They lost 4-2 against Toronto. Max Scherzer continued the run of outstanding starting pitching. He gave up 1 unearned run in 7 innings, but left in a 1-1 tie, surrendering a sac fly in the 7th.
Joaquin Benoit came in and gave up 3 runs in an inning of work. He surrendered a double and 2 sac flies. Benoit took the loss to fall to 1-3 on the season. If they can get him back to dominant setup form one large and unexpected question mark would be eliminated from the team.
Jhonny Peralta hit a homer in the bottom of the 9th, his 6th. That closed the gap to 4-2 but after an Alex Avila walk, Brandon Inge and pinch hitter Don Kelly were retired.
Miguel Cabrera knocked in the other Tiger run with a sac fly. He missed a grand slam by about a foot. Andy Dirks made his major league debut. He played left field and batted third. He was 1-2 with a walk.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
more dominating pitching and another Tigers victory
This time it was Brad Penny in top form. He pitched 8 innings of shutout 5-hit ball. Detroit played some great defense behind him with Casper Wells, Austin Jackson, Brandon Inge, and Scott Sizemore all making outstanding plays.
Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Jhonny Peralta had back-to-back-to-back RBI singles in the first inning, as 5 of the first 6 Detroit hitters had singles. That was all Penny needed to improve to 4-3 on the season, and Detroit earned a 3-0 win.
Jose Valverde closed out the 9th for his 10th save of the season. Jhonny Peralta added a double in the 6th inning for his 1000th Major League hit. Detroit's had at least one extra base hit every game this season.
Jhonny Peralta now has a 10 game hitting streak going and Victor Martinez extended his to 13.
The Tiger winning streak is now at 7, and they've won 10 of their last 11 games.
Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Jhonny Peralta had back-to-back-to-back RBI singles in the first inning, as 5 of the first 6 Detroit hitters had singles. That was all Penny needed to improve to 4-3 on the season, and Detroit earned a 3-0 win.
Jose Valverde closed out the 9th for his 10th save of the season. Jhonny Peralta added a double in the 6th inning for his 1000th Major League hit. Detroit's had at least one extra base hit every game this season.
Jhonny Peralta now has a 10 game hitting streak going and Victor Martinez extended his to 13.
The Tiger winning streak is now at 7, and they've won 10 of their last 11 games.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Tigers keep rolling
Detroit won their 6th straight, and 9th in 10, over KC. Justin Verlander was again dominant. He took a no-hitter into the 6th, before giving up an RBI triple with 2 outs in the 6th. That's 14.2 consecutive hitless innings.
Overall he gave up 1 run on 2 hits in 8 innings of work, improving his record to 4-3 on the season. Jose Valverde closed out the 3-1 victory over Kansas City, for his 9th save of the season.
Austin Jackson led off the bottom of the first inning with his 3rd homer of the season. Jhonny Peralta hit his 5th homer of the season. He's now homered in 3 straight games.
Alex Avila also drove in a run.
Detroit is now 21-18 on the season.
Before the game Magglio Ordonez was placed on the 15 day DL with soreness in his surgically repaired ankle. It's bothered him all year.
Detroit called up outfielder Andy Dirks. Dirks hit very well in spring training, almost coming out of nowhere and hitting his way onto the Opening Day Roster. But it didn't happen, in part because it was decided he could get regular at-bats in Toledo rather than platooning in Detroit. He's been tearing it up in Toledo so we'll see if he can carry that big bat north and add some more pop to the Tiger lineup.
Overall he gave up 1 run on 2 hits in 8 innings of work, improving his record to 4-3 on the season. Jose Valverde closed out the 3-1 victory over Kansas City, for his 9th save of the season.
Austin Jackson led off the bottom of the first inning with his 3rd homer of the season. Jhonny Peralta hit his 5th homer of the season. He's now homered in 3 straight games.
Alex Avila also drove in a run.
Detroit is now 21-18 on the season.
Before the game Magglio Ordonez was placed on the 15 day DL with soreness in his surgically repaired ankle. It's bothered him all year.
Detroit called up outfielder Andy Dirks. Dirks hit very well in spring training, almost coming out of nowhere and hitting his way onto the Opening Day Roster. But it didn't happen, in part because it was decided he could get regular at-bats in Toledo rather than platooning in Detroit. He's been tearing it up in Toledo so we'll see if he can carry that big bat north and add some more pop to the Tiger lineup.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tigers clutch hitting trumped their shaky bullpen today
Detroit stretched their season high winning streak to 5 games, and 8 of their last 9. The bullpen tried everything to lose it. The offense continuously wouldn't let them.
Detroit was up 5-2. Phil Coke had pitched a pretty nice 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs, but lost his control a bit in the 6th and got into trouble. I would presume that he started to tire.
Al Alburquerque came in and walked the first batter to load the bases, then struck out a batter to get out of a jam in the 6th. In the 7th he got into his own trouble with walks. Daniel Schlereth came into a 5-3 game with runners on second and third and promptly gave up a 3-run homer that denied Coke his victory.
Detroit came back in the 8th, as Jhonny Peralta hit a 2-run pinch hit homer, his 4th, to give Detroit a 7-6 lead. Peralta pinch hit for Don Kelly, who had come in to play first when Miguel Cabrera got ejected for arguing a called third strike in the 5th.
Joaquin Benoit had a chance to nail it down but couldn't. He gave up the tying run in the bottom of the 8th. But, his 1 run in 1.2 innings of work earned him the victory when Brandon Inge hit a triple in the top of the 9th to score Ramon Santiago. Austin Jackson executed a suicide squeeze to drive in an insurance run.
Benoit earned his first Tiger victory. He's 1-2 on the season. Jose Valverde worked around a walk in the 9th to close out his 8th save of the season.
The final was 9-7. Victor Martinez continued his recent rampage. He was 3-4 on the day, with his 4th homer of the season and 3 RBIs.
Miguel Cabrera had a 2-run double prior to his ejection.
Luckily the offense keeps rolling, and Detroit improves to 20-18, matching a season best 2 games over .500.
Detroit was up 5-2. Phil Coke had pitched a pretty nice 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs, but lost his control a bit in the 6th and got into trouble. I would presume that he started to tire.
Al Alburquerque came in and walked the first batter to load the bases, then struck out a batter to get out of a jam in the 6th. In the 7th he got into his own trouble with walks. Daniel Schlereth came into a 5-3 game with runners on second and third and promptly gave up a 3-run homer that denied Coke his victory.
Detroit came back in the 8th, as Jhonny Peralta hit a 2-run pinch hit homer, his 4th, to give Detroit a 7-6 lead. Peralta pinch hit for Don Kelly, who had come in to play first when Miguel Cabrera got ejected for arguing a called third strike in the 5th.
Joaquin Benoit had a chance to nail it down but couldn't. He gave up the tying run in the bottom of the 8th. But, his 1 run in 1.2 innings of work earned him the victory when Brandon Inge hit a triple in the top of the 9th to score Ramon Santiago. Austin Jackson executed a suicide squeeze to drive in an insurance run.
Benoit earned his first Tiger victory. He's 1-2 on the season. Jose Valverde worked around a walk in the 9th to close out his 8th save of the season.
The final was 9-7. Victor Martinez continued his recent rampage. He was 3-4 on the day, with his 4th homer of the season and 3 RBIs.
Miguel Cabrera had a 2-run double prior to his ejection.
Luckily the offense keeps rolling, and Detroit improves to 20-18, matching a season best 2 games over .500.
Tigers beat the Twins and the weather in Minneapolis last night
Detroit jumped all over Francisco Liriano in his first start after his no-hitter. Liriano then had to leave early due to illness.
Victor Martinez was 3-4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs. Detroit's recent hot streak corresponds to Martinez getting hot. He has a 10 game hitting streak. In that time he has 1 homer and 11 RBIs, and is hitting .472 in that time.
Jhonny Peralta hit a 2-run homer, his 3rd of the season. Brennan Boesch was 2-5 with 2 RBIs.
Scott Sizemore also drove in a run, and Austin Jackson continued to raise his batting average with a 2-5 game, and a double.
Rick Porcello had enough in the tank to wait out a 64 minute rain delay with hail the size of golf balls at the stadium, after having pitched 4 innings with a big lead. He made it through 5, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, to up his record to 3-2 on the season. Brad Thomas allowed 1 run in 2 innings of relief work. Daniel Schlereth and Brayan Villarreal each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the 10-2 rout.
Detroit has now won 7 of 8 to climb back to a game over .500 at 19-18. On the hopeful front they've won 4 straight all on the road. Last year and in the early going this season they've definitely had road woes.
They've been getting it all done with Miguel Cabrera in mini-slump in that time. He's 4-26 with no homers and 3 RBIs over the last 8 games. He was 1-3 with a couple walks and 2 runs scored last night. He'll come out of it for sure. Even so, Detroit's scored 10 runs in 2 straight games with 1 hit and no RBIs from Cabrera.
It was expected that pitching would be key. The better the offense was, the better the team, but pitching would keep them in games. The starts have 16 of the 19 wins, which ties Texas for the Major League lead in that department. They also have 25 quality starts in 37 games. That with neither of the last 2 victories being quality starts because neither Scherzer nor Porcello went at least 6 innings.
There's definitely been more balance this year in the offense than at this point last year. I recall thinking around this time last year that Detroit had 4 regular starters in the lineup still in single digit RBIs. Scott Sizemore (who was sent back to the minors not long after), Adam Everett (who was released), Ryan Raburn (who got hot in the second half), and Gerald Laird (not re-signed this off-season)were all in that feeble boat.
This year Magglio Ordonez of all people is, with 5 RBI. You'd think based on his track record that he will hit, and he has shown signs recently. Brandon Inge may have 9 RBIs if he's still in single digits. But without other gaping holes you can deal with that, given the caliber of defense that Inge plays. Shortstop is much better offensively with Peralta. Catcher is much better with Alex Avila really starting to put it all together this year.
Victor Martinez was 3-4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs. Detroit's recent hot streak corresponds to Martinez getting hot. He has a 10 game hitting streak. In that time he has 1 homer and 11 RBIs, and is hitting .472 in that time.
Jhonny Peralta hit a 2-run homer, his 3rd of the season. Brennan Boesch was 2-5 with 2 RBIs.
Scott Sizemore also drove in a run, and Austin Jackson continued to raise his batting average with a 2-5 game, and a double.
Rick Porcello had enough in the tank to wait out a 64 minute rain delay with hail the size of golf balls at the stadium, after having pitched 4 innings with a big lead. He made it through 5, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, to up his record to 3-2 on the season. Brad Thomas allowed 1 run in 2 innings of relief work. Daniel Schlereth and Brayan Villarreal each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the 10-2 rout.
Detroit has now won 7 of 8 to climb back to a game over .500 at 19-18. On the hopeful front they've won 4 straight all on the road. Last year and in the early going this season they've definitely had road woes.
They've been getting it all done with Miguel Cabrera in mini-slump in that time. He's 4-26 with no homers and 3 RBIs over the last 8 games. He was 1-3 with a couple walks and 2 runs scored last night. He'll come out of it for sure. Even so, Detroit's scored 10 runs in 2 straight games with 1 hit and no RBIs from Cabrera.
It was expected that pitching would be key. The better the offense was, the better the team, but pitching would keep them in games. The starts have 16 of the 19 wins, which ties Texas for the Major League lead in that department. They also have 25 quality starts in 37 games. That with neither of the last 2 victories being quality starts because neither Scherzer nor Porcello went at least 6 innings.
There's definitely been more balance this year in the offense than at this point last year. I recall thinking around this time last year that Detroit had 4 regular starters in the lineup still in single digit RBIs. Scott Sizemore (who was sent back to the minors not long after), Adam Everett (who was released), Ryan Raburn (who got hot in the second half), and Gerald Laird (not re-signed this off-season)were all in that feeble boat.
This year Magglio Ordonez of all people is, with 5 RBI. You'd think based on his track record that he will hit, and he has shown signs recently. Brandon Inge may have 9 RBIs if he's still in single digits. But without other gaping holes you can deal with that, given the caliber of defense that Inge plays. Shortstop is much better offensively with Peralta. Catcher is much better with Alex Avila really starting to put it all together this year.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Tigers hammered the Blue Jays tonight
Austin Jackson was only 1-6 in the game, but he made it count. He hit a bases loaded double to drive in 3, and also added a 4th RBI. Pretty efficient use of a 1-6 game.
Victor Martinez had his best game as a Tiger. He was 3-4 with his 3rd homer of the season and 2 doubles. He drove in 3 runs.
Don Kelly was 2-3 with an RBI. He also stole a base. Ramon Santiago and Ryan Raburn also drove in runs.
Detroit cruised 10-5.
Max Scherzer went only 5 innings but allowed 2 runs and struck out 5. He got plenty of support to improve to 6-0 on the season. The bullpen has been plenty rested by the recent run of great starting pitching, so Al Alburqurerque was good to go 2 innings. He struck out 4. Joaquin Benoit made his first appearance in awhile and pitched a scoreless 8th. Ryan Perry got into trouble in the 9th, walking the bases loaded, hitting a batter and giving up a 2 run double. Jose Valverde got the final out to close out a 10-5 victory.
Detroit has won 6 of 7 and is back to .500 at 18-18.
Victor Martinez had his best game as a Tiger. He was 3-4 with his 3rd homer of the season and 2 doubles. He drove in 3 runs.
Don Kelly was 2-3 with an RBI. He also stole a base. Ramon Santiago and Ryan Raburn also drove in runs.
Detroit cruised 10-5.
Max Scherzer went only 5 innings but allowed 2 runs and struck out 5. He got plenty of support to improve to 6-0 on the season. The bullpen has been plenty rested by the recent run of great starting pitching, so Al Alburqurerque was good to go 2 innings. He struck out 4. Joaquin Benoit made his first appearance in awhile and pitched a scoreless 8th. Ryan Perry got into trouble in the 9th, walking the bases loaded, hitting a batter and giving up a 2 run double. Jose Valverde got the final out to close out a 10-5 victory.
Detroit has won 6 of 7 and is back to .500 at 18-18.
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