Park standing ovation.

Blue-eyed.

Tigers 2, Astros 0

Max Scherzer (7 GS, 47 IP, 1.72 ERA, 2.52 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) gave the Tigers a superb effort in this one, although, it probably shouldn’t totally count given that it was the Astros whom he was victimizing. He went 8 innings, allowed three hits, no walks, and punched out nine. He only ran into trouble in his final inning, but pitched out of it with relative ease. He couldn’t manage his first career complete game (172 starts and counting), but the Tigers pushed across a run in the 7th on a Rajai Davis single and another on a VMart bomb in the 9th. It was nice, clean game if you enjoy pitchers’ duels. The win, their sixth in a row, lifts the Tigers to 18-9 on the season and further establishes their rotation as one of the best of all time, ending the day with all-time best ERA- and FIP- marks. It’s only May 5th, but it’s still worth noting. Robbie Ray (MLB Debut) will join the party on Tuesday, making his debut, trying to do his best to make us forget Doug Fister.

The Moment: Scherzer, Avila, and Castellanos cap off the 8th with a strike-em-out-throw-em-out.

Easy breezy.

Tigers 9, Royals 4

The Royals had to fight a two front war on Sunday, and as many European dictators can attest, that’s almost always a losing battle. They had to deal with Justin Verlander (7 GS, 47 IP, 2.68 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.4 fWAR), who was on his game today and did not allow a hit until the 6th inning and the Tigers bats. Verlander walked four and allowed a three spot in the 7th, but that was after the Tigers had already put this game out of reach. The offense scored early and often as every member of the starting lineup had a hit, punctuated by home runs from Castellanos and Avila. Davis also had three hits and scored three runs and Victor Martinez was IBB’d twice for the second time in the series as the Tigers marched to a 9-3 victory, their 5th straight and 10th in their last 13 tries. They’ll head back to Detroit tonight ahead of a four game set with the Astros that starts Monday. Max Scherzer (6 GS, 39 IP, 2.08 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 1.2 fWAR) will be on the hill, so bring your strikeout hats to the park.

The Moment: Castellanos hits a no doubt shot in the 2nd.