The Rays kept rolling, routing Texas 9-0 in Game 1 of their series. Kelly Shoppach was 3-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs for the Rays. Johnny Damon was 2-5 with a 3-run homer.
Texas was held to 2 hits, both by Josh Hamilton.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
the Tigers ended the regular season with a win
Jhonny Peralta hit a tie-breaking home run in the bottom of the 8th inning. It was his 21st of the season. He had 2 RBIs on the night. Victor Martinez was 3-3 with an RBI. He ends the season with a .330 batting average, 4th in the American League. Alex Avila also drove in a run.
Miguel Cabrera was 2-4 with a double. He wrapped up the American League batting title with a .344 batting average. Wilson Betemit was 2-3 with a double and a triple.
Rick Porcello allowed 3 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings pitched. He lost a chance at the win when Ryan Perry gave up a run in the 8th. Jim Leyland had wanted to rest Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde tonight. Benoit got his rest. Valverde came in to close out the 9th to end the season with a Detroit Tiger record 49 saves. Detroit won it 5-4.
They won the A.L. Central by 14 games.
Next up is the New York Yankees in the ALDS. Texas won tonight, and won 14 of their final 16 to finish one game ahead of Detroit for the 2 seed in the playoffs. That gets them the Rays, while Detroit gets the Yankees.
Justin Verlander will take the hill at Yankee Stadium at 8:37 PM on Friday night.
Having won the batting title, to go along with the home run title in 2008 and the RBI crown last year, Cabrera joins Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez as active players with a career Triple Crown.
Miguel Cabrera was 2-4 with a double. He wrapped up the American League batting title with a .344 batting average. Wilson Betemit was 2-3 with a double and a triple.
Rick Porcello allowed 3 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings pitched. He lost a chance at the win when Ryan Perry gave up a run in the 8th. Jim Leyland had wanted to rest Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde tonight. Benoit got his rest. Valverde came in to close out the 9th to end the season with a Detroit Tiger record 49 saves. Detroit won it 5-4.
They won the A.L. Central by 14 games.
Next up is the New York Yankees in the ALDS. Texas won tonight, and won 14 of their final 16 to finish one game ahead of Detroit for the 2 seed in the playoffs. That gets them the Rays, while Detroit gets the Yankees.
Justin Verlander will take the hill at Yankee Stadium at 8:37 PM on Friday night.
Having won the batting title, to go along with the home run title in 2008 and the RBI crown last year, Cabrera joins Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez as active players with a career Triple Crown.
Wild Card Wildness Indeed
In Baltimore Jonathan Papelbon gave up 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning to blow a save and propel the Orioles to a 4-3 victory.
In Tampa Bay, the Rays came all the way back from a 7-0 deficit. They scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th, fueled by Evan Longoria's 3-run homer. The Rays tied it in the 9th on a 2-out, 2-strike pinch hit home run, to send things to extra innings. About two minutes after Boston lost Longoria lined his second home run of the night over the short spot in the left field corner for an 8-7 victory over the Yankees. The Rays are the A.L. Wild Card winners. They were 9 back on September 2nd. Boston went 9-17 in September.
In the N.L., Atlanta closer Greg Kimbrell blew a save in the 9th against Philadelphia to send it to extras. The Phillies won it in the 13th. The Cardinals had a non-drama game, cruising over Houston 8-0. Atlanta went 9-18 in September.
In Tampa Bay, the Rays came all the way back from a 7-0 deficit. They scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th, fueled by Evan Longoria's 3-run homer. The Rays tied it in the 9th on a 2-out, 2-strike pinch hit home run, to send things to extra innings. About two minutes after Boston lost Longoria lined his second home run of the night over the short spot in the left field corner for an 8-7 victory over the Yankees. The Rays are the A.L. Wild Card winners. They were 9 back on September 2nd. Boston went 9-17 in September.
In the N.L., Atlanta closer Greg Kimbrell blew a save in the 9th against Philadelphia to send it to extras. The Phillies won it in the 13th. The Cardinals had a non-drama game, cruising over Houston 8-0. Atlanta went 9-18 in September.
Wild Card Wildness
Coming down to the regular season's final day, both Wild Card races are tied. Boston paused its collapse for one night last night to edge the Orioles 8-7. Tampa Bay beat the Yankees 5-3.
In the NL the Braves have lost 4 straight. The Cardinals won yesterday so they are now tied with the Braves atop the NL Wild Card race.
Interesting stuff.
The Cards blew a big lead a few games ago after allowing 6 runs in the 9th. If they don't make the playoffs they'll lose sleep over that. So too will the Braves, losing 4 straight down the stretch.
In the AL you'd think the odds favor the Rays. The Yankees are resting some players, especially starting pitchers. Brian Cashman said that it would likely be a relief pitcher who gets the start today so they can get their rotation totally set for their first round playoff series.
Baltimore on the other hand is hungry to play spoiler. They played Detroit tough, splitting 4 in Detroit last series. They've played Boston tough. While the Yankees will probably take glee in screwing Boston, they're more interested in being playoff ready.
In the NL the Braves have lost 4 straight. The Cardinals won yesterday so they are now tied with the Braves atop the NL Wild Card race.
Interesting stuff.
The Cards blew a big lead a few games ago after allowing 6 runs in the 9th. If they don't make the playoffs they'll lose sleep over that. So too will the Braves, losing 4 straight down the stretch.
In the AL you'd think the odds favor the Rays. The Yankees are resting some players, especially starting pitchers. Brian Cashman said that it would likely be a relief pitcher who gets the start today so they can get their rotation totally set for their first round playoff series.
Baltimore on the other hand is hungry to play spoiler. They played Detroit tough, splitting 4 in Detroit last series. They've played Boston tough. While the Yankees will probably take glee in screwing Boston, they're more interested in being playoff ready.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
the Tigers defeat Cleveland again
They won 9-6 tonight. Magglio Ordonez was 2-3 with a double and 3 RBIs. Delmon Young was 3-5 with his 8th home run as a Tiger, a double, and 3 RBIs. Wilson Betemit played for the first time since September 16th due to knee pain. He crushed a 423 foot home run, his 6th Tiger home run. Jim Leyland had said yesterday he was concerned about Betemit's knee and his availability for the ALDS. Hopefully this means the knee is doing better.
Ryan Raburn delivered an RBI double. Miguel Cabrera was 2-5. He hit his 30th home run of the season and had a double. His batting average is .353. he's got a 5 point lead over Boston's Adrian Gonzalez with one game to play. Barring some sort of monster day by Gonzalez tomorrow and a big o-fer by Cabrera, he will be the American League Batting Champion.
Victor Martinez was 3-5 with 2 doubles.
Max Scherzer gave up 4 runs on 7 hits in 5.2 innings pitched. He struck out 7 and won his 15th game of the season. He'll end the regular season 15-9, second on the team in wins.
Jose Valverde closed out the 9th with 2 strikeouts for his 48th save of the season.
Ryan Raburn delivered an RBI double. Miguel Cabrera was 2-5. He hit his 30th home run of the season and had a double. His batting average is .353. he's got a 5 point lead over Boston's Adrian Gonzalez with one game to play. Barring some sort of monster day by Gonzalez tomorrow and a big o-fer by Cabrera, he will be the American League Batting Champion.
Victor Martinez was 3-5 with 2 doubles.
Max Scherzer gave up 4 runs on 7 hits in 5.2 innings pitched. He struck out 7 and won his 15th game of the season. He'll end the regular season 15-9, second on the team in wins.
Jose Valverde closed out the 9th with 2 strikeouts for his 48th save of the season.
Monday, September 26, 2011
some post season baseball thoughts
I'm torn right now as I watch the drama continue to unfold in the American League Wild Card race. Boston lost again, as their freefall continues. They lost to Baltimore tonight. Tampa beat the Yankees, so the Rays and Red Sox are now tied for the wild card. The Angels remain alive 2.5 games back. They're trailing Texas right now. If they don't come back to back to win they'd be eliminated I believe.
As for Boston and Tampa Bay I'm torn on who to root for. The Tigers will be taking on the Wild Card winner. Do I root for the battered and fading Red Sox instead of the hot Rays? My gut says yes? But the Red Sox also have a veteran team with alot of post-season experience. They have a bunch of clutch bats in that lineup. They have an offense that can explode at Fenway especially. Wounded, but they were the best team in baseball for a chunk of time so they're still dangerous. Boston is also good at taking pitches, fouling off pitches, and running up pitch counts. That's especially dangerous against Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, who seem to get especially sloppy as their pitch counts go up. Justin Verlander is capable of digging deep for big pitches, and even 100 mile an hour fastballs after the 100 pitch mark. But Boston could potentially work him enough to get him out of the game after the 6th on a high pitch count then work over the Tigers bullpen in the 7th before Benoit and Valverde can get into the game.
The Rays are hotter. They still have post-season experience but a good number of guys from their World Series run are no longer with the team. Joaquin Benoit is a Tiger. On the other hand Matt Joyce has pounded the Tigers, as if proving a point for trading him away to get Edwin Jackson a couple years ago. The Rays also have Johnny Damon, another clutch hitter, who may just be extra motivated against the team that didn't want him back after last season.
So I 'm torn. There are pros and cons to each matchup for Detroit. In either case Detroit's pitching should be superior. My gut says avoiding Josh Becket, Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and the October aura of Fenway Park may be better, even with Boston struggling with offense, pitching, and general health right now.
As for Boston and Tampa Bay I'm torn on who to root for. The Tigers will be taking on the Wild Card winner. Do I root for the battered and fading Red Sox instead of the hot Rays? My gut says yes? But the Red Sox also have a veteran team with alot of post-season experience. They have a bunch of clutch bats in that lineup. They have an offense that can explode at Fenway especially. Wounded, but they were the best team in baseball for a chunk of time so they're still dangerous. Boston is also good at taking pitches, fouling off pitches, and running up pitch counts. That's especially dangerous against Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, who seem to get especially sloppy as their pitch counts go up. Justin Verlander is capable of digging deep for big pitches, and even 100 mile an hour fastballs after the 100 pitch mark. But Boston could potentially work him enough to get him out of the game after the 6th on a high pitch count then work over the Tigers bullpen in the 7th before Benoit and Valverde can get into the game.
The Rays are hotter. They still have post-season experience but a good number of guys from their World Series run are no longer with the team. Joaquin Benoit is a Tiger. On the other hand Matt Joyce has pounded the Tigers, as if proving a point for trading him away to get Edwin Jackson a couple years ago. The Rays also have Johnny Damon, another clutch hitter, who may just be extra motivated against the team that didn't want him back after last season.
So I 'm torn. There are pros and cons to each matchup for Detroit. In either case Detroit's pitching should be superior. My gut says avoiding Josh Becket, Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and the October aura of Fenway Park may be better, even with Boston struggling with offense, pitching, and general health right now.
14-0 was a magic number for Detroit tonight
That was the final of Detroit's rout of Cleveland, in the opening game of the regular season ending series. 14-0 is now the combined record of Justin Verlander and Doug Fister since August 16th. Add a combined 1.61 ERA to that.
Tonight Fister pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball, striking out 9. He's now 8-1 as a Tiger, 7 of those wins as a starter.
For the second time this season Fister outpitched Ubaldo Jimenez. Detroit beat Jiminez for the third time since he was acquired in an effort to tilt the A.L. Central in Cleveland's favor. Jimenez was 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA against the Tigers.
Alex Avila was 2-3 with a double and 3 RBIs for Detroit. Andy Dirks was 2-5 with a double and 3 RBIs. Delmon Young was 2-4 and hit a 3-run home run, his 7th as a Tiger and 11th of the season overall.
Ryan Raburn was 2-4 with a triple and 2 RBIs. Miguel Cabera was 3-5 to lift his A.L. leading batting average to .344. He also drove in a run.
Victor Martinez was 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Don Kelly was 2-4 with a double and an RBI. In all Detroit pounded out 18 hits. Every starter had a hit, and 7 had multi-hit games. Even Wil Rhymes got into the act with a rare start at second. He batted leadoff tonight and was 2-6.
Tonight Fister pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball, striking out 9. He's now 8-1 as a Tiger, 7 of those wins as a starter.
For the second time this season Fister outpitched Ubaldo Jimenez. Detroit beat Jiminez for the third time since he was acquired in an effort to tilt the A.L. Central in Cleveland's favor. Jimenez was 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA against the Tigers.
Alex Avila was 2-3 with a double and 3 RBIs for Detroit. Andy Dirks was 2-5 with a double and 3 RBIs. Delmon Young was 2-4 and hit a 3-run home run, his 7th as a Tiger and 11th of the season overall.
Ryan Raburn was 2-4 with a triple and 2 RBIs. Miguel Cabera was 3-5 to lift his A.L. leading batting average to .344. He also drove in a run.
Victor Martinez was 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Don Kelly was 2-4 with a double and an RBI. In all Detroit pounded out 18 hits. Every starter had a hit, and 7 had multi-hit games. Even Wil Rhymes got into the act with a rare start at second. He batted leadoff tonight and was 2-6.
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