Brad Penny got tagged for 7 runs in 5 innings pitched to fall to 9-10 on the season. David Pauley gave up 4 more runs on 4 hit in 2 innings. His bullpen performance hasn't lived up to expectations since he came over in the trade with Doug Fister.
Detroit hit into 5 double plays that kept them from putting together big innings. Ramon Santiago was 4-4 with a 2 run single. It seems like he's taken over the every day second base role, at least until Carlos Guillen is back again. Alex Avila doubled and had an RBI. Victor Martinez also drove in a run, but Detroit was routed 11-4. Still, they went 5-2 on a 7 game road trip.
Cleveland lost today so Detroit still holds a 6 and a half game lead. They'll head into September with a good sized lead in the Central. This will make the 3rd time in 6 seasons that's happened. In 2006 they played poorly down the stretch and limped to the Wild Card, though they recovered in the post-season to reach the World Series. Two years ago they faded in the final 4 games and lost a 1 game playoff at Minnesota. We'll see what happens this season. One thing they didn't have in either of those two seasons was a dominant starting pitcher. Right now Verlander is pitching like the best pitcher in the game, and that could make the difference. They have a shutdown pitcher who can go to the hill in a must win game.
No comments:
Post a Comment