text:
So the Detroit Tigers are now:
SP Verlander
SP Scherzer
SP Sanchez
SP Porcello
SP Smyly
RP Nathan
RP Alburquerque
RP Chamberlain
RP Coke
RP Hardy
RP Smith
RP Krol
C Avila
C Holaday
1B-DH Cabrera
2B Kinsler
SS-2B Romine
SS Suarez
3B Castellanos
IF-OF Kelly
RF Hunter
CF Jackson
LF-CF Davis
LF-RF J. Martinez
DH-1B-C V. Martinez
Game 91: Verlander v. Chen. ROYALS 5, Tigers 2. Up 2, down 3.
NICE PLAYS: SS Escobar-2B Infante-1B Hosmer, 3B Moustakas, CABRERA, CF Dyson
MISPLAYS: Moustakas, Escobar, C Hayes, SUAREZ
BASERUNNING NEWS: The Tigers stole some bases without stealing them, as DAVIS went first to third en route to scoring and JACKSON went first to home on the J. MARTINEZ popup into LF no man's land (questionable effort by Escobar there, sun ball or not.) AVILA beat the shift with an IF single to SS.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded, 2 out, 2-2 in the 7th, INFANTE 2-run single off ALBURQUERQUE.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 1 out, 2-2 in the 7th, KROL retires Aoki (popout 2B).
BAD HITTING: Aoki, KINSLER
GOOD PITCHING: Ventura
OBVIOUSLY: The team that sends 11 men to the plate in the 7th tends to win.
AND, BUT, ALSO: The Tigers 2 runs in the 3rd made it look like luck was on their side (and if the CABRERA sac fly had been a bit deeper, as in gone, it's a different game). Move of the game may have been bringing in Ventura to put Detroit on ice (they called it a day and finished 1 for 12), and luck turned sharply the other way in the 7th. A slip and a failed lunge by VERLANDER, and the table was set for the big inning the Tigers bullpen could do nothing to prevent.
Game 92: Bauer v. Sanchez. Indians 9, TIGERS 3. Up 3, down 6.
NICE PLAYS: SANCHEZ, SUAREZ-CABRERA, RF Murphy-2B Kipnis-C Gomes, JACKSON, HUNTER, SS Cabrera-Kipnis-1B Santana, 3B Chisenhall
MISPLAYS: Gomes-Chisenhall, Gomes, SUAREZ, LF J. MARTINEZ
BASERUNNING NEWS: J. MARTINEZ was out at home trying to score from 1B, but it took a mighty fine play to get him. Stealing 3B to draw the possible error is great strategy when it works, and it did for HUNTER (who scored on the play). The CABRERA steal of 2B wasn't all Gomes's bobble; he had a great jump, though not as great as the one Brantley got off SANCHEZ (or as much of an impact).
THE BIG HIT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, 3-3 in the 7th, KIPNIS 3-run HR off ALBURQUERQUE.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, 3-3 in the 7th, ALBURQUERQUE strikes out Dickerson.
GOOD HITTING: Kipnis, Swisher
GOOD PITCHING: Bauer
OBVIOUSLY: Another late collapse. Remarkably, the opponent sends 11 men to the plate in the 7th for the second consecutive game.
AND, BUT, ALSO: No question that the Tigers played well and won the first 6 innings, or that the offense kept knocking at the door the rest of the way. Did the unraveling start with the Brantley IF single that should have (?) been an out? Not a reason for the bullpen to be gasoline. V. MARTINEZ was back in the lineup after an extended absence, 2-4 with a couple of K's.
Game 93: Kluber v. VerHagen. Indians 6, TIGERS 2. (Game One of makeup doubleheader.) Never ahead, down 5.
NICE PLAYS: HOLADAY-SUAREZ-CASTELLANOS, SS Cabrera, 2B Kipnis-1B Santana (2), HOLADAY-SUAREZ (2), KINSLER-SUAREZ-CABRERA, 3B Chisenhall, KINSLER, Santana
MISPLAYS: CABRERA, Kipnis, KINSLER, HOLADAY (3)
BASERUNNING NEWS: A good news/bad news day for HOLADAY defensively. The good news was that he was death to would-be thieves, and the CS on Brantley and Murphy were just sensational combos. The hustle on the CASTELLANOS 9th inning double did not go unnoticed. Good read and no hesitation scores CABRERA from 3rd on a groundout (though it took a good play from 1B Santana just to stop the would-be single off the bat of J. MARTINEZ).
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, none out, 0-0 in the 5th, SWISHER RBI double off VerHAGEN.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers down 3-0 in the 5th, KLUBER retires DAVIS on a 1-4-3 DP, SUAREZ advancing to 3B.
GOOD HITTING: Murphy, Gomes, Kipnis
BAD HITTING: Brantley, Raburn, DAVIS
GOOD PITCHING: Kluber
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit couldn't get to Kluber (10 K and 13 groundball outs)and was beaten soundly for it.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Not as flat as the scoring might indicate, and closer; both teams came to play with good defense and action on the bases, and there were quite a few bang-bang plays. Kluber was just dealing, and the Tigers' runs were truly scratched in. The mop-up style finish was disheartening. 4-1 is a blowout, KNEBEL, HOLADAY, AUSMUS?
Game 94: McAllister v. Scherzer. Indians 5, TIGERS 2. (Game Two of makeup doubleheader.) Up 1, down 3.
NICE PLAYS: HUNTER-KINSLER-SUAREZ, 3B Chisenhall, CABRERA-SUAREZ, CABRERA
MISPLAYS: SCHERZER-CABRERA, P McAllister, AVILA (2), JACKSON (2), 2B Kipnis, P Axford
BASERUNNING NEWS: Not much. They were all tired. Strange play where McAllister tried stopping his pitch in the middle of his delivery (with a man on 1st) and ended up throwing it down to the infield grass. Looked like a balk, scored a wild pitch, apparently.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded, 2 out, 2-2 in the 9th, Santana 3-run double off NATHAN.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 2-1 in the 6th, Axford strikes out J. MARTINEZ and HUNTER.
GOOD HITTING: JACKSON, Dickerson, Santana
GOOD PITCHING: McAllister, Axford, KROL
OBVIOUSLY: A game that could have gone either way resoundingly blown by our closer.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Before we heap all the blame on Nathan: JACKSON's misplay was a key in his demise. The teams combined for 1-18 RISP. The "1" belonged to Cleveland. Both starters scuffled (and lefties were clobbering SCHERZER), and Detroit especially left a lot of runs out there (1 walk in 5 tries with a runner at 3B!). Defense was poor. Relief pitching was actually the least of it, aside from losing the game in the top of the 9th and all.
Game 95: Tomlin v. Smyly. TIGERS 5, Indians 1. Never behind, up 4.
NICE PLAYS: RF Murphy-1B Santana, HUNTER, 1B V. MARTINEZ-SMYLY, Santana-P Tomlin, AVILA-KINSLER, ROMINE-KINSLER, Santana-P Adams,
MISPLAYS: 3B Aviles, LF Raburn
BASERUNNING NEWS: The Tigers challenged every Indians OF arm in the 1st inning and won each time, with JACKSON scoring on a shallow single and KINSLER tagging up twice and coming in to score. JACKSON got a little greedy the next time and got doubled off 1B for gambling that KINSLER's RF fly would drop. ROMINE reached on a swinging bunt to the left side. He was out stealing 3B except that Aviles couldn't glove the good throw from Gomes, and so it went as a double-steal for ROMINE-JACKSON. HUNTER motors home from 1B on the CASTELLANOS double.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, 2 out, Tigers up 2-0 in the 4th, HUNTER 2-run HR off Tomlin.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers up 4-0 in the 6th, SMYLY retires Cabrera-Brantley-Santana in order.
GOOD PITCHING: SMYLY, Crockett, Lee
BAD PITCHING: Tomlin
OBVIOUSLY: A very good start stands up. 4 runs of support is starting to look "big."
AND, BUT, ALSO: Over the course of 4 at bats in the 5th and 6th (all strikeouts), Detroit left 10 baserunners standing where they were. This is the game where the guy who catches HUNTER's home run is accosted by Fat Drunk Guy. Maybe they were buddies. Let's hope so.
Game 96: Verlander v. Nuno. Tigers 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3. Never behind, up 3.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 2 out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 6th, Parra HR off Verlander.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 4-3 in the 7th, ALBURQUERQUE retires Goldschmidt (groundball 3B, forceout at 2B).
GOOD PITCHING: CHAMBERLAIN, NATHAN, Stites
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers answered the comeback and won a close one the way you should.
Game 97: Porcello v. Anderson. DIAMONDBACKS 5, Tigers 4. Up 1, down 1.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded, 2 out, Tigers up 4-3 in the 8th, Montero 2-run single off KROL.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, none out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 8th, Ziegler gets a grounder to 1B from V. MARTINEZ and KINSLER is thrown out trying to score from 3B.
GOOD HITTING: Montero, Peralta, CABRERA
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Anderson, De La Rosa
BAD PITCHING: COKE, ALBURQUERQUE, KROL, Ziegler
OBVIOUSLY: An exciting Detroit comeback is quickly erased by 1 inning of bullpen.
Game 98: Sanchez v. Cahill. Tigers 11, DIAMONDBACKS 5. Never behind, up 7.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 2nd, AVILA 2-run double off Cahill.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 7-5 in the 7th, CHAMBERLAIN retires Goldschmidt (6-4-3 DP).
GOOD HITTING: CABRERA, JACKSON, Parra, Gregorius
BAD HITTING: Montero
GOOD PITCHING: HARDY, De La Rosa, Perez
BAD PITCHING: Cahill, SANCHEZ, Stites
OBVIOUSLY: Another lead was evaporating before the Tigers put it away in the 8th.
Game 99: Scherzer v. Richards. Tigers 6, ANGELS 4. Down 2, up 3.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers down 3-1 in the 6th, HUNTER RBI double off Richards.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 3rd, none out, Tigers up 6-3 in the 8th, CHAMBERLAIN retires Hamilton (sacrifice fly) and Aybar (6-4-3 DP).
GOOD HITTING: SUAREZ, Calhoun
BAD HITTING: Aybar
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit answered the L.A. outburst to add on and hold on.
Game 100: Smyly v. Skaggs. ANGELS 2, Tigers 1. Up 1, down 1.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, 1-1 in the 6th, Navarro RBI single off SMYLY.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 6th, Morin strikes out HUNTER.
GOOD PITCHING: Skaggs, SMYLY. Jepsen
OBVIOUSLY: A well-pitched game, with both teams mounting rallies in the decisive 6th inning (different results).
Game 101: Verlander v. Shoemaker. ANGELS 4, Tigers 0. Behind from the 2nd on.
THE BIG HIT: None on, none out, 0-0 in the 2nd, Navarro HR off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, 0-0 in the 1st, VERLANDER retires Kendrick (groundout to P).
GOOD HITTING: Navarro
BAD HITTING: McDonald
GOOD PITCHING: Shoemaker
OBVIOUSLY: Quality start against outstanding start not a contest, no drama and certainly no offense from Detroit.
Game 102: Porcello v. Santiago. ANGELS 2, Tigers 1. Up 1, down 1.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 1 out, 1-1 in the 8th, Freese HR off CHAMBERLAIN.
THE BIG OUTS: Runner on 2nd, 1 out, 1-1 in the 5th, PORCELLO recovers from his own costly error to retire Navarro (lineout 3B) and Freese (lineout CF).
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Santiago, Morin
OBVIOUSLY: Neither side hitting (0-4 RISP combined), a duel someone had to lose.
Game 103: Quintana v. Sanchez. White Sox 11, TIGERS 4. Up 2, down 9.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, 2-2 in the 7th, Flowers single that scores a run on E7 off SANCHEZ.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 2nd, none out, 2-2 in the 7th, SANCHEZ retires DeAza (popout SS).
GOOD HITTING: Abreu
BAD HITTING: DeAza, DAVIS
BAD PITCHING: SORIA, KROL, Thompson
OBVIOUSLY: It *was* a game for 6 innings, Defense, bullpen intervene.
Game 104: Noesi v. Scherzer. TIGERS 7, White Sox 2. Never behind, up 6.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 3-0 in the 1st, CASTELLANOS 3-run HR off Noesi.
THE BIG OUTS: Runner on 1st, none out, 0-0 in the 1st, SCHERZER retires Ramirez (6-4-3 DP).
BAD PITCHING: Noesi
OBVIOUSLY: Wrapped up in the first inning, and no lead evaporation.
Game 105: Danks v. Smyly. White Sox 7, TIGERS 4. Up 1, down 3.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, none out, 4-4 in the 7th, Ramirez single off SORIA moves Eaton to 3B with Ramirez taking 2B on the throw.
THE BIG OUTS: Bases loaded, 1 out, Tigers down 5-4 in the 7th, SORIA retires Beckham (popout 2B) and strikes out Flowers.
GOOD HITTING: Eaton, Sierra, HUNTER, CASTELLANOS
BAD HITTING: Garcia, CABRERA
GOOD PITCHING: Belisario, Guerra, HARDY
BAD PITCHING: SMYLY, Danks, CHAMBERLAIN
OBVIOUSLY: Back and forth for 6 innings before the Tigers threw in the towel.
Game 106: Morales v. Verlander. TIGERS 4, Rockies 2. Never behind, up 3.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 5th, DAVIS 2-run single off Morales.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 3-1 in the 7th, VERLANDER gets through Rutledge-LeMahieu-Blackmon with a run-scoring fielder's choice and two swinging strikeouts.
BAD HITTING: Dickerson, CASTELLANOS
BAD PITCHING: Masset
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit stayed a step ahead in a pitchers' game.
Game 107: Matzek v. Porcello. TIGERS 11, Rockies 5. Never behind, up 11.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 2 out, 2-2 in the 3rd, CABRERA HR off Matzek.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 4th, PORCELLO strikes out Roastio and McKenry.
GOOD HITTING: Stubbs, KINSLER, AVILA, DAVIS
BAD PITCHING: Matzek, McCOY
OBVIOUSLY: Wins made to look easy don't get any better, with runs scored every inning and 10 strikeouts from your starter.
Game 108: De La Rosa v. Sanchez. TIGERS 4, Rockies 0. Ahead from the 3rd on.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 3rd, V. MARTINEZ 3-run HR off De La Rosa.
THE BIG OUT: Runner on 2nd, 2 out, 0-0 in the 3rd, SANCHEZ retires Dickerson (groundout 3B).
OBVIOUSLY: Shutdown lockdown from SANCHEZ, and one big inning is more than enough.
DEFENSIVE SCORECARD (in terms of outstanding plays one way or the other)
GAME 91: "Things were rolling fine, and a couple balls find the right spots, and the next thing you know, I'm out of the ballgame," Justin Verlander said. "It [stinks] to be able to throw the ball pretty well, and walk away with a sour taste in your mouth." *** Austin Jackson wraps up the series in K.C. 8 for 18 with 5 runs scored.
GAME 92: "A slider [Al Alburquerque pitch on the Jason Kipnis home run] that was probably a little bit up," Alex Avila said. "I wouldn't say it was a terrible pitch, but obviously trying to look for the strikeout there. It probably caught a little more plate rather than going down and in. But you're talking about centimeters. That's all it takes." *** The Tigers extend their spring training partnership with Lakeland, Florida, through 2036. *** Pitcher Drew VerHagen (2012 draft pick) is called up from Toledo for (and only for) tomorrow's doubleheader spot start.
GAME 93: Corey Kluber has had 6 consecutive quality starts versus Detroit. "I don't think there's a magic formula to it," Kluber said. "I just think it's making better pitches against them." *** VerHagen's debut: "They know he's a young guy, and they were pretty patient the first time through the lineup," Bryan Holaday said. "And then they started being a little more aggressive." *** Top relief pitching prospect Corey Knebel is also (back) up from Toledo, with Chad Smith's demotion being the corresponding move.
GAME 94: Ankle soreness from an old injury has been bothering Joba Chamberlain more than usual lately, and it kept him from staying on for the 9th inning in place of Joe Nathan. *** Brad Ausmus on Nathan: "Joe's done it for years. It wasn't a good outing tonight, but he's our closer." *** Jackson on the Roberto Perez 9th inning double: "I don't ever remember trying to make a catch in that part of the field. As many balls as have been hit out there, I can't recall making a play there. It was a little different. You're running back into a chain-link fence and your depth perception is kind of off a little bit. Went hard after it and wasn't able to come up with it."
GAME 95: "[Drew Smyly] was flipping that breaking ball over at will," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "And then, because of that breaking ball, I thought he threw some fastballs that caught some of the plate, but we just weren't ready to hit it."
GAME 96: Verlander: "I could tell right from Jump Street – it felt like I was able to throw the way I want. Really the first time all year that I felt like I've been able to locate my fastball as well as I would like to."
GAME 97: The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association announced utility player Don Kelly as the Tigers' 2014 Heart and Hustle Award winner. "Every day, I try to go out and play the game the right way," Kelly said. "I love playing the game. I play it with passion and leave everything out on the field. Really, that's all you can do. It's a great game to play and I love playing it." *** Tigers half of the 8th inning: "I chose to put Eury De La Rosa in a tough situation," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "Porcello was just cruising. He had just had a five- or seven-pitch inning. So I basically loaded the bases up and made [Ausmus] make a move and try to get into his bullpen. When Eury went to 3-0, I didn't look so smart. He came back and got [Davis], and that was big for that kid." *** Rick Porcello: "We don't like to lose any game. Regardless of the situation, when we lose, we all take it hard. We win and lose as a team, and it stinks either way – if we're down by 10 or we lose by one, it still stinks."
GAME 98: "It was good to see the guys swing the bat," Ausmus said. "We really haven't busted out for some runs like this since before the break." *** The 7th inning double play on Paul Goldschmidt: "Just had to execute a pitch, and we executed a pitch and got exactly what we wanted," Chamberlain said. *** J.D. Martinez was out of the lineup, day to day with an upper quad injury
GAME 99: Max Scherzer: "That's why when I'm in that situation and I'm having to face Trout, Pujols and Hamilton, if I can just limit the damage, I have a shot. I know my guys can come back and win this game." *** On Garrett Richards and the 6th inning: "We were aggressive off his fastball, and we swung at strikes that inning," Nick Castellanos said.
The Tigers trade highly regarded pitching prospects Corey Knebel and Jake Thompson to the Texas Rangers for their closer (and longtime Detroit nemesis) Joakim Soria, though not with the intent of replacing closer Nathan. The plan is to use Soria in a variety of late inning relief roles. Meanwhile, "At this point, I would say we're not counting on [Joel Hanrahan] at all," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said.
GAME 100: Smyly on the Efren Navarro hit: "That was the biggest at-bat of the game," he said. "That was the guy I have to get. That's the guy I got all last year coming out of the bullpen. To get a loss on that guy beating you is a little frustrating, but that's how it goes." *** Smyly is the first Tigers southpaw in 21 years to record 11 strikeouts. "The rotation on [Smyly's] cutter, it just must have been so tight tonight that they all thought it was fastballs coming in," Ausmus said.
GAME 101: "We haven't swung the bats great the last couple days," Ausmus said. "Offenses go through ups and downs. That happens."
GAME 102: On the pickoff play gone awry: "If we don't try to at least show Aybar that we're paying attention to him, he's going to take third," Porcello said. "I think it was a necessary play. You take a chance. Just didn't get it done." Jackson adds: "I came up and was looking to throw the ball to third, and then I looked and saw that Howie was going to second. I kind of got caught in between where I wanted to throw the ball. Aybar, being heads-up, could see that. He pretty much never broke stride. As soon as he hit third and saw the ball wasn't in yet, he kept going. Heads-up play by him and just a brain fart by me, pretty much." *** 8 runs in the 4-game Angels series: "Every game was a close game, good pitching games," said Miguel Cabrera.
GAME 103: Castellanos bruises a finger during practice and Miggy gets the start at 3B instead, while Eugenio Suarez hurts his lower back during the game and comes out. Day to day. *** Anibal Sanchez: "I think everything [that has] happened in that situation is something that I don't know what happened. I feel good. I feel great. I've never done that before [this year]. All the time when I got really good beginnings of games, all the time I finish really strong. Right now, that's not happening. It's not because I feel tired. I think it's part of the game." *** Rajai Davis on the 7th inning error: "I was just trying to charge it, just to slow the runner up. I didn't get a perfect hop. It hit my glove. It just hit off it hard." *** Soria on his Detroit home debut: "That didn't go the way I wanted it to. That was probably the worst outing of my career."
GAME 104: Verlander hosted the Agar family in his suite at Comerica Park. *** "We know Noesi throws hard, he throws a lot of fastballs," said Castellanos. "So the game plan was to be aggressive on pretty much fastballs around the plate, because he's going to give it to you. It's not so much swing at first pitches, it's just swing at good first pitches." *** "We all had a plan," said Torii Hunter. "Just to see the team stick with it, be aggressive in the strike zone today, just to see everybody go with that plan and it worked, that's awesome." *** On White Sox starter Hector Noesi settling down after the Tigers' big 1st inning: "It just felt like one big long inning from the third to the sixth," said Tigers starter Scherzer. "Every time I came out, I got a drink of water and by the time I got down below [the inning was over]. Credit Noesi."
GAME 105: On the wild pitch that allowed Adam Eaton take first base on a K in the decisive 8th inning: "It's a ball I block a million times," said Avila. "I should block it. And I didn't. I felt terrible for Soria because it's a whole different inning." *** Ausmus: "I wouldn't say that was a rough outing, to be honest with you. I thought [Soria] threw the ball pretty well." *** After the game, the Tigers formally announce a stunning trade (already in the news, with the trade deadline falling within the game in progress) involving two players who'd started the game: Lefty ace David Price has been acquired in a three-way deal with Tampa Bay and Seattle, at the price of Austin Jackson, Drew Smyly, and minor league SS Willy Adames. Jackson exits the game in the 7th inning to a standing ovation. More on the "human side" of this trade. Meanwhile, Toledo CF Ezequiel Carrera (having an outstanding season at AAA) gets the call to replace Jackson on the roster, the plan being that Davis will move to CF and that Carrera will fill the role of defensive replacement, occasional starter, and pinch runner.
GAME 106: Verlander: "I put [new center fielder Rajai Davis] to work the first couple innings, had him running around pretty good. 'Here it is, go get it' type of thing." Davis: "This is definitely one of the biggest ballparks. When you go to other ballparks, it kind of feels small when you get in their outfield." Verlander: "Those guys were being aggressive. Early on they were hitting some balls hard but right at people. Early in the game you keep the ball in center field, it's tough to hit it out there."
GAME 107: The Tigers become the first team since 2006 to score in every inning. *** On Cabrera's 445-foot home run to center field: "That," winning pitcher Porcello said, "was pretty sweet. I just keep thinking about Miggy's home run. It was awesome to watch." "Frankly, everybody knew it was gone when it was hit," Ausmus said. "It's not like we were on the edge of our seats. There's not many people that can reach that." *** Pat McCoy is back in the bullpen after DL and then Toledo, so Ian Krol must be out and in Toledo. Presumably. It's getting hard to keep track.
GAME 108: Ausmus on Sanchez: "I've said it before: Sanchez, just pure stuff, might have the best stuff on our team." Sanchez on Sanchez: "That's the key today. When I came to the seventh inning, I said I need to keep the ball down, I need to keep strong like I used to do and I need to show that I can stay longer in the game. So today was a big game for me. I didn't try to throw a couple fastballs and go to another pitch. I just keep my fastball, keep it on the corners, and I used it all the time."
Detroit has scored 5+ runs only 5 times in the last 18 games, and is enduring its most prolonged offensive slump of the season to date. Remove the two outbursts against NL opponents, and you find 16 games (6-10) with 50 runs scored, 68 allowed… The Tigers bullpen has taken a turn for the worse, and Soria has been no help at all. Phil Coke (on a two-month run of ERA improvement, for what that's worth) is a kind of indicator. In 7 games, 6.1 IP this period, the ERA is 2.84 and BA .280. However, the OPS is .819, WHIP is 2.05, strike% is 58%, IRS is 38%, and the team's record in these games in 1-6. Yeah. It's beyond stats and perhaps in spite of them. The bullpen is losing games and helping to lose them.
61-47, 1st in the Central, 3rd in the AL, on pace for a 91.5-70.5 season…]]>
So the Detroit Tigers are now:
SP Verlander
SP Scherzer
SP Sanchez
SP Porcello
SP Smyly
RP Nathan
RP Alburquerque
RP Chamberlain
RP Coke
RP Hardy
RP Smith
RP McCoy
C Avila
C Holaday
1B-DH Cabrera
2B Kinsler
SS-2B Romine
SS Suarez
3B Castellanos
IF-OF Kelly
RF Hunter
CF Jackson
LF-CF Davis
LF-RF J. Martinez
DH-1B-C V. Martinez
Game 73: Smyly v. Lewis. Tigers 8, RANGERS 2. Never behind, up 7.
NICE PLAYS: SMYLY-CABRERA-KINSLER-SUAREZ, SMYLY, CABRERA-SUAREZ, C Chirinos-3B Beltre, Chrinos-SS Andrus, SUAREZ, COKE, CASTELLANOS-1B KELLY
BASERUNNING NEWS: V. MARTINEZ really had no business trying to score from 1B on a double, running into the 3rd out. Odd line with both JACKSON and DAVIS going 1-2 in SB. Andrus held the tag on an over-sliding DAVIS. JACKSON took him to school on technique with a brilliant feet-first to steal 2B. SMYLY is at it again with a steal attempt pickoff, and Andrus plays football in the rundown in a comical attempt at drawing an interference call.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 2nd, none out, 1-1 in the 7th, J. MARTINEZ 2-run HR off Lewis.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 1st, none out, 1-1 in the 6th, DAVIS caught stealing 2B by Chirinos-Odor (Lewis pitching).
GOOD HITTING: Beltre, KINSLER, V. MARTINEZ
BAD HITTING: Pena
BAD PITCHING: Poreda, Rowen
OBVIOUSLY: Close until the Tigers exploded late.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The lone run off SMYLY was truly was unearned.
AND, BUT, ALSO: As though scripted: First time back in Texas, KINSLER homers in his first AB and gives a sly little wave to the Rangers dugout.
Game 74: Sanchez v. Saunders. Tigers 8, RANGERS 6. Never behind, up 5.
NICE PLAYS: CF Martin, LF Choice, C Chirinos-2B Odor, Odor, SANCHEZ-CABRERA, CF DAVIS, RF HUNTER, KINSLER-CABRERA, SUAREZ-CABRERA
MISPLAYS: Odor, SS Andrus, CABRERA, HOLADAY (2), CASTELLANOS, LF J. MARTINEZ (2), HOLADAY-CABRERA, 3B KELLY
BASERUNNING NEWS: SUAREZ was an easy out stealing 2B, as was HOLADAY "at" home trying to score from 1B on a double. The Rangers 7th was some fine small ball with a model hit and run.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the first, V. MARTINEZ double off Saunders scores KINSLER from 1B.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 5-3 in the 4th, SANCHEZ retires Odor (flyout CF) and Martin (groundout P).
GOOD HITTING: Beltre, J MARTINEZ, KINSLER, Chirinos
GOOD PITCHING: HARDY, Frasor
BAD PITCHING: Saunders
OBVIOUSLY: Built a good lead and held on.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Good thing they brought the bats. Bad defense undermined everything; felt more like a loss than a win.
AND, BUT, ALSO: 6 HR in 9 games for J. MARTINEZ.
Game 75: Porcello v. Martinez. Tigers 6, RANGERS 0. Ahead from the 2nd on.
NICE PLAYS: CABRERA, SS Andrus-2B Sardinas-1B Pena, KINSLER-SUAREZ-CABRERA (3), SS Andrus, Pena-Andrus-P Baker, CASTELLANOS
MISPLAYS: HUNTER, LF Choo (2), Pena, 3B Beltre, 2B Sardinas
BASERUNNING NEWS: A nice hit and run with CABRERA on and V. MARTINEZ up pays off with a sacrifice fly run. And the 5th run *always* matters.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 3rd, JACKSON 2-run single off Martinez.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 2 out, 0-0 in the 2nd, Martinez retires CABRERA (flyball deep CF).
BAD HITTING: Andrus
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Baker
BAD PITCHING: Martinez
OBVIOUSLY: Brilliant start and a no doubt about it win.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Sharp defense from Detroit. 6 Texas baserunners, 3 double plays.
AND, BUT, ALSO: The Rangers' PA guy announces V. MARTINEZ as "DH Edgar Martinez." As we saw earlier in the season, the Rangers have some issues with outfield communication.
Game 76: Verlander v. Peacock. ASTROS 4, Tigers 3 (11). Up 1, down 1. Walk-off loss.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Dominguez-1B Singleton, SS Villar-2B Altuve-Singleton, CASTELLANOS, CASTELLANOS-KINSLER-CABRERA, CABRERA-SUAREZ
MISPLAYS: AVILA (2), C Castro, Dominguez, CABRERA, AVILA-CABRERA, Villar-Singleton
BASERUNNING NEWS: Aggression was trouble for Detroit, with AVILA and J. MARTINEZ no challenge at all trying to stretch singles on the Houston OF. 3B coach CLARK and SUAREZ were caught sleeping on an opportunity to take 3B on a Springer bobble. Altuve was also trouble.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 1 out, 3-3 in the 11th, Castro game-winning HR off HARDY.
THE BIG OUTS: Altuve on 1st, none out, 3-3 in the 10th, HARDY retires Springer (K) and Singleton (groundball DP).
GOOD HITTING: Altuve
BAD HITTING: HUNTER, Singleton
GOOD PITCHING: Peacock, VERLANDER, Buchanan
OBVIOUSLY: A close one, a comeback, but ultimately a heartbreak.
DON'T OVERLOOK: In a game where defense had big impact both ways for both sides, you could say the winning run scored early, possibly when CABRERA had his back turned on the ill-advised pickoff attempt by AVILA.
AND, BUT, ALSO: The Tigers managed 1 hit in their last 7 innings.
Game 77: Scherzer v. Oberholtzer. Tigers 4, ASTROS 3. Down 1, up 1.
NICE PLAYS: SUAREZ, RF Springer, LF Hoes, SS Gonzalez, P Williams-1B Signleton
BASERUNNING NEWS: HOLADAY laid down a beauty of a bunt hit that could have set up winning earlier, and even managed throw out a baserunner (but not two-SB Altuve).
THE BIG HIT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers down 2-1 in the 9th, KINSLER 3-run HR off Williams.
THE BIG OUTS: Bases loaded, 1 out, Tigers down 2-1 in the 7th, Zeid retires DAVIS (groundball 3B, forceout at home) and KINSLER (flyball LF).
GOOD HITTING: SUAREZ, Presley, KINSLER
BAD HITTING: DAVIS, Castro
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Oberholtzer, Zeid
BAD PITCHING: Williams
OBVIOUSLY: Close all the way, big 9th-inning rally wins it.
DON'T OVERLOOK: SCHERZER provided his own defense because he had to – 13 strikeouts in a masterpiece. KINSLER heroics spared SCHERZER the hard-luck loss that the spectacular catch by LF Hoes had nearly handed him.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Weak middle in the Tigers D.
Game 78: Smyly v. Feldman. ASTROS 6, Tigers 4. Never ahead, down 3.
NICE PLAYS: HUNTER, 3B Dominguez-2B Altuve, CABRERA-SUAREZ, Dominguez (2), LF MARTINEZ, SUAREZ-AVILA-CASTELLANOS, Altuve-1B Singleton, SS Villar-Altuve-Singleton, CASTELLANOS, RF Springer, Dominguez-Singleton, HARDY-2B ROMINE
MISPLAYS: SUAREZ, AVILA (2), C Corporan, Villar
BASERUNNING NEWS: AVILA couldn't find the ball right under him, leading quickly to Houston's 3rd run on a sac fly. V. MARTINEZ beats the shift with a dribbler on the left side. Good read and great hustle (never slowed down) by CASTELLANOS on his LF (!) triple – Villar made assumptions on the relay and got burned. HUNTER catches 'em off guard with a steal of 3B with CABRERA up.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers down 5-2 in the 8th, CASTELLANOS 2-run triple off Veras.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers down 4-1 in the 5th, Feldman retires JACKSON (groundball 6-4-3 DP).
GOOD HITTING: Springer, Corporan, CASTELLANOS, AVILA
BAD HITTING: Presley, JACKSON (golden sombrero)
GOOD PITCHING: SMITH, Sipp
BAD PITCHING: SMYLY, Veras
OBVIOUSLY: Behind early, kept chasing, fell short.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Pinch-hitter (!) KINSLER stuck out on 3 pitches with the tying run at 3B in the 8th.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Old and listless through almost 3 compared to the dynamic Astros, somehow Detroit came to life instantaneously with SMYLY's exit.
Game 79: Kazmir v. Sanchez. TIGERS 5, Athletics 4. Down 3, up 1. Walk-off win.
NICE PLAYS: SUAREZ, CF Crisp, LF DAVIS (2), RF Moss, JACKSON, SUAREZ-CABRERA, 1B Vogt, CASTELLANOS-KINSLER-CABRERA, 3B Callaspo-2B Sogard-Vogt, Callaspo
MISPLAYS: CABRERA, SANCHEZ, 1B Vogt (2), SUAREZ, P Kazmir
BASERUNNING NEWS: Aggression was good, with CABRERA motoring for a double, CASTELLANOS getting a SB and going 1st to 3rd at a most opportune time, a daring tag and advance from 1B by J. MARTINEZ, and KINSLER beating a pickoff for a steal of 2B. Luck was also there, as 1B Vogt dropped the ball on a would-be pickoff of DAVIS stealing 2B.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded, 1 out, Tigers down 4-1 in the 9th, DAVIS game-winning grand slam off Doolittle.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 6th, Otero retires CASTELLANOS (groundout P) and AVILA (groundout 3B).
GOOD HITTING: DAVIS, Lowrie
BAD HITTING: Callaspo, SUAREZ
GOOD PITCHING: Kazmir, COKE, Otero
BAD PITCHING: Doolittle, CHAMBERLAIN
OBVIOUSLY: 7 innings of duel, comes undone, and then it's miracle rally time.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How the bottom of the order (with help from a C playing 1B) set the table for the rally.
AND, BUT, ALSO: What a way to cap off the Monday night ceremony commemorating the 1984 World Series champions. Also, JACKSON made a diving catch in CF, albeit awkwardly.
Game 80: Mills v. Porcello. TIGERS 3, Athletics 0. Ahead from the 4th on.
NICE PLAYS: JACKSON, HUNTER, C Vogt-2B Punto, CF Crisp, 3B Donaldson-Punto, SS Lowrie-Punto, Lowrie-Punto-1B Callaspo
MISPLAYS: Lowrie, LF Gentry
BASERUNNING NEWS: CABRERA making the serious 1st to 3rd effort is part of the reason the J. MARTINEZ double in the 4th – to LF – *was* a double, and he comes home on a groundout, This guy can run.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 6th, J. MARTINEZ 2-run HR off Mills.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 4th, Mills strikes out HOLADAY.
OBVIOUSLY: No chance for the A's against PORCELLO.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Not much noise from the Tigers' bats, either.
AND, BUT, ALSO: 17 of PORCELLO's 27 out were on groundballs. First MLB shutout with neither strikeout nor walk in 25 years.
Game 81: Chavez v. Verlander. TIGERS 9, Athletics 3. Down 2, up 7.
NICE PLAYS: C Norris-2B Punto, AVILA-ROMINE, 1B Freiman, ROMINE-CABRERA, 3B Callaspo-Punto-Freiman
MISPLAYS: KINSLER, LF Vogt, 3B Callaspo, C Norris, AVILA
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER goes 1st to 3rd on a LF single and soon scores. Norris and AVILA traded perfect throws to nail good runners (second time in 2 games DAVIS has been gunned down despite all).
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2nd, 2 out, 2-2 in the 4th, JACKSON singles in ROMINE off Chavez.
THE BIG OUTS: Bases loaded, 2 out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 6th, VERLANDER retires Punto (flyball RF).
GOOD HITTING: Moss, HUNTER, CABRERA, JACKSON
BAD HITTING: Lowrie
BAD PITCHING: Chavez, Johnson
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit breaks it open with a 6-run 6th and puts it away.
DON'T OVERLOOK: What a struggle it was outside of that charmed 6th inning. VERLANDER was in and out of bases-loaded jams twice.
AND, BUT, ALSO: There was no shrugging off or holding in; VERLANDER was visibly upset with himself over the two 1st-inning home runs allowed.
Game 82: Bedard v. Scherzer. TIGERS 8, Rays 1. Down 1, up 7.
NICE PLAYS: SCHERZER, SS Zobrist-2B Figueroa-1B Loney, SUAREZ, 3B Longoria-Figueroa-Loney
MISPLAYS: CF Jennings, RF Kiermaier
BASERUNNING NEWS: CABRERA was the running man, taking 3 "extras," scoring 4 times, and scoring all the Tigers' runs after the 1st.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, none out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 1st, KINSLER 2-run HR off Bedard.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 2nd, 2 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 1st, SCHERZER retires Loney (groundout 1B).
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Yates
BAD PITCHING: Bedard
OBVIOUSLY: Big 1st inning and a major shutdown from SCHERZER. So easy it was almost boring.
DON'T OVERLOOK: SCHERZER retired 23 of the last 24 batters he faced.
AND, BUT, ALSO: SMITH had a 1-2-3 inning.
Game 83: Cobb v. Smyly. Rays 6, TIGERS 3. Never ahead, down 3.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Longoria-2B Forsythe-1B Loney, SUAREZ, Forsythe, KINSLER
MISPLAYS: SUAREZ, Loney, AVILA
BASERUNNING NEWS: How could Loney miss the good pickoff throw from Cobb so completely, and why didn't KINSLER go all the way to 3B? There's a story here.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-1 in the 5th, Rodriguez 2-run triple off SMYLY.
THE BIG OUTS: Bases loaded, none out, Tigers down 5-2 in the 6th, Boxberger retires HUNTER on a 6-4-3 DP (run scores) and strikes out KELLY.
GOOD HITTING: Longoria, Rodriguez, Zobrist, J. MARTINEZ
BAD HITTING: Loney
GOOD PITCHING: Boxberger
OBVIOUSLY: The 6th inning was like a coin toss for the game. Rodriguez wins, HUNTER loses.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Despite only 6 hits, plenty of chances to win one they should have. The pitch that did SMYLY in wasn't so bad.
AND, BUT, ALSO: The combined 3 for 22 RISP makes you wonder how *any* runs scored. There was a little spate of hit batters (who knows). Joe Maddon took exception to his pitcher drawing the warning and got himself ejected.
Game 84: Archer v. Sanchez. Rays 7, TIGERS 2. Never ahead, down 7.
NICE PLAYS: SS Zobrist-2B Forsythe-1B Loney, RF J. MARTINEZ, Forsythe-Loney, ROMINE-KINSLER-CABRERA (2), P Archer
MISPLAYS: J. MARTINEZ, KINSLER, AVILA, COKE, McCOY, HARDY
BASERUNNING NEWS: The Rays' 17 baserunners were certainly stepping livelier than the other side's, though the Tigers did turn 3 double plays. Forsythe's run-scoring bunt single in the 6th couldn't have been located any better; CABRERA and SANCHEZ looked silly but couldn't help it.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, 1 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 5th, Kiermaier RBI triple off SANCHEZ.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-0 in the 5th, Archer retires ROMINE (K) and DAVIS (groundout 1b).
GOOD HITTING: Kiermaier, Forsythe, AVILA
GOOD PITCHING: Archer
OBVIOUSLY: Fell apart in the middle, but a quick hook for aces requires bullpen.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Archer was unbeatable, yes, but again it seemed like the whole team – not just SANCHEZ – played half a game and then quit. The complexion of the game changed completely with one walk to a weak hitter and a terrible play in RF.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Tigers pitchers put on a bad fielding clinic. Tigers offense put together a special version of 0-6 RISP, with 3 different pairs of failure.
Game 85: Price v. Porcello. Ray 7, TIGERS 3. Never ahead, down 6.
NICE PLAYS: SUAREZ, RF Kiermaier (2), CASTELLANOS, C Molina-1B Loney, CABRERA-PORCELLO, SS Zobrist, CABRERA-SUAREZ, LF DAVIS, CF Jennings (2), HUNTER-HOLADAY, LF Joce-Zobrist-Molina
BASERUNNING NEWS: SUAREZ fell down between 3rd and home, costing Detroit a respectability run.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, none out, Tigers down 1-0 in the first, Joyce 2-run HR off PORCELLO.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 4-1 in the 5th, PORCELLO retires Loney on a 3-6-1 DP.
GOOD HITTING: Jennings, Joyce, Zobrist
BAD HITTING: Forsythe
GOOD PITCHING: Price
OBVIOUSLY: Thoroughly outclassed at home for the nth time this season.
DON'T OVERLOOK: So that's what outfield defense looks like. Tigers had some, too. Good game for the defenses overall. 4 Tigers relievers yielded 8 hits (but no runs).
AND, BUT, ALSO: If the rain was trying to help, it showed up a bit late (bottom of the 9th).
Game 86: Ryu v. Verlander. TIGERS 14, Dodgers 5. Down 5, up 9.
NICE PLAYS: SUAREZ, RF Puig (3), SS Rojas, LF Kemp (2), Rojas-1B Gonzalez, CASTELLANOS, LF DAVIS, 2B Gordon-Rojas-Gonzalez, SMITH-SUAREZ-1B KELLY
MISPLAYS: AVILA, C Ellis
BASERUNNING NEWS: Too much. HUNTER challenges Puig and wins when the chips are down, steals 2B later when it's a blowout. A good hold on DAVIS rounding 3rd makes him fall down, but preserves an inning and more runs, and a later swinging bunt works for an IF single. Good sacrifice bunt by SUAREZ sets up 2 runs. Both J. MARTINEZ and CABRERA leg out triples, all hustle.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, 0-0 in the first, Gonzalez 2-run double off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUTS: Bases loaded, 1 out, 5-5 in the 2nd, Ryu retires HUNTER on a 6-3 DP.
GOOD HITTING: CABRERA, AVILA, CASTELLANOS, AVILA, DAVIS, Uribe
GOOD PITCHING: Detroit bullpen
BAD PITCHING: Ryu, Wright, Maholm
OBVIOUSLY: A disastrous 1st followed by a quick and incredible turnaround.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The importance of HUNTER challenging Puig or AUSMUS challenging the out call. They didn't just come back – they blew the door off the hinges, and VERLANDER recovered to set down 13 straight. You'll not see a better offensive game from Detroit.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Some blowouts are sloppy. This was the total action game with no clown show to be found on either side. 14 unanswered runs without a HR, too.
Game 87: Greinke v. Scherzer, TIGERS 4, Dodgers 1. Never behind, up 3.
NICE PLAYS: JACKSON-KINSLER-CASTELLANOS, SUAREZ-CASTELLANOS, LF DAVIS, CASTELLANOS-1B KELLY, LF Kemp-C Ellis, 1B Gonzalez-SS Rojas-P Greinke
MISPLAYS: Ellis, Gonzalez-3B Uribe
BASERUNNING NEWS: Puig gets erased from 3B on alertness from SUAREZ-CASTELLANOS. JACKSON turns some Dodgers OF lack of effort into a triple and scores. J. MARTINEZ a beats good throw home to score from 2B. DAVIS steals 3B but is stranded.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 n the 1st, KELLY RBI single off Greinke.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 2-0 in the 3rd, SCHERZER retires Puig on a 5-3 DP.
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Greinke, CHAMBERLAIN, NATHAN
OBVIOUSLY: Close but under control from the start. A Tigers pitching show to match the offensive show in the last game.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Strong defense from Detroit. The 1st inning alone was a game-changer.
AND, BUT, ALSO: No CABRERA, no V. MARTINEZ, but KELLY and JACKSON step up with key hits against a tough pitcher.
Game 88: Smyly v. Guthrie. Tigers 16, ROYALS 4. Never behind, up 13.
NICE PLAYS: JACKSON, 3B Valencia-2B Infante-1B Hosmer, SUAREZ, 3B Valencia, RF Cain, KINSLER (2), AVILA, 2B Valencia, 1B KELLY, COKE-KELLY
MISPLAYS: 3B Valencia, LF Ibanez, CF Dyson, KINSLER
BASERUNNING NEWS: Classic hit and run AB from KINSLER with JACKSON on sets up a small ball 3-run 1st. The Royals were getting uncharacteristically good jumps off SMYLY early.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 4-1 in the 4th, CABRERA 2-run double off Guthrie.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers up 3-1 in the 3rd, Guthrie retired HUNTER on 5-4-3 DP (CABRERA to 3B) and strikes out CASTELLANOS.
GOOD HITTING: J. MARTINEZ, CABRERA, HUNTER, Hosmer, SUAREZ
BAD PITCHING: Guthrie, Coleman, Downs
OBVIOUSLY: A satisfying thrashing, even if 16-2 would've been more like it.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Tigers offense goes berserk (with only 1 HR, a solo shot) and won't quit!
AND, BUT, ALSO: 26 baserunners for Detroit, with 23 getting into scoring position and 13 scoring. Wow.
Game 89: Sanchez v. Duffy. Tigers 2, ROYALS 1. Never behind, up 1.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS (2), RF J. MARTINEZ, RF Cain, 2B Infante, 1B Hosmer, 3B Moustakas-C Perez, SUAREZ (2), JACKSON, Moustakas-Hosmer
MISPLAYS: P Duffy, Perez, KINSLER, CASTELLANOS, Infante
BASERUNNING NEWS: SANCHEZ catches Perez sleeping at 1B with a pickoff, challenged but upheld. Infante was caught way too far off 2B by CASTELLANOS for a DP on the play after the CASTELLANOS error that had put him there. Running on contact from 3B on the bouncer to 3B was the wrong choice for CASTELLANOS, easy out that wasted a threat and another fine sacrifice bunt from HOLADAY to set it up.
THE BIG HIT: None on, none out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 7th, Moustakas double off SANCHEZ.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 9th, NATHAN retires Escobar (K) and Aoki (groundout 1B).
GOOD PITCHING: SANCHEZ, Duffy, Crow
OBVIOUSLY: Very tight, very clutch, very frustrating for the Royals.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Defense was everything. Duffy misses ball up the middle – run. KINSLER passes on cutoff throw – run. Infante can't glove pickoff throw – run. Slick and alert play by SUAREZ – no run.
AND, BUT, ALSO: The interference call on Cain in the 8th – the right call – was huge. 5 hits, no walks and a win for Detroit. Royals 1-11 RISP.
Game 90: Porcello v. Shields. Tigers 5, ROYALS 1. Never behind, up 4.
NICE PLAYS: C Perez-2B Infante (2), RF Cain, ROMINE-KINSLER-CABRERA, SS Escobar, Infante-Escobar-1B Hosmer, 3B Moustakas-Hosmer
MISPLAYS: Perez, CF Dyson-Moustakas, Moustakas
BASERUNNING NEWS: HUNTER turns it on for a triple, aided to some degree by a clumsy tag from Moustakas. There's your winning run. Detroit was only 1-3 in SB, while Kansas City couldn't get their main speed guys on base at all.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2nd, 2 out, 0-0 in the 3rd, KINSLER RBI single off Shields.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 2nd, PORCELLO retires Escobar on a 6-4-3 DP.
GOOD HITTING: AVILA, J. MARTINEZ, Butler
BAD HITTING: Escobar, Cain
GOOD PITCHING: Shields, PORCELLO, CHAMBERLAIN
BAD PITCHING: Crow
OBVIOUSLY: 8 innings of duel, put out of reach by Tigers' 9th-inning rally. Somewhat outplayed, Detroit wins anyway.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Shields was never in trouble, while PORCELLO had some jams to pitch out of (and did).
AND, BUT, ALSO: An odd-looking DP when DAVIS on 1st breaks for 2nd on a bluff and is left standing awkwardly near 1B on the ensuing grounder to 3B from JACKSON. The AVILA HR gets a bonus from the AUSMUS challenge on the previous CASTELLANOS IF single (out call overturned, looked out to me); Moustakas had turned a bad play into a good one with one missile of a throw.
DEFENSIVE SCORECARD (in terms of outstanding plays one way or the other)
P McCOY -1
To date, the conundrum only deepens, as Alex Avila's netherwordly hitting (70 K, 15 RBI in 207 PA) is offset by otherworldly defense (outstandingly few PB & WP, +35% CS) without peer in the AL. And yet Detroit is 10-4 when he doesn't play… Tigers prospects OF Steven Moya and P Jake Thompson earn spots for the upcoming MLB All-Star Futures Game… Torii Hunter takes his place in RF again, after some extended hamstring recovery time courtesy of the hot hand of J.D. Martinez (which hasn't cooled)… "We may need a little bit of help in the bullpen," said Dave Dombrowski, "maybe middle as we go forward, or someone that can help pitch later in the game. But we're not looking for that closer and that gives you a very comfortable feeling."… Detroit puts together an impressive streak reminiscent of their earlier one, with 7 straight wins and 6 on the road. All made possible though Joba Chamberlain bringing out the lineup card before the games, it appears… There's All-Star talk surrounding Rick Porcello, who reaches 10 wins (first Tiger) with a complete game shutout… Victor Martinez has admiring words for Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre: "I had a chance to play with him, and I'll tell you what, I have a big amount of respect for him," Martinez said. "He shows up every day ready to play baseball, ready to beat everybody. The way he goes about his business, he's a role model for everybody, a great player all around."… On the 9-20 funk that the team appears to have emerged from: "I always felt like the team was too good to continue to play like that," Brad Ausmus said, "and that it would turn around – not can turn around, would. When you're going through that, it can never turn around quick enough, but I always felt like it would turn around. I think everyone did. I think that's why when you walked through the clubhouse, guys were still enjoying coming to the park, having fun, because I think they knew it would turn around." Porcello: "I think it's a long season and you're going to go through peaks and valleys. I think everybody in this clubhouse understood it, and nobody panicked when we weren't playing well. Obviously we were all unhappy that we weren't winning, but you understand that those things are going to happen and the important part is regrouping and coming out of that and playing well. We've been fortunate enough to get back to playing good baseball."… After a big game against the Astros, Ian Kinsler becomes the first Tigers player to have seven consecutive multi-hit games in one season since Frank Bolling in 1960… Austin Jackson goes 0-5 with 4 K in his first crack back at leadoff, part of both an Ausmus attempt at "getting him going" and some lineup shuffling unrelated to that. But yet another golden sombrero is in store for AJax as #1 hitter… Houston's Jose Altuve gets a boost to historic (4 consecutive multi-SB games) at the Tigers' expense with 6 SB in three games… Anibal Sanchez hits 1,000 strikeouts for his career… June has come and gone, and now there is (another) setback in Andy Dirks's rehab. Who? Some outfielder on the DL, I guess… Victor misses his first 3 games of the season as of Oakland, soreness in his side… Two straight CG shutouts from Porcello, including one with neither a walk or strikeout, are part of 25 consecutive innings he pitches unscored upon… Ausmus on having Jim Leyland available for consultation: "When you manage as long as he has, he brings a lot of levity to situations," Ausmus said. "I don't think I'm overly emotional … but it's good to have an experienced voice with levity remind you to stay the course."… Between Toledo and Detroit, J.D. Martinez has averaged one HR per 10.5 AB… Max Scherzer credits a new approach for the roll he's been on: "I've really tried to be more aggressive towards the plate with all my pitches, actually all four of them," Scherzer said after eight innings of one-run ball to beat the Rays, "not trying to get around them and make them come out of the zone laterally. I'm trying to come right at the zone, at the knees or down at the plate, down below the zone, and attacking that area."… The right side soreness of V-Mart ends up costing him 11 games in all, including 10 (and the last 7) during this period. Out of action July 5-17 including AS break, no DL stint. Torii Hunter and J.D. Martinez fill in at DH most admirably, with 11 RBI in their 10 games… Ian Krol returns from DL a bit earlier than expected when Pat McCoy (pitching decently through 5 games of mostly mop-up duty) trades places with him by pulling a hamstring running to cover 1B… 4 Tigers are selected for the AL All-Star squad: Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez (who won't play), Kinsler, and Scherzer. Porcello is close, getting Final Vote consideration… Sanchez now has a 1.07 ERA in 7 career starts vs. the Kansas City Royals… Ausmus had to leave the dugout for the visiting clubhouse early in Game 89, taken out of action by a stomach illness… With one game left before the break, the Tigers have run up their lead over 2nd place KC to 7.5 games… Detroit has gone relatively unscathed by injuries during the season thus far, the only significant ones being the blister that forced Sanchez to the 15-day DL (he was missed) and the extended day-to-day status (11 games missed) of V-Mart (who wasn't missed, surprisingly enough) due to side/back soreness… Ian Kinsler is having a career season offensively: .307, .815, on pace for 21 HR, 93 RBI, and 117 R(!). He's also been a revelation defensively… Rather historic team-wise, the Tigers will hit the break with 4 hitters at 50+ RBI… The team has gone 13-5 in Scherzer starts thus far. The "pretty good" 3.47 ERA, 1.19 WHIP is actually a composite of a lot of great set off by one rough stretch, but "Mr. 10.5 K/9" is back on his game… Andrew Romine is the Forgotten Man, appearing in only 6 games during this period and only 3 at SS. Not coincidentally, Eugenio Suarez has started to make a difference defensively… The Martinez Brothers are getting the headlines, but Cabrera remains the offensive engine. During a stretch where he hits .250 with 1 HR, he still figures into 23% of the Tigers' runs (25 of 107)… .331 OBP and 24 SB for Rajai Davis, not to mention the biggest wWPA hit of the season to date in the walk-off against Oakland. Can you say "windfall"?… Don Kelly has scorched the opposition just lately to the tune of a .955 OPS (5 singles and a couple walks, one intentional)… Joe Nathan is 4-4 in saves over his last 6 appearances, but 4 of these outings have still been what you would call adventures… No surprise if you've been following, but Detroit is a .500 team at Comerica. The mystery is why.
53-37, 1st in the Central, 3rd in the AL, on pace for a 95-67 season…]]>
So the Detroit Tigers are now:
SP Verlander
SP Scherzer
SP Sanchez
SP Porcello
SP Smyly
RP Nathan
RP Alburquerque
RP Chamberlain
RP Coke
RP Knebel
RP Reed
RP Krol
C Avila
C Holaday
1B Cabrera
2B Kinsler
SS Romine
SS Suarez
3B Castellanos
IF-OF Kelly
RF Hunter
CF Jackson
OF Davis
OF J. Martinez
DH-1B-C V. Martinez
Game 55: Dickey v. Porcello. Blue Jays 8, TIGERS 2. Up 1, down 6.
NICE PLAYS: KINSLER, LF DAVIS, RF Bautista (2), KINSLER-ROMINE-CABRERA, P Dickey-1B Encarnacion, Dickey, CABRERA-KNEBEL, P Jenkins
MISPLAYS: C Thole, SUAREZ, CABRERA, LF DAVIS, CASTELLANOS, 3B Lawrie, Encarnacion
BASERUNNING NEWS: CASTELLANOS swipes 2B thanks to a bad throw.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 6th, Lind 2-run double off PORCELLO.
THE BIG OUTS: Bases loaded, 1 out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 6th, Loup retires both DAVIS and KINSLER on foul popups.
GOOD HITTING: Bautista, Lind
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Loup
OBVIOUSLY: Porcello pitched a winner, but the 1-8 RISP offense had other ideas.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Weak defense played a major part in the late inning unraveling.
AND, BUT, ALSO: The bottom of the order was 4 for 8 and on base 7 times, nary a run scored.
Game 56: Happ v. Verlander. Blue Jays 7, TIGERS 3. Up 2, down 4.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Francisco-2B Lawrie-1B Lind, ROMINE-KINSLER-CABRERA, RF Bautista (3), C Kratz-Lawrie, ROMINE, SS Reyes-Lawrie-Lind, P Jenkins-Reyes-Lind, 3B Lawrie
MISPLAYS: LF Cabrera, HUNTER, 2B Lawrie
BASERUNNING NEWS: Toronto was movin' it. Detroit, not so much, though the run scored in the 3rd by KINSLER was all hustle. J. MARTINEZ is caught stealing 2B, though it was kind of close. ROMINE bunt sets up the (briefly) tying run.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, none out, 3-3 in the 6th, Francisco 2-run HR off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 6-3 in the 7th, Jenkins retires ROMINE on a 1-6-3 DP.
GOOD HITTING: Bautista
BAD HITTING: Gose, J. MARTINEZ
GOOD PITCHING: Jenkins
OBVIOUSLY: Back to back jacks off VERLANDER in the 6th sucked all the life out of this one, and the last chance died on the ROMINE GIDP.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Detroit did claw their way back as late as the 5th.
AND, BUT, ALSO: HUNTER's silly error in the 4th doesn't quite let VERLANDER off the hook. 6 double plays between the two teams today.
Game 57: De La Rosa v. Smyly. TIGERS 6, Red Sox 2. Down 1, up 4.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS, CASTELLANOS-KINSLER-CABRERA, SMYLY-CABRERA-ROMINE, 2B Pedroia, SS Herrera-Pedroia-1B Holt, CF Bradley (2), KINSLER, CABRERA, Pedroia-Holt, JACKSON, NATHAN, P Badenhop-Herrera-Holt, ROMINE
MISPLAYS: CASTELLANOS, C Pierzynski, ROMINE
BASERUNNING NEWS: SMYLY hung Herrera out to dry on a would-be stolen base attempt. CASTELLANOS scoring from 2B on a ball that just got through the infield was a thing of beauty. ROMINE did a swell job of busting up a DP. Holaday split the gap in two and motored to 3B with ease.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 2 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 5th, KINSLER solo HR off De La Rosa.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, none out, 1-1 in the 4th, V. MARTINEZ facing De La Rosa lines out to CF, scoring Hunter, but the throw in from Bradley goes 8-6-3 to nail CABRERA trying to get back to 1B.
BAD PITCHING: De La Rosa, Capuano
OBVIOUSLY: Firing on all cylinders. The kind of win you savor.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Well-played game on both sides, impressive defensively.
AND, BUT, ALSO: HUNTER wore a Zubaz outfit before the game to prove a point about "The Curse of the Zubaz," and proved it.
Game 58: Lester v. Scherzer. TIGERS 8, Red Sox 6. Never behind, up 4.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Pedroia, 1B Holt, JACKSON (2), KINSLER-SUAREZ-CABRERA, SUAREZ, C Ross-Pedroia.
MISPLAYS: RF Sizemore, CASTELLANOS
BASERUNNING NEWS: It was a race to the bag between Holt and HOLADAY on the bunt single. Looked to me like Holt applied the tag, but it must've been one heck of a brilliant evasion by HOLADAY (no challenge). Likewise, JACKSON stealing 2B in the 3rd was too close to call, but call it they did (out).
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2nd, 2 out, 0-0 in the 1st, V. MARTINEZ RBI double off Lester.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 8-6 in the 9th, NATHAN retires Drew on a deep flyball to CF.
BAD PITCHING: Lester, Tazawa, NATHAN
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers offense took this one by themselves in what should have been a blowout.
DON'T OVERLOOK: SCHERZER struggled to get the third out in the 5th and 6th but was left in to face Ortiz in the 7th.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Just plain dumb: Man on 2B in the 9th, CASTELLANOS trots over to RF for the shift on Ortiz, leaving not a soul on the left side of the infield. Bogaerts breaks for 3B, leaving NATHAN with nothing but a footrace (and it was close). Run scores on a groundout next play. 7 batters come to the plate in the 9th against Nathan. Zero K's for Lester.
Game 59: Lackey v. Sanchez. Red Sox 5, TIGERS 3. Up 1, down 2.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Bogaerts-1B Napoli, LF Holt, SUAREZ-KINSLER-CABRERA, CASTELLANOS-1B KELLY, 2B Pedroia-Napoli, KINSLER-SUAREZ-KELLY, Bogaerts-Napoli, Bogaerts
MISPLAYS: CASTELLANOS (2), Bogaerts
BASERUNNING NEWS: It wasn't the speed of DAVIS that got him the stolen base, but the great slide and somehow managing to glue his foot to 2B afterward.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 9th, Ortiz 3-run HR off CHAMBERLAIN.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 8th, COKE strikes out Bradley.
GOOD HITTING: SUAREZ, Napoli, Holt
GOOD PITCHING: Lackey, SANCHEZ, COKE
OBVIOUSLY: Almost a hard-fought win, which makes blowing it in the 9th even worse.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Playoff baseball. Strangely reminiscent of 2013 ALCS.
AND, BUT, ALSO: CABRERA exited in the 6th after limping down to 1B. Tight left hamstring. Trouble seemed to begin earlier in the game after he slid into 2B.
Game 60: Porcello v. Noesi. WHITE SOX 6, Tigers 5. Never ahead, down 3.
NICE PLAYS: 1B V. MARTINEZ-SUAREZ, CF Eaton, SS Ramirez-1B Abreu, AVILA, KINSLER, SUAREZ-V. MARTINEZ, RF Viciedo, 3B Gillaspie, Gillaspie-Abreu, KINSLER-SUAREZ-V. MARTINEZ, V. MARTINEZ-KROL, LF J. MARTINEZ
MISPLAYS: V. MARTINEZ, J. MARTINEZ (3), RF KELLY, PORCELLO, CASTELLANOS, RF Sierra, LF De Aza
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2nd, none out, Tigers down 6-4 in the 9th, Avila RBI double off Belisario.
THE BIG OUTS: Runner on 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 6-5 in the 9th, Belisario retires KINSLER (K) and HUNTER (groundout 3B) to end the game.
GOOD PITCHING: Putnam, REED
OBVIOUSLY: Didn't play so well, and yet you still felt cheated by the loss. They kept climbing back in it only to fall short.
DON'T OVERLOOK: PORCELLO made a very poor decision attempting any kind of a throw on De Aza's perfect bunt in the 6th. That error turned into the 6th run.
AND, BUT, ALSO: 6 of the 11 runs scored had something to do with an error or misplay. The rest was home runs.
Game 61: Verlander v. Danks. WHITE SOX 8, Tigers 2. Never ahead, down 7.
NICE PLAYS: 1B V. MARTINEZ-VERLANDER, KINSLER, RF Viceiedo, CASTELLANOS-KINSLER-V. MARTINEZ, LF De Aza, CASTELLANOS-AVILA, KINSLER-SUAREZ-V. MARTINEZ, SUAREZ- KINSLER, 1B Abreu-3B Gillaspie-2B Beckham, Abreu, Abreu-P Guerra, Beckham, CASTELLANOS
MISPLAYS: De Aza-SS Ramirez, VERLANDER-V. MARTINEZ, CASTELLANOS, SUAREZ
BASERUNNING NEWS: Add 1 base to any extra base hit for Eaton at Comerica. CABRERA manufactures a run (hamstring must be better), advancing on tag-up and scoring on grounder. A nice bunt by SUAREZ set up Detroit's best chance while there was a chance, and he later scored from 1B on a double. It's fun to watch DAVIS beat out a grounder and then take 3B on a single, even when the Tigers are down 6.
THE BIG HIT: None on, none out, 0-0 in the 2nd, Abreu solo HR off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, 1-1 in the 5th, Danks retires DAVIS (infield popup) and KINSLER (lineout to LF).
GOOD HITTING: Dunn
GOOD PITCHING: Danks
OBVIOUSLY: Close until the 6th, it all fell apart along with VERLANDER.
DON'T OVERLOOK: VERLANDER fell behind 7 straight batters in the 6th (and the 8th hit his first pitch for the killing blow). Outstanding play from CASTELLANOS-AVILA in the 5th had cut down Eaton at the plate and kept the score tied at 1. Wouldn't you know it: Plenty of good defense in a lopsided game.
AND, BUT, ALSO: A weird play was SS Ramirez dropping the pop fly in short LF (thanks to the apparently blind and deaf De Aza) but throwing to 2B for the force on SUAREZ. This put DAVIS on 1B, who promptly stole 2B (out challenged and overturned). But nothing became of the whole affair.
Game 62: Scherzer v. Sale. Tigers 4, WHITE SOX 0. Ahead from the 5th on.
NICE PLAYS: SS Ramirez-1B Abreu, 2B Beckham-Abreu, KINSLER, P Sale-Abreu-Ramirez, LF J. MARTINEZ, SUAREZ, RF Viciedo, SCHERZER, HUNTER, CF Eaton
MISPLAYS: SUAREZ, CABRERA, Sale, Beckham, C Flowers
BASERUNNING NEWS: DAVIS gets figured out in a 1-3-6 caught stealing.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 8th, CABRERA hits a single (to 2B? – it's actually a ball up the middle that Beckham attempts to barehand and drops) off Petricka that scores HOLADAY and SUAREZ.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 8th, Petricka strikes out KINSLER.
BAD HITTING: KINSLER, Viciedo
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Sale
BAD PITCHING: Petricka
OBVIOUSLY: SCHERZER 1, Sale 0, thanks to a V. MARTINEZ home run.
DON'T OVERLOOK: That V. MARTINEZ home run in the 5th, just barely outta the park in the LF corner, one of only 5 hits off Sale (10 K, 0 BB).
AND, BUT, ALSO: First career complete game is a shutout for SCHERZER. Only 113 pitches.
Game 63: Gibson v. Smyly. Twins 2, TIGERS 0. Behind from the 3rd on.
NICE PLAYS: AVILA, LF KELLY (2), 3B Plouufe-2B Escobar-1B Mauer, KINSLER-ROMINE-CABRERA, RF Arcia
MISPLAYS: CASTELLANOS, SS Nunez, 3B Plouffe, SUAREZ
BASERUNNING NEWS: A nice bunt from ROMINE followed by more of a straight sacrifice from DAVIS help set up the potential big inning for Detroit. AVILA's throw should have nailed Santana at 3B; not a very skilled tag from CASTELLANOS there.
THE BIG HIT: None on, none out, 0-0 in the 3rd, Escobar solo HR off SMYLY.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 1 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 5th, Gibson retires CABRERA on a 5-4-3 DP.
GOOD HITTING: Escobar
BAD HITTING: CABRERA, Arcia
GOOD PITCHING: Gibson, SMYLY, COKE
OBVIOUSLY: Gibson's sinker was just too good, and the Tigers couldn't cash in on their one big chance.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The kind of 9th inning we've become accustomed to, featuring at least one error/misplay plus NATHAN, who had to be relieved by COKE this time. SMYLY got big outs nearly as big as Gibson's, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the 3rd and keeping Detroit in the game.
AND, BUT, ALSO: SUAREZ in for ROMINE late in a close game might not be such a good idea.
Game 64: Deduno v. Sanchez. TIGERS 12, Twins 9. Down 1, up 10.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Plouffe-1B Mauer, HUNTER, CASTELLANOS, Plouffe, SUAREZ, 2B Escobar-Mauer, SUAREZ-CABRERA, SS Santana-Mauer, KINSLER-CABRERA (2), CABRERA, CF Fuld (2), CASTELLANOS-CABRERA
MISPLAYS: P Deduno, AVILA (2), JACKSON, HUNTER, SUAREZ, CABRERA, SS Santana
BASERUNNING NEWS: Extra base hits abounded, no small ball today. J. MARTINEZ demonstrates triples legs to go with Comerica gap power.
THE BIG HIT: None on, none out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 3rd, SUAREZ solo HR off Deduno.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, none out, 0-0 in the 2nd, SANCHEZ strikes out Arcia.
GOOD HITTING: Dozier, Fryer, Nunez, Santana, SUAREZ, KINSLER, V. MARTINEZ
BAD HITTING: Mauer, Arcia (sombrero time)
BAD PITCHING: Deduno, Swarzak, REED, ALBURQUERQUE
OBVIOUSLY: A hammering blowout courtesy of the offense (big inning helped by some fortunate bounces) obscures the fine start from SANCHEZ.
DON'T OVERLOOK: With a 9-run lead, the bullpen let in 7 runs in 2.2 IP, again with "help" from shoddy defense, some of it just plain inexcusable.
AND, BUT, ALSO: KINSLER had the tag on Santana between 1st and 2nd for a spectacular DP but didn't get the call. With the score at 10-1, it wasn't challenged. A very eventful game defensively, where the Twins often looked clownish but where the Tigers actually were the sloppier team.
Game 65: Nolasco v. Porcello. TIGERS 4, Twins 3. Never behind, up 2. Walk-off win.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Escobar-1B Mauer, RF Arcia, KINSLER-CABRERA (2), SS Santana (2), SUAREZ, LF J. MARTINEZ, CABRERA, CABRERA-PORCELLO, CABRERA-CHAMBERLAIN, HUNTER
MISPLAYS: Arcia (2), LF Willingham, Escobar, AVILA (2), CF Fuld
BASERUNNING NEWS: Not even a pitchout (more or less) can stop DAVIS with a good jump. A great read on the ball bouncing around in the left field corner by JACKSON, CLARK, or both, got the Tigers a triple and an easy 2nd run. KINSLER's headfirst slide into 1B worked, Dozier's didn't (but man was the latter close).
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 6th, CASTELLANOS RBI double off Nolasco.
THE BIG OUTS: Bases loaded, 1 out, 3-3 in the 6th, Burton retires SUAREZ (popout) and KINSLER (flyout).
BAD HITTING: Dozier
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, CHAMBERLAIN, Guerrier
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers needed a few breaks to win this one, and Arcia and the Twins defense obliged.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Two well-timed manager moves: Gardenhire going to his bullpen, and AUSMUS not (yet) going to his bullpen. PORCELLO had the win in his pocket and it fell out; Detroit's offense had a chance to break it open and failed. Thus the need for luck.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Gardenhire had no luck with the calls (fan interference on JACKSON triple, Dozier at 1B, HUNTER tagging early on the game-winning sacrifice fly.) Arcia's first misplay was a sun ball in RF.
Game 66: Vargas v. Verlander. Royals 11, TIGERS 8. Up 2, down 9.
NICE PLAYS: JACKSON, SS Escobar, 3B Moustakas-2B Infante-1B Hosmer, SUAREZ-KINSLER-CABRERA, RF Aoki, LF DAVIS-AVILA, CASTELLANOS-AVILA-KINSLER, CF Cain (2), Moustakas-Hosmer, Cain-Moustakas-Escobar, REED, CABRERA-HARDY, 2B ROMINE
MISPLAYS: SUAREZ (3), RF J. MARTINEZ , AVILA, CASTELLANOS, Moustakas
BASERUNNING NEWS: Being hung out on attempted pickoff is apparently not even enough to catch DAVIS with a good jump from stealing 2B. SUAREZ can sac bunt, too, we see, and it sets up the first run of the game. Moustakas put down just about the ugliest sac bunt ever, but it worked. The Tigers nailed two runners trying to score from 3B and had a chance at THREE! Plus, JACKSON doubled up Butler at 2B after a nice catch. (Think what the score might have been otherwise.) V. MARTINEZ was making a bold 1st-to-3rd attempt, but his mad scramble back to 2B (safe) was even more impressive. He scored from 2B on the next play, but may have been a mere pawn in Cain's clever ruse that caught J. MARTINEZ (pinch-running for HUNTER) way past 2B, the mad scramble back unsuccessful this time after the relay from Moustakas to Escobar. This put a dent in what could have been a bigger 4th inning.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded, 1 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 5th, Butler bases-clearing double off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 3rd, Vargas retires CABRERA on a 5-4-3 DP.
GOOD HITTING: J. MARTINEZ, DAVIS, Infante, Butler
GOOD PITCHING: Vargas, HARDY
BAD PITCHING: VERLANDER, Joseph, REED
OBVIOUSLY: Stranger even than the score would indicate. A hotly contested game in spite of the scuffling starter, right up until the Infante 3-run HR off VERLANDER in the 6th. After Cain's magnificent catch in the bottom half, the baseball gods had spoken, although the 8th inning clown show seemed like an unnecessary reiteration of the speech. The mop-up crew turned 11-2 into something respectable.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Well, 6 runs in the 9th inning is something, even against a (deja vu) Royals minor leaguer. More late-inning heroics from J. MARTINEZ (grand slam). An example of why some fans always stay until the end.
AND, BUT, ALSO: HUNTER left the game early with hamstring cramps and was very upset with himself. VERLANDER nearly beaned Perez.
Game 67: Ventura v. Scherzer. Royals 11, TIGERS 4. Never ahead, down 8.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Infante-SS Escobar-1B Hosmer, RF Cain, Hosmer, SUAREZ-CASTELLANOS, SUAREZ, KINSLER-CABRERA, CABRERA-REED, Hosmer-Escobar, 2B ROMINE-1B KELLY
MISPLAYS: RF J. MARTINEZ, SS Escobar (2), 3B Moustakas
BASERUNNING NEWS: The DAVIS surprise bunt (down 10-2?) might have been intended as a surprise squeeze (1st and 3rd), but it's good enough to load the bases and lead to a run. The Tigers manage to stay alert and catch a sleeping Gordon off 3B on a groundball heads-up SUAREZ-CASTELLANOS play.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2nd, none out, 0-0 in the 2nd, Gordon 2-run HR off SCHERZER.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 7-2 in the 2nd, SUAREZ grounds into a 4-6-3 DP off Ventura.
GOOD HITTING: Infante, Gordon, Cain
BAD HITTING: Hosmer, SUAREZ
OBVIOUSLY: This can't be happening. 10 ER in 4+ from SCHERZER?
DON'T OVERLOOK: The Tigers kept playing like they didn't know the score. Kansas City turned 4 double plays.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Freaky ending to what could have been a big 5th inning for Detroit. Bases loaded, V. MARTINEZ at the plate, Ventura's pitch sails way over C Perez but bounces right back to him off the backstop, and advancing runner SUAREZ is dead between home and 3B.
Game 68: Guthrie v. Smyly. Royals 2, TIGERS 1. Never ahead, down 2.
NICE PLAYS: KINSLER-1B V. MARTINEZ, LF Gordon, SMYLY-V. MARTINEZ-SUAREZ
MISPLAYS: V. MARTINEZ-SUAREZ, 1B Hosmer
THE BIG HIT: None on, 2 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 5th, Infante solo HR off SMYLY.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 1st, none out, Tigers down 2-1 in the 9th, Holland retires MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ-AVILA to end the game.
GOOD PITCHING: Guthrie, SMYLY, Davis
OBVIOUSLY: Call it the bad luck game, where the winning run was scored in the 1st on an easy out that hit the 2B bag and turned into an RBI single. Or call it a day off for the offense, which couldn't buy a baserunner.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Good bullpen kept it close.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Detroit struck out 13 times, 9 against Guthrie.
Game 69: Duffy v. Sanchez. TIGERS 2, Royals 1. Down 1, up 1.
NICE PLAYS: HOLADAY-CABRERA, LF Dyson, 1B Hosmer, RF Aoki-SS Escobar, CABRERA-SANCHEZ, CASTELLANOS, JACKSON, RF J. MARTINEZ, CABRERA, Aoki
MISPLAYS: LF DAVIS, 3B Moustakas
BASERUNNING NEWS: A dramatic race to the 1B bag between Hosmer and DAVIS, with both sliding into it, results in a narrow victory for Hosmer. Oh man, did CABRERA get burned by Aoki and Escobar, standing casually just off the 2B bag as the throw came in from RF. Cost the Tigers a run, which could have been costly indeed. HOLADAY's bunting skill pressures Moustakas into an error and gets HOLADAY all the way to 2B. Next, SUAREZ's sac bunt is so bad that it's good, confusing the KC defense into allowing HOLADAY to reach 3rd. This little burst of small ball should have resulted in an 8th inning insurance run, but it didn't.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, none out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 4th, CABRERA double off Duffy scores JACKSON.
THE BIG OUTS: Runner on 1st, none out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 8th, CHAMBERLAIN retires Infante (lineout SS) and Hosmer (4-6-3 DP).
GOOD PITCHING: Duffy, SANCHEZ, NATHAN
OBVIOUSLY: A sigh of relief at managing 2 runs on 4 hits and at this being enough.
DON'T OVERLOOK: NATHAN struck out the side on 15 pitches in the 9th, protecting a 1-run lead.
AND, BUT, ALSO: A command performance from Sanchez, 7 innings of 1 run ball with – no strikeouts?
Game 70: Porcello v. Kluber. Tigers 6, INDIANS 4. Never behind, up 5.
NICE PLAYS: KINSLER-SUAREZ-CABRERA, RF Murphy (2), C Gomes-3B Chisenhall, SUAREZ, Chisenhall, CABRERA-SUAREZ, SS Cabrera-2B Kipnis-1B Santana
BASERUNNING NEWS: Both KELLY and especially HOLADAY were easy outs trying to steal. HOLADAY muffed a sac bunt (pop out).
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, none out, 0-0 in the 4th, V. MARTINEZ 2-run HR off Kluber.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 1st, none out, Tigers up 2-0 in the 6th, PORCELLO retires Cabrera on a 3-6-3 DP.
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Kluber
BAD PITCHING: KROL, Axford
OBVIOUSLY: A matter-of-fact win briefly interrupted by frightening bullpen.
DON'T OVERLOOK: 7 innings of shutout by PORCELLO and ALBURQUERQUE. The Indians paid the price for walking one MARTINEZ to get to the other. KINSLER recovered from 3 bad strikeouts to double in the 9th inning insurance.
AND, BUT, ALSO: 9 of 10 runs scored were on home runs. Different ballpark, but another passed ball bounces right back to the catcher, keeping the Tigers baserunner from advancing.
Game 71: Verlander v. Bauer. Tigers 5, INDIANS 4 (10). Down 1, up 2.
NICE PLAYS: CF Bourn, KINSLER, RF Murphy, CABRERA, 1B Santana, CASTELLANOS, CABRERA-NATHAN, SS Cabrera-2B Kipnis-Santana
BASERUNNING NEWS: Cabrera (the other one) laid down about the most perfect 3B-line bunt you'll ever see, inspiring a bit of comedy from VERLANDER. DAVIS was way out (unusual) trying to steal 2B in the 5th.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 4-3 in the 9th, Bourn RBI single off NATHAN.
THE BIG OUTS: Runner on 2nd (and then 3rd), none out, Tigers up 4-3 in the 8th, HARDY gets three harmless grounders from Brantley-Kipnis-Santana.
BAD HITTING: Kipnis
GOOD PITCHING: VERLANDER, HARDY, COKE, Atchison
OBVIOUSLY: 40,000+ at Progressive Field (can you believe it?) saw one heck of a show. Back and forth.
DON'T OVERLOOK: HARDY and COKE bail out ALBURQUERQUE and NATHAN in what should have been a win for VERLANDER.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Some real blasts off the Tigers' bats, not only the home runs (V. MARTINEZ, DAVIS, KINSLER) but also an out (AVILA to CF) and the game-winning RBI double from CABRERA in the 10th.
Game 72: Scherzer v. Tomlin. Tigers 10, INDIANS 4. Never behind, up 9.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Kipnis, ROMINE-KINSLER-CABRERA, LF DAVIS, SCHERZER-CABRERA, CABRERA-HARDY, 1B KELLY, SS Cabrera-Kipnis-1B Santana, JACKSON
MISPLAYS: Cabrera, C Gomes, CF Bourn, 3B Chisenhall (2)
BASERUNNING NEWS: CASTELLANOS gets a good read and moves with alacrity to take 3B on a WP that wasn't so wild. KINSLER's jump on his steal of 2B was too good for a throw.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 2 out, 0-0 in the 1st, CABERA solo HR off Tomlin.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers up 2-0 in the 3rd, SCHERZER retires Cabrera-Brantley-Kipnis in order.
GOOD HITTING: Brantley. CABRERA, KINSLER, J. MARTINEZ, CASTELLANOS
BAD HITTING: Kipnis
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Carrasco
BAD PITCHING: Tomlin, SMITH
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit's offense would have been hard to deny anyway, but Cleveland buried themselves with a multitude of defensive lapses in the 5th.
DON'T OVERLOOK: A good game from SCHERZER somewhat obscured by the score and the inefficiency (114 pitches in 6 innings of work). The Indians were 1 for 8 RISP (4 strikeouts!) against him.
AND, BUT, ALSO: Bit of a rough debut for SMITH mopping up in the 9th, but a nice moment with smiles and congrats from AVILA when he'd gotten the third out.
DEFENSIVE SCORECARD (in terms of outstanding plays one way or the other)
Eugenio Suarez makes the jump from AAA sooner than anyone expected. Andrew Romine has perked up a bit at the plate, but only to the tune of a .523 OPS. The countermove to Suarez is the DFA of Danny Worth (soon outrighted to Toledo)… The MLB debut of Suarez isn't entirely auspicious. As a defensive replacement he makes a caught-sleeping read on a playable hit, and later hurts his knee with an awkward slide that will delay his first starting opportunity … The Blue Jays sweep the Tigers in Detroit for the first time in 11 years, and the losing streak (highlighted by losing offense) reaches 5 games… Mechanical adjustments reported, Justin Verlander's fastball tops out at 97-98 MPH over two outings, but the ERA continues to climb as well (4.19)… Alex Avila sustains a mild concussion from being clipped on the mask with a David Ortiz backswing… Yes, strange defensive things do often happen with Joe Nathan on the mound, but that can't entirely explain his 7.04 ERA. There's an 80% contact rate on swings, and just 13% of strikes called are swinging strikes. After Game 57: "We're going to need Joe Nathan," manager Brad Ausmus said. "Wanted to get him out there and throw some pitches, and kind of work through this."… Anibal Sanchez finally yields his first HR of 2014 (Mike Napoli) after 10 starts and 55.1 IP… Suarez is causing a stir early as a SS who can hit, with clutch hits and home runs, even (2 in his first 4 games)… Rookie 3B Nick Castellanos is in the midst of a quietly productive 18-game stretch that will see him hit .353 with only 10 K in 70 PA… After a surprisingly strong start at the plate, Don Kelly is on a slide that will see him go 54 PA with 1 XBH (and 1 RBI) along with a .167 average during that span… Aha, Luke Putkonen (DL) does need surgery after all (bone spur, right elbow), and will be out for at least another two months… Al Alburquerque pitches sparingly during this period, 7 games and 3.2 IP, little of note good or bad aside from a 33% IRS. "I've certainly been aware of how much we've used Alburquerque over the first two months," Ausmus said. "I've tried to be a little more careful on how we use Alburquerque, because we're going to need him for August and September."… After the game against the Twins in which he almost hit three out and one of them counted for #17, Victor Martinez is on a 44 HR pace, and Miguel Cabrera is on pace for 30 HR, 138 RBI (!), and 58 2B (!!)… With a few weeks in the bigs under his belt, top prospect Corey Knebel returns to Toledo, and Blaine Hardy (who nearly made the team out of camp as a non-roster invitee) gets the call… With Alburquerque and Joba Chamberlain the only semi-reliable arms (that Ausmus has become leery of overtaxing), and Ian Krol and Evan Reed in serious decline, the bullpen situation inches toward Code Red. How so? Because a bullpen that blows every third game (not true) and a bullpen that would blow every third game, given the opportunity (very true – do the math), amount to the same thing. Krol, the New Old Phil Coke early on, since May 23: WHIP ~2.40, BAA .379, IRS 38%. Reed, the one power arm left, since May 18: WHIP 2.30, BAA .354, 43% LD rate… Detroit comes to terms with a number of their top draft picks, including their first choice, OF Derek Hill… On June 17, knocked out by the red-hot Royals, the Tigers get their first look at 2nd place in the AL Central… In response to a question about how he deals with the frustration of a 9-20 stretch for the team, Ausmus jokes that he beats his wife, which causes quite the stir in PC Nation and quite a bit of histrionic angst from Ausmus himself afterward. Fortunately, his comments on the new home plate collision rules ("totally gay") are kept off the record… With Torii Hunter out for a spell (hamstring), J.D. Martinez gets his first real string of starting opportunities and has an eye-popping offensive series against the Royals… Rock stars no more: Only the stellar Sanchez (at a 2.33 ERA, sub-1.00 WHIP after 12 starts) has escaped the considerable scuffing and/or roughing up suffered by the other starters over the past 4-5 weeks… Although his defense is no more than sometimes brilliant, sometimes baffling, robust offense (.849 OPS) has kept Suarez in the lineup and made him the de facto starting SS faster than you can say all five syllables of his first name… Reed is DFA (and will land in Toledo), and fast-rising pitching prospect Chad Smith (starter in AA and AAA this season) is called upon for bullpen help… Bryan Holaday has been disappointing defensively as backup catcher, but – aided by his considerable skill at bunting – is somewhat of a pleasant surprise with the bat (.303 average, albeit with a .677 OPS)… Much is made of the Detroit bullpen's "heavy workload," but this seems to be based on appearances rather than actual innings pitched… Krol hits the DL with shoulder inflammation, a.k.a. bad pitching. Pat McCoy is called up from Toledo's bullpen to take his place… Ausmus is 12 for 21 in successful replay challenges, one of the better scores among managers… Hunter is getting a bit more rest for his hamstring than anticipated, as the other Martinez catches fire and looks comfortable in the #5 spot. Over 15 games this period, J.D. is hitting .357 with 5 HR, 16 RBI, and a 55% XBH rate… It seems too good to be true. Hardy, lefty reliever with a plus curveball, has faced 18 batters through 5 IP in 4 games. 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 runs, 0 IRS…. Home run #19 for Victor (in Cleveland, off Trevor Bauer) is about as no-doubt as it gets, nearly to the second deck in RF on a line… Detroit's stay in 2nd place is a short one, as they finish this inning with 4 straight wins. Moral of the story: Cursed by Zubaz? Beat your wife. (Or let her beat you. Versions of the story vary.)
40-32, 1st in the Central, 2nd in the AL, on pace for a 90-72 season…
- Alan Trammell is back with the Tigers. Trammell said "it feels right." It would feel more right if the Tigers hadn't just been swept in the first round of the playoffs.
- The Tigers tendered qualifying offers today to Max Scherzer and Victor Martinez ($15.3M each). Neither guy will take it, but this guarantees a compensatory pick (or picks) in next year's draft if the Tigers lose one or both. In case you're unfamiliar with qualifying offers, they are meant to compensate teams who lose big free agents. The qualifying offer figure is set at the average of the top 125 players from last year. For each of those two free agents that the Tigers lose, the signing team will lose their 1st round pick (unless it's a top 10 pick, in which case that team will lose a 2nd round pick), and the Tigers will get a compensatory pick at the end of the first round. Doesn't really help much for 2015, and it definitely doesn't change 2014.
- Andy Dirks is now a Blue Jay. Dirks was a nice player, but let's not make him out to be more than he was. He wasn't a long term solution here.
- Patrick McCoy was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.
- Don Kelly and Evan Reed were optioned to Toledo.
- The Dirks/McCoy/Kelly/Reed moves were needed to make room on the 40 man for Bruce Rondon, Luke Putkonen, Drew VerHagen, and shortstop Jose Iglesias. I guess their 60 days is up.
- Finally, Mike Hessman has been resigned to a minor league deal. Yes, that Mike Hessman. Could have used his bat in the playoffs.]]>
So the Detroit Tigers are now:
SP Verlander
SP Scherzer
SP Ray
SP Porcello
SP Smyly
RP Nathan
RP Alburquerque
RP Chamberlain
RP Coke
RP Miller
RP Reed
RP Krol
C Avila
C Holaday
1B Cabrera
2B Kinsler
SS Romine
IF Worth
3B Castellanos
IF-OF Kelly
RF Hunter
CF Jackson
OF Davis
OF J. Martinez
DH-1B-C V. Martinez
Game 37: Scherzer v. Lester. Tigers 1, RED SOX 0. Never behind, up by as many as 1.
NICE PLAYS: WORTH-KINSLER-CABRERA, 1B Napoli, KINSLER
MISPLAYS: 3B Middlebrooks, 2B Pedroia (2)
BASERUNNING NEWS: CASTELLANOS is caught stealing 2B, the news being that there was an attempt.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, 0-0 in the 1st, HUNTER scores KINSLER with a single off Lester.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 7th, KROL retires pinch-hitter Pierzynski on a 6-4-3 DP.
BAD HITTING: Sizemore, AVILA
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Lester, KROL, Badenhop
OBVIOUSLY: Pretty impressive to hold onto a 1-0 lead for 9 innings at Fenway.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Nothing but outs from CHAMBERLAIN and NATHAN.
HUH?: A 47-minute rain delay doesn't faze SCHERZER or the Tigers.
Game 38: Porcello v. Lackey. Tigers 6, RED SOX 1. Never behind, up by as many as 5.
NICE PLAYS: 1B Napoli, 2B Pedroia-SS Bogaerts-Napoli, KINSLER (2), KINSLER-ROMINE-CABRERA, CABRERA, Pedroia, 3B Holt, CASTELLANOS (2), CF Sizemore
MISPLAYS: ROMINE, P Mujica
BASERUNNING NEWS: DAVIS at 2B makes pitchers nervous. Mujica's pickoff attempt would have been great if the 2B ump played for the Red Sox and had been closer than 12 feet from the bag.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 3rd, CABRERA hits a HR off Lackey.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 2 out, Tigers up 2-0 in the 4th, PORCELLO retires Pierzynski (4-3 groundout).
BAD HITTING: ROMINE (golden sombrero), Pierzynski, Sizemore
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Capuano
BAD PITCHING: Lackey
OBVIOUSLY: PORCELLO with curveball/sinker working + defense is an unbeatable combo.
DON'T OVERLOOK: V. MARTINEZ and AVILA both beat the shift with hits, and both score.
HUH?: A slow roller down the 1B line in the 8th by Victorino led to a near-collision with PORCELLO, and Victorino was called out (and didn't like it), though the ball had ultimately rolled foul. Whether it was interference or touching the ball (he didn't, I don't think), the out was good.
Game 39: Sanchez v. Peavy. Tigers 6, RED SOX 2. Down by as many as 1, up by as many as 4.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Pedroia, 1B Napoli, 1B Napoli-P Peavy, ROMINE, SANCHEZ-3B KELLY, C Pierzynski-3B Holt, KINSLER (2), CABRERA, CABRERA-CHAMBERLAIN
BASERUNNING NEWS: The Tigers had relentless legs, and it showed up in 3 of the runs. Fenway singles turned to doubles, a nice slide by CABRERA, a SB for J. MARTINEZ. The Red Sox pilfered a pair from AVILA, but it came to nothing.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1B, 2 out, 1-1 in the 3rd, V. MARTINEZ HR off Peavy scores CABRERA (who had just scored KINSLER).
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 1 out, 4-2 Tigers in the 5th, SANCHEZ makes a great snag of the line drive from Sizemore and doubles Victorino off 3B with help from KELLY.
BAD HITTING: Sizemore
GOOD PITCHING: ALBURQUERQUE and the rest of the pen
BAD PITCHING: Peavy
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers offense was relentless, squaring up Peavy right away and hitting safely in all 9 innings.
DON'T OVERLOOK: 4 scoreless (1 H, 0 BB) innings from the Tigers bullpen committee of 5.
HUH?: HUNTER's home run to LF off Tazawa was clean out of the ballpark. A foul popup near the stands pops out of Pierzynski's mitt and into the hand of Holt. Nice. Funny play where V. MARTINEZ bounces to 1B with HUNTER there, who draws Napoli into a bit of a rundown. Napoli seems to think that HUNTER is the 3rd out, but shouts from Peavy and other teammates and the slow runner save his bacon, as he guns to 1B just in time.
Game 40: Smyly v. Kluber. INDIANS 5, Tigers 4 (10). Up by as many as 1, down by as many as 1. Walk-off loss.
NICE PLAYS: ROMINE, 2B Aviles-3B Santana-1B Aguilar, SS Cabrera-Aguilar, LF DAVIS-ROMINE-KINSLER, CASTELLANOS-CABRERA
MISPLAYS: AVILA, RF Raburn, P Kluber, SMYLY, ROMINE, CASTELLANOS, Santana, Bourn
THE BIG HIT: None on, 2 out, 4-4 in the 10th, ALBURQUERQUE yields the game-winning HR to Brantley.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 1 out, 4-4 in the 9th, CHAMBERLAIN gets Aviles on a 5-3 DP started well by CASTELLANOS.
BAD HITTING: Aviles
GOOD PITCHING: Shaw, Atchison
OBVIOUSLY: Both a bad game (very sloppy and yet no official errors) and a good game (rallies back and forth all evening, including an 8th-inning, game-tying, pinch-hit HR for J. MARTINEZ off Allen).
DON'T OVERLOOK: Detroit was 1 for 8 RISP.
HUH?: HUNTER saw 15 pitches in his 0-fer 5 PA and struck out 3 times. Wild pitch on an intentional walk for Kluber.
Game 41: Verlander v. Bauer. INDIANS 6, Tigers 2. Up by as many as 1, down by as many as 4.
NICE PLAYS: KINSLER-WORTH-CABRERA, CABRERA-WORTH, HUNTER (2), 2B Aviles-SS Cabrera-1B Swisher, LF Brantley-Aviles, SS Cabrera, Swisher-Cabrera-P Bauer, Swisher, 3B Chisenhall
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER was out by a mile trying to get to 2B on Brantley, but did make an interesting dance move (or maybe it was martial arts) after being tagged out. The Indians, meanwhile, were flying around the bases.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, 1-1 in the 2nd, Aviles 2-run double off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 5-2, Bauer retires CASTELLANOS on a bang-bang 3-6-1 DP, nicely finished off by the pitcher himself, safe call at 1B overturned,
GOOD HITTING: AVILA, Bourn
GOOD PITCHING: Shaw
OBVIOUSLY: Cleveland took Detroit to school all the way around.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How it could have been worse (14 baserunners, 116 pitches for VERLANDER in 6 innings), or the importance of the Francona challenge on the big out play in the 6th.
HUH?: AVILA home run off Bauer hit the top of that tall wall in left-CF, quite the blast.
Game 42: Scherzer v. McAllister. INDIANS 11, Tigers 10 (13). Up by as many as 4, down by as many as 2. Balk-off loss.
NICE PLAYS: C Santana-1B Swisher, RF Murphy (2), CABRERA-SCHERZER, KINSLER-WORTH-1B KELLY, Swisher, LF DAVIS-HOLADAY, CASTELLANOS-KELLY, DAVIS-AVILA
MISPLAYS: 3B Chisenhall, JACKSON, SS Cabrera, WORTH-JACKSON, HOLADAY, WORTH
BASERUNNING NEWS: A couple exciting plays at the plate, but neither involved Detroit baserunners. Brantley stole twice and scored twice, while J. MARTINEZ had to settle for being thrown out at 2B rather easily.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 9-7 in the 9th, Murphy hits a 2-run HR off NATHAN, 9-9 in the 10th, KROL facing Bourn, Chisenhall tries to score on the shallow fly to LF and is thrown out at home by DAVIS, double play and inning over.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out
GOOD HITTING: V. MARTINEZ, Brantley, Murphy, Aviles
GOOD PITCHING: Tomlin, Atchison, KROL
BAD PITCHING: SCHERZER, McAllister, NATHAN, Axford
OBVIOUSLY: A crazy one that ended crazier. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
DON'T OVERLOOK: It was a battle until the end. Scherzer took the Tigers out of it and then kept them in it, and was in line for a strange win before the blown save. Big-time clutch from DAVIS (bat and glove) and AVILA (13th inning home run) should not go forgotten.
HUH?: Way too much going on. ALBURQUERQUE's flinch to balk in the winning run. CABRERA and soon AUSMUS getting ejected in the 6th – over a check-swing strike one call. Two balls lost in the sun by WORTH (one of those runners scores.)
Game 43: Darvish v. Ray. Rangers 9, TIGERS 2. Never ahead, down by as many as 9.
NICE PLAYS: RAY-CABRERA-ROMINE, AVILA-ROMINE, KINSLER-AVILA, 3B Beltre-2B Sardinas, KINSLER
BASERUNNING NEWS: At least the Texas base-stealing was shut down in the brief time it mattered. CABRERA was fleet and positively athletic scoring from 2B, even if the HUNTER RBI was a double.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, none out, 0-0 in the 2nd, Rios doubles in a run off RAY.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers down 5-0 in the 3rd, Darvish gets CABRERA to line out sharply to 3B, and KINSLER is doubled off 2B.
GOOD HITTING: Choo, Choice, Beltre
BAD HITTING: Sardinas
GOOD PITCHING: Darvish, COKE
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit dug themselves a big hole early, and the "homecoming" defense was beyond bad.
DON'T OVERLOOK: 5 innings of scoreless relief is never a bad thing.
HUH?: Comic relief provided by the remarkably successful debut of WORTH the knuckleballer. Texas lost CF Robertson early (batting .150 and caught stealing, tough times) when he collided with RF Rios, both hustling after the ball and sliding for it, Robertson sliding face first into Rios's knee. Why wasn't SMYLY – obviously available – brought in when it was 5-0 rather than 9-0? AUSMUS?
Game 44: Baker v. Sanchez. TIGERS 7, Rangers 2. Down by as many as 2, up by as many as 5.
NICE PLAYS: 1B Moreland, P Baker, SS Andrus-2B Odor-Moreland, AVILA-ROMINE, Andrus, KINSLER, Odor-C Chirinos, CABRERA-ROMINE-KROL
MISPLAYS: Andrus
BASERUNNING NEWS: DAVIS was ridiculously far off 1B when he got picked off by Baker, but his blazing speed in scoring the Tigers' 4th run from 1B more than made up for it. KINSLER parlayed advances into runs twice, and running for home on contact worked on the HUNTER groundout. Next play reads odd – V. MARTINEZ out at home (from 2B) on a groundball to 2B? Odor ranged far to knock the ball down and overran it, would've been an IF single for JACKSON. V. MARTINEZ rounding 3rd tried to read the play, hesitated, and then just couldn't beat a quick recovery and easy throw home by Odor.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, 1 out, Tigers down 2-0 in the 2nd, JACKSON hits a 2-run HR off Baker.
THE BIG OUT: Runner on 3B, 1 out, 2-2 in the 3rd, Baker retires HUNTER on a flyout to LF too shallow to score CABRERA.
BAD PITCHING: Baker
OBVIOUSLY: Great start from "Sanchie" plus a lot of runs for 10 hits and 2 for 10 RISP.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Sanchez allowed 2, then ended the threat en route to retiring 14 of his last 15. A nice 3-6-1 DP ended the game.
HUH?: ROMINE, batting a cool .176, belts one out to RF off Baker, his first career HR. The Tigers struck out only twice (AVILA both).
Game 45: Martinez v. Sanchez. Rangers 12, TIGERS 2. Up by as many as 1, down by as many as 11.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS, AVILA-CASTELLANOS, LF DAVIS, PORCELLO, AVILA-ROMINE, CASTELLANOS-KINSLER-1B KELLY, KELLY-P WORTH, 2B Odor
MISPLAYS: CABRERA, AVILA, JACKSON, LF Choice
BASERUNNING NEWS: Nothing like ROMINE (scoring from 1B) and DAVIS (RBI double) running the bases simultaneously. Unfortunately, the recently blazing DAVIS was caught out badly stealing 3B. Two good AUSMUS challenges that reversed safe SB calls on very close plays. A good Washington challenge ends the Tigers 7th and any hope of consolation runs on a line out DP with bases loaded.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers down 2-1 in the 4th, Odor 2-run triple off PORCELLO.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 2nd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 1st, PORCELLO strikes out Moreland and AVILA throws out Choo attempting to steal 3B, double play.
GOOD HITTING: Odor, Murphy. Martin
OBVIOUSLY: It started well enough. It didn't blow up. It just snowballed until it was wretched.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The tipping point may have been the Gimenez double in the 4th, where the relay from RF to the plate wasn't bad enough to call a bad play but not good enough to make it more than an almost close play on Beltre at the plate.
HUH?: Well, everyone looked good in the Negro League uniforms, anyway. WORTH pitched for the 2nd time in 3 days, knuckleball not nearly as sensational.
Game 46: Lewis v. Verlander. Rangers 12, TIGERS 4. Never ahead, down by as many as 10.
NICE PLAYS: AVILA-ROMINE, CASTELLANOS, SS Andrus, SS Sardinas-2B Odor-1B Moreland
MISPLAYS: KINSLER, CASTELLANOS (2), Moreland (3), VERLANDER-KINSLER, CF Martin, ROMINE
BASERUNNING NEWS: DAVIS was excitement in the first, stealing, drawing a balk, coming home on a grounder. AVILA had a good lead and a great jump and still got caught handily stealing 2B.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-1 in the 2nd, ROMINE doubles off of Lewis to score JACKSON with help from bumbling Martin.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 2nd, Lewis retires DAVIS (lineout to SS) and KINSLER (flyout to CF).
GOOD HITTING: Moreland, Andrus, Rios, Chirinos
BAD HITTING: KINSLER, Martin
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers stunk and got stomped.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Detroit could have made it a slugfest against mediocre pitching but didn't (2-12 RISP), and the defense added insult to injury.
HUH?: 11 hits and 6 walks for Tigers hitters, 4 runs.
Game 47: Smyly v. Milone. ATHLETICS 10, Tigers 0. Never ahead, behind by as many as 10.
NICE PLAYS: SS Lowrie-1B Blanks, JACKSON, CASTELLANOS-CABRERA, 3B Donaldson, CASTELLANOS, CF Crisp, SS Lowrie, CABRERA
MISPLAYS: ROMINE, Lowrie, CASTELLANOS, HOLADAY
BASERUNNING NEWS: Lots of trotting around the bases for the A's.
THE BIG HITS: 0-0 in the 2nd, Moss and Blanks hit solo home runs off Smyly.
THE BIG OUTS: SMYLY retiring Donaldson-Cespedes-Lowrie in order in the 1st, working out of a 1st and 3rd, none out jam.
GOOD HITTING: Norris, Blanks, Donaldson
GOOD PITCHING: Milone. KNEBEL, Otero
OBVIOUSLY: Demoralizing early, it got worse.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The COKE demolition was set up by a 4-pitch walk, another defensive miscue by HOLADAY (interference with the batter), and a botched routine play by CASTELLANOS.
HUH?: 4 home runs in the span of 30 pitches off SMYLY? Really?
Game 48: Scherzer v. Gray. Tigers 6, ATHLETICS 5. Down by as many as 2, up by as many as 2.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Donaldson-1B Moss (2), Donaldson, AVILA-3B KELLY, P Gray-Moss, ROMINE, 3B KELLY (2), LF J. MARTINEZ (2), CF Crisp, RF Reddick (2), C Jaso-2B Sogard, SS Lowrie-Sogard-Moss, CABRERA-CHAMBERLAIN, KINSLER, CABRERA-NATHAN
MISPLAYS: JACKSON, LF Cespedes, KINSLER, C Norris (2)
BASERUNNING NEWS: AVILA put down a nice bunt that took a good play by Gray to beat. DAVIS (inserted by AUSMUS to pinch-run for J. MARTINEZ) wins the game in the 8th with legs and smarts, capitalizing on C Norris and P Abad.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 4-3 in the 4th, Jaso hits a 2-run HR off SCHERZER.
THE BIG OUT: 2-0 Tigers in the 1st, none out, Crisp on 2B is caught stealing 3B by AVILA-KELLY on a very close play (challenged, and the out stood).
GOOD HITTING: Jaso, J. MARTINEZ, Callaspo, CABRERA
BAD HITTING: Crisp
GOOD PITCHING: NATHAN, ALBURQUERQUE, CHAMBERLAIN, Gregerson
OBVIOUSLY: A thrilling game that felt like playoff baseball.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Great defense on both sides prevented more runs than the pitching did.
HUH?: A misunderstood signal from AVILA led to the strange run-scoring balk in SCHERZER's 4th-inning disaster. This miscue was outdone by the A's battery in the decisive 8th.
Game 49: Sanchez v. Kazmir. ATHLETICS 3, Tigers 1. Up by as many as 1 before the walk-off loss.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Donaldson-2B Sograd-1B Moss (3), CF DAVIS, LF Cespedes, CABRERA-WORTH-SANCHEZ, CABRERA, CF Crisp, Cespedes-Sogard
MISPLAYS: C Norris, CASTELLANOS
BASERUNNING NEWS: CABRERA put on a nice show trying to evade the tag at 2B in the 8th and fooled the ump, but not replay.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 9th, Donaldson 3-run HR off NATHAN to win it.
THE BIG OUT: Tigers up 1-0 in the 9th, SANCHEZ gets the first batter Callaspo to ground out 4-3.
GOOD HITTING: Donaldson
GOOD PITCHING: SANCHEZ, Kazmir
OBVIOUSLY: Couldn't quite finish it off, but SANCHEZ was brilliant. As was Kazmir, with big help from his defense.
DON'T OVERLOOK: CABRERA running into the 3rd out in the 8th (or the Melvin challenge that got the safe call overturned), or how the Jaso single that set up the walk-off went right through CASTELLANOS, hard-hit though it was.
HUH?: A Tigers CF leaves his feet to make a catch!
Game 50: Porcello vs. Chavez. Tigers 5, ATHLETICS 4. Down by as many as 1, up by as many as 3.
NICE PLAYS: SS Punto-2B Sogard-1B Callaspo, PORCELLO-AVILA-CABRERA, LF J. MARTINEZ (3), RF Reddick, CABRERA, KINSLER-ROMINE-CABRERA, CASTELLANOS, ROMINE
MISPLAYS: Reddick (2), CASTELLANOS, CABRERA
BASERUNNING NEWS: ROMINE blazed home from 1B to score one run, as did CABRERA for another, thanks to a double buried in the RF corner by V. MARTINEZ. Conceding the run in the 3rd (CABRERA out 6-3, KINSLER scores from 3B) proves to be costly for the A's.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 4th, Punto 2-run HR off PORCELLO.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 5-4 in the 9th, NATHAN gets pinch-hitter Lowrie to ground out to 1B.
GOOD HITTING: Punto, V. MARTINEZ
BAD HITTING: Sogard, J. MARTINEZ
BAD PITCHING: Johnson, NATHAN
OBVIOUSLY: Not easy, but all the more impressive for that. Getting to the 9th with a 3-run lead was a good plan.
DON'T OVERLOOK: All kinds of clutch everything from Detroit, but especially the run-saving, inning-ending catch by J. MARTINEZ.
HUH?: PORCELLO walks 6 after having walked 9 all season.
Game 51: Verlander v. Iwakuma. Tigers 6, MARINERS 3. Never behind, up by as many as 4.
NICE PLAYS: SS Miller-1B Smoak, ROMINE-AVILA, AVILA-ROMINE, HUNTER, KINSLER, C Zunino-Miller, JACKSON
MISPLAYS: 2B Franklin, AVILA (2)
BASERUNNING NEWS: CABRERA at 2B draws a pickoff throw from Iwakuma and is probably out except for Franklin, but give credit for drawing the error. CASTELLANOS is an embarrassingly easy out at 3B trying to advance on an errant pitch, and ROMINE is surprisingly easy meat on his attempt at 2B.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, tied 2-2 in the 5th, V. MARTINEZ follows the intentional walk to CABRERA with a 3-run HR off Iwakuma.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 2nd, Verlander gets a ground ball from Ackley and ROMINE guns down Seager at home plate.
GOOD HITTING: V. MARTINEZ, CABRERA, Seager
BAD HITTING: Ackley
BAD PITCHING: Iwakuma
OBVIOUSLY: Felt like a solid, back to business win versus a top shelf pitcher, and a return to top shelf form for VERLANDER.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How the Tigers just said "no" to the momentum shift in the 4th and turned it right back around, strike 'em out-throw 'em out DP and then a 3-run answer next inning.
HUH?: Seattle's Robinson Cano is nursing an injury and out, possibly for the series.
Game 52: Smyly v. Young. MARINERS 3, Tigers 2. Never ahead, down by as many as 2.
NICE PLAYS: CABRERA, LF Gillespie (2), ROMINE, AVILA-CABRERA, RF Chavez, SS Franklin-2B Bloomquist
MISPLAYS: CABRERA, HUNTER, C Buck
BASERUNNING NEWS: A seemingly inconsequential steal of 2B by Gillespie in the 4th made a big difference, as did ROMINE's inability to get a bunt down on Rodney in the 9th.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, none out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 9th, KELLY singles off Rodney, WORTH (pinch-runner for AVILA) to 2B.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, Rodney retires ROMINE (K), DAVIS (K), and KINSLER (groundout) in order, game over.
GOOD HITTING: Bloomquist
GOOD PITCHING: Young, REED, ALBURQUERQUE
OBVIOUSLY: An exciting game with many late-inning chances.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Defense (Seattle v. Detroit) made the difference, particularly as the Mariners' 3rd run in the 4th never should have been.
HUH?: Smyly threw 105 pitches in 4 innings and went to 3-2 counts on 9 of 20 batters faced, and yet walked only 1.
Game 53: Scherzer v. Elias. MARINERS 4, Tigers 0. Never ahead, down by as many as 4.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Seager-1B Smoak, CASTELLANOS, WORTH-HOLADAY, SS Miller-Smoak, P Elias, WORTH, JACKSON, WORTH-CABRERA, Seager-2B Bloomquist-Smoak
BASERUNNING NEWS: No Tigers baserunners to speak of, but WORTH-HOLADAY did nail Bloomquist at home plate, who tried to score from 3B on a double steal (it actually went 2-6-2, no putout at 2B).
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2nd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 1st, Saunders RBI double off SCHERZER.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 3rd, SCHERZER strikes out Saunders, and then with Smoak at the plate, Bloomquist at 3B is out at home on the double steal attempt.
GOOD HITTING: Chavez
GOOD PITCHING: Elias
OBVIOUSLY: Elias was unhittable and Scherzer wasn't.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Three 1-2-3 innings for SCHERZER. Three hits for the Tigers (all singles).
HUH?: AUSMUS said afterward that the team played "flat." Yes.
Game 54: Hutchison v. Sanchez. Blue Jays 5, TIGERS 3. Never ahead, down by as many as 5.
NICE PLAYS: CABRERA-3B KELLY, SS Reyes-1B Encarnacion, CABRERA-SANCHEZ, NATHAN-KELLY
MISPLAYS: 2B Lawrie, AVILA, ROMINE
BASERUNNING NEWS: Reyes is nearly picked off 3B in the 9th by NATHAN-KELLY in what could have been a game-changer, but the safe call withstands an AUSMUS challenge. SOP derailed: With runner on 2nd, the adroit CABRERA fields a groundball at 1B and without hesitation throws to 3B to cut down the lumbering Francisco with ease. Big-time play in a scoreless game.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 9th, Bautista RBI single off NATHAN.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, none out, 0-0 in the 9th, NATHAN retires Melky Cabrera on a popup to SS.
GOOD HITTING: Lawrie, J. MARTINEZ
GOOD PITCHING: SANCHEZ, Hutchison
BAD PITCHING: ALBURQUERQUE, NATHAN, Delabar
OBVIOUSLY: A scoreless duel for 8 innings, another SANCHEZ gem wasted, another bullpen meltdown, but also some last-chance rally excitement with the 3-run bomb from J. MARTINEZ off Delabar.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The misplay by ROMINE in the 9th, possibly the difference between difficult and debacle.
DEFENSIVE SCORECARD (in terms of outstanding plays one way or the other)
Luke Putkonen's rehab is now halted, "clunkiness" in elbow, an examination for possible surgery scheduled… A Red Sox fan at Fenway Park (or maybe it was a Tigers fan, who knows) informs Joba Chamberlain that UPS is hiring… Signed to a minor league contract during spring training, LHP Nate Robertson's comeback bid with the Mud Hens ends with his release… Lingering left side soreness for Rick Porcello (which didn't affect his 8-inning dominance of the Red Sox) calls for extra rest and keeps Robbie Ray around for another start, leading to Justin Miller being sent to Toledo as Anibal Sanchez comes back from the DL… Brad Ausmus thinks Andrew Romine (.187 and falling) may be pressing a bit… Taking BP before a game, Ausmus hits one over the Green Monster as pitcher Lamont gets too much plate ("I put it right where he wanted it," Lamont said)… A jubilant team gets decked out in Zubaz (Joba Chamberlain's idea) following the Boston sweep. There's a problem with the airplane that delays the flight on to Cleveland until the next afternoon, and Drew Smyly is left all alone overnight in a strange town. Next thing you know, it takes the Tigers 15 games to win their next 4, and the legend of The Curse of the Zubaz is born (even though it may eventually reveal itself to be The Curse of Joba's Beard)… An impressive 11-game road win streak comes to an end in Cleveland… Tigers are grading out well so far in controlling base-stealing, improved over 2013… SS Eugenio Suarez makes the jump from Erie to Toledo (Danny Worth and Romine are batting under .200 combined)… Ray returns to Toledo, and top prospect Corey Knebel is called up to join the bullpen… No surgery for Putkonen, just more rehab… Miguel Cabrera and Ian Kinsler are hitting doubles at a torrid pace… Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter are in the midst of great slumps that will take their BA's down 30 points over 18 games… Justin Verlander keeps his chin up after the Texas demolition: "It's not me and it's never been me. Look forward to the next one and go out and give us a chance to win."… After Game 46, Martinez had hit safely in 25 of his last 28 games, batting .366 with nine doubles, nine home runs and 22 RBIs… Ian Kinsler (batting .330, 2nd in the AL) gets his first game day off May 26… The Tigers pitching staff endures a 6-game stretch of 61 runs allowed in 56.2 innings. This overlaps 8 games of the team batting .174 (15-for-86) with RISP and stranding 75 runners, and coincides with 9 errors in 6 games (which only hints at the actual defensive performance)… Rajai Davis bruises his shoulder on a great catch (in CF) but misses only one game… 4 weeks after signing Joel Hanrahan, not a lot of progress, still in arm strengthening phase… Though 8 starts and 43.1 IP, Sanchez has yet to allow a HR. The emergent ace (41 K, .183 BAA) hasn't had one bad start, but has had some short ones (and of course some missed ones)… Detroit's offense limps away from this "inning" with 13 hits (and 28 strikeouts) in the final 3 games… Closer Joe Nathan has regressed to horrid he during this period (16.88 ERA in 8 games), but Ausmus isn't the only one defending him. Chamberlain: "You can't replace him. He's just one of those guys. He's our leader. He continues to lead in so many ways." Hmmm…. Believe it or not, aside from Phil Coke, Nathan, and some bad numbers from the fringe guys, all of which makes the bullpen look terrible by the composite statistics the core group of Chamberlain, Alburquerque, Krol, and Reed has in fact been quite OK overall, which is not to say consistent. And yet the only truly trustworthy arm has been Chamberlain, who seldom enters with runners aboard and is apparently cemented in his 8th inning role. 4 losses charged to the bullpen in the last 18 games (3 courtesy of Alburquerque) magnifies the sense of bad bullpen, but it's a mixed bag at this point, and the recent tailspin actually has less to do with the bullpen than anything… Davis has been a pleasant surprise as more than the role player he was originally intended to be, with 16 of 19 in SB, 288/339/423, 17 RBI, and good play in LF… An impressive May: Cabrera drove in a run in 19 out of 29 games for the month, and plated multiple runs 11 times… Eugenio Suarez is off to a good start with Toledo and puts on a show in a game attended by Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland… Still in rather limited action, J.D. Martinez is starting to make some noise with his bat (1.183 OPS and 8 RBI in 29 PA this period)… Nathan has become a lightning rod, thanks to his performance, throwing teammates under the bus (the comments become more careful but don't mask it), and Ausmus's insistence on him as one and only closer guy for closer guy situations. It's not working, and he draws significant disdain from the home crowd in the Game 54 loss to Toronto.
31-23, 1st in the Central, 3rd in the AL, on pace for a 93-69 season…
So the Detroit Tigers are now:
SP Verlander
SP Scherzer
SP Sanchez
SP Porcello
SP Smyly
RP Nathan
RP Alburquerque
RP Chamberlain
RP Coke
RP Miller
RP Reed
RP Krol
C Avila
C Holaday
1B Cabrera
2B Kinsler
SS Romine
IF Worth
3B Castellanos
IF-OF Kelly
RF Hunter
CF Jackson
OF Davis
OF J. Martinez
DH-1B-C V. Martinez
Game 19: Quintana v. Scherzer. TIGERS 7, White Sox 4. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 3.
NICE PLAYS: 1B Abreu, LF DAVIS, SS Ramirez-Abreu, Ramirez-Abreu, CF Danks, 2B KINSLER
MISPLAYS: RF Viciedo, HUNTER, Ramirez, KINSLER, HOLADAY
BASERUNNING NEWS: Aggressive advance on a short WP leads to KINSLER scoring. 8th inning hit and run pays off, JACKSON on and CASTELLANOS at the plate. WORTH costs a run by getting run down on lame steal attempt just before the DAVIS HR.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded and 2 out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 7th, CABRERA singles in 2 off Webb.
THE BIG OUT: Runner on 3rd and 2 out, Tigers up 5-4 in the 8th, CHAMBERLAIN strikes out Flowers.
GOOD HITTING: DAVIS. CABRERA, Viciedo
BAD HITTING: Danks, Abreu, KINSLER
BAD PITCHING: Webb, CHAMBERLAIN
OBVIOUSLY: The winning advantage was Tigers offense vs. White Sox bullpen.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The DAVIS two-out HR off Quintana in the 5th (breathing room), or how costly the HOLADAY throwing error that scored a run in the 8th could have been.
HUH?: Game ends on a strange note, NATHAN striking out Abreu (2nd out), who stumbles over the plate and interferes (technically) with HOLADAY''s (awful) throw to 2B with Semien stealing; Semien out, putout Holaday, game over. Another strange play was a great Ramirez-Abreu combo that got WORTH at 1B (though he was actually safe and it might have been challenged). Out call reversed when Abreu dropped the ball lifting his glove to show the ump, even though he obviously had possession and had kept if even when his glove had initially hit the ground. Something for everyone (safe but out, out but safe, finally out) as Worth then gets picked off.
Game 20: Porcello v. Correia. Tigers 10. TWINS 6. Never behind, up by as much as 9.
NICE PLAYS: CF Fuld-2B Dozier-C Suzuki, ROMINE, 3B Plouffe, Plouffe-Dozier-1B Mauer, Dozier, LF Kubel, KINSLER-ROMINE-CABRERA, CABRERA-NATHAN
MISPLAYS: RF Colabello, KINSLER
BASERUNNING NEWS: Trying to score AVILA from 1B on the ROMINE double ends badly.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2B, none out, 0-0 in the 2nd, CASTELLANOS hits a 2-run HR off Correia.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 2nd, PORCELLO strikes out Florimon.
GOOD HITTING: HUNTER, Kubel, CASTELLANOS
BAD HITTING: Florimon
GOOD PITCHING: Tonkin
BAD PITCHING: Correia, Swarzak, MILLER
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers hitters simply unloaded on Correia and Swarzak and put this one away in 3 innings.
DON'T OVERLOOK: PORCELLO got away with a bit of a clunker, but the bullpen did actually let in 4 of the 6 Twins runs.
HUH?: DAVIS stealing 2B with Detroit up 10-5. Already, level of confidence in the bullpen is? CABRERA accounted for all 3 outs in Tigers' 7-run 3rd.
Game 21: Sanchez v. Hughes. TWINS 5, Tigers 3. Up by as much as 2, down by as much as 3.
NICE PLAYS: HUNTER, CABRERA, 3B Plouffe
MISPLAYS: RF Fuld, ROMINE, HOLADAY (2), CASTELLANOS, Plouffe
BASERUNNING NEWS: CABRERA stretching a double to 3B is news, even with a bad throw; next batter, he huffs and puffs to score on a not especially deep sac fly from V. MARTINEZ. HUNTER puts down a bunt (2 on, 1 out) that Plouffe can't handle to load the bases.
THE BIG HIT (that wasn't): Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, 2-0 Tigers in the 5th, Escobar, facing ORTEGA, puts down a sac bunt that HOLADAY throws away, scoring Fuld.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, one out, Tigers down 4-2 in the 8th, Burton retires CABRERA on a groundball 5-3 DP.
GOOD HITTING: Plouffe, Mauer
BAD HITTING: Kubel
GOOD PITCHING: Hughes, Burton
OBVIOUSLY: Hughes got 16 consecutive outs after giving up 2 runs, and the Tigers bullpen caved.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Horrible defense from HOLADAY in the crucial 5th.
HUH?: A nasty blister on the right middle finger of SANCHEZ forces him out of the game after 2.2.
Game 22: Verlander v. Quintana. Tigers 4, WHITE SOX 3. Down by as much as 3, up by as much as 1.
NICE PLAYS: CF Eaton, HOLADAY-WORTH, HUNTER-KINSLER-CASTELLANOS
MISPLAYS: 3B Semien, HUNTER, RF Viciedo
BASERUNNING NEWS: The comeback to tie the game consists of consecutive challenges of the White Sox OF by CABRERA and V. MARTINEZ – both score from 2B!
THE BIG HIT: Man on 3rd, 2 out, tied 3-3 in the 9th, HOLADAY (facing Belisario) puts down a suicide squeeze bunt that scores JACKSON.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 3rd, 1 out, tied 3-3 in the 9th, Belisario strikes out CASTELLANOS, and HOLADAY comes to the plate.
GOOD PITCHING: CHAMBERLAIN, Belisario
OBVIOUSLY: A good comeback win after VERLANDER and Quintana pitch to a draw of quality starts.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How RF Viciedo's blunder sets up HOLADAY's heroics.
HUH?: DAVIS dons the golden sombrero. The game-winning bunt by HOLADAY is his choice, and would have been AUSMUS's choice but for the fact that HOLADAY misses the signals!
Game 23: Scherzer v. Noesi. Tigers 5, WHITE SOX 1. Never behind, up by as much as 5.
NICE PLAYS: CF Eaton, JACKSON, 1B Abreu, ROMINE
MISPLAYS: KINSLER, 3B Semien, Abreu
BASERUNNING NEWS: HOLADAY would have been caught off 2B after his big double had the White Sox thought to cover 2B.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 2-0 in the 4th, HOLADAY hits a 2-run double off Noesi.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, 0-0 in the 3rd, SCHERZER strikes out Dunn.
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, ALBURQUERQUE, CHAMBERLAIN, Petricka
BAD PITCHING: Cleto
OBVIOUSLY: A strong start from SCHERZER backed by one big inning was all it took.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The Tigers were practically shut down by the Chicago bullpen the last 5 innings.
Game 24: Porcello v. Shields. Tigers 8, ROYALS 2. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 6.
NICE PLAYS: HUNTER-KINSLER-3B KELLY, KINSLER, SS Escobar
MISPLAYS: 3B Moustakas-2B Infante
BASERUNNING NEWS: Subtle, and it came to naught as far as scoring, but an alert KELLY advance on a WP that didn't get far helped set up some additional bases-loaded stress for Shields. HUNTER scores from 1B on a CABRERA double, beating LF Gordon (to be fair, the ball rolled to the wall and then just died there).
THE BIG HIT: Man on 2B, none out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 4th, AVILA hits a 2-run HR off Shields.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 2 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 2nd, Shields retires ROMINE on a flyball to shallow CF.
BAD PITCHING: Shields
OBVIOUSLY: A solid beatdown in all aspects.
DON'T OVERLOOK: J. MARTINEZ took Herrera to RF for a 2-run double. PORCELLO-KROL-REED combined to retire the last 18 Royals batters in order.
Game 25: Smyly v. Duffy. Tigers 9, ROYALS 2. Never behind, up by as much as 9.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Moustakas (2), RF Aoki, HUNTER, JACKSON, WORTH, LF DAVIS-KINSLER, Hosmer
MISPLAYS: HOLADAY, SS Escobar
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER chatted himself into being picked off 1B, and a later attempt to stretch a double into a triple didn't make up for it. A perfect bunt by DAVIS was the centerpiece if not the big blow in the 9th.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 6th, CASTELLANOS hits a 2-run double off Herrera.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 3B, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 4th, SMYLY strikes out Butler.
BAD PITCHING: Brooks
OBVIOUSLY: 7 shutout innings from SMYLY and 3 RBI from Castellanos made it happen; the 6-run 9th was against recent callup Brooks.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Fine defensive plays on both sides. The 6-run explosion against Brooks (with half the Tigers' hits for the game) made the 9th inning feel like a second game much different than the first. HUNTER's 3-run HR to LF off Brooks was a moon shot.
HUH?: CABRERA dekes another OF (LF Gordon – it was Mike Trout a while back), this time to score on a sac fly.
Game 26: Verlander v. Vargas. Tigers 9, ROYALS 4. Never behind, up by as much as 7.
NICE PLAYS: ROMINE, HUNTER, LF DAVIS, SS Escobar
BASERUNNING NEWS: The Tigers offense had legs, legs, legs, particularly those of DAVIS and ROMINE. It's a 4-4 game without that. There was also a smart hold early, KINSLER putting the brakes on just 'round 3B.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 3-0 in the 4th, CABRERA hits a 2-run double off Vargas.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0, Vargas retires V. MARTINEZ on a flyball to short CF.
GOOD HITTING: HUNTER, Aoki, DAVIS
BAD HITTING: Hosmer
GOOD PITCHING: VERLANDER, Collins
BAD PITCHING: Vargas, Mariot
OBVIOUSLY: No contest, a thorough win.
DON'T OVERLOOK: VERLANDER had a no-hitter through 5.2 (he walked 4 overall), and then came the 7th.
Game 27: Cosart v. Scherzer. TIGERS 2, Astros 0. Never behind, up by as much as 2.
NICE PLAYS: 1B Krauss-3B Dominguez, SS Villar, HUNTER, AVILA (2), AVILA-ROMINE, KINSLER, CASTELLANOS (2), Villar-2B Altuve-Krauss
MISPLAYS: Villar, ROMINE, Krauss
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER gets caught inexplicably between 3B and home in a none out, 1st and 3rd, ground ball to 1B situation – double play (and a really smart play by Krauss, who would later play the goat). That's a huge out even in a 1st inning. ROMINE sets up the winning run with an excellent sacrifice bunt, crucial considering the runners on (CASTELLANOS and AVILA).
THE BIG HIT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 7th, DAVIS singles off Cosart to score CASTELLANOS.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 8th, SCHERZER strikes out Altuve (full count) and AVILA guns down Gonzalez attempting to steal 3B, double play.
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Cosart
OBVIOUSLY: A pitching duel throughout and a close game won.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How 1B Krauss's error on a routine play opened the door for Detroit, or how AVILA's strong defense closed the door on Houston – twice.
Game 28: Oberholtzer v. Ray. TIGERS 11, Astros 4. Never behind, up by as much as 10.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Altuve (2), 3B Dominguez, CASTELLANOS, KINSLER
BASERUNNING NEWS: HUNTER gets erased pretty easily trying to steal 3B – right before theCABRERA HR. A HUNTER-KINSLER hit and run in the 7th sets up some runs. JACKSON swipes 3B (a rare treat) and soon scores.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 1 out, 0-0 in the 1st, CABRERA homers off Oberholtzer.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 3rd, none out, 0-0 in the 1st, RAY retires the side (strikeout-strikeout-groundout).
GOOD HITTING: CABRERA, Springer, WORTH, KINSLER
BAD HITTING: Guzman
BAD PITCHING: Fields
OBVIOUSLY: 4-hit, 4 RBI CABRERA support of a good MLB debut from RAY, lopsidedness courtesy of the Astros' hapless bullpen.
DON'T OVERLOOK: A shoddy defensive effort and 5 runs off a pitcher throwing BP.
HUH?: KINSLER drops a routine pop fly in shallow RF, run scores, no error because he gets an out at 2B. But it wrecks RAY's shutout. Moving SS WORTH to 1B for the 9th (score 11-1) – a kind of "what the heck" move by AUSMUS? – didn't do MILLER any favors, either.
Game 29: Peacock v. Porcello. TIGERS 3, Astros 2. Never behind, up by as much as 2.
NICE PLAYS: RF Springer, 3B Dominguez, KINSLER-CABRERA, 2B Altuve-1B Krauss, HUNTER
BASERUNNING NEWS: Though the Tigers had it all over the Astros running, Villar getting to 2B (poor throw AVILA) and then 3B (CASTELLANOS failed to cover) was an easy two-out tying run in the 9th just waiting to happen.
THE BIG HIT: 1 on and 1 out, 0-0 in the 1st, CABRERA 2-run HR off Peacock.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 3B, 2 out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 9th, NATHAN strikes out Dominguez.
GOOD HITTING: Gonzalez
BAD HITTING: Altuve
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Peacock, CHAMBERLAIN
OBVIOUSLY: A close one that the PORCELLO and the Tigers were able to maintain control of with a key DP (6th inning) and a V. MARTINEZ insurance run (HR in the bottom 6th).
DON'T OVERLOOK: How RF Springer almost robbed CABRERA of his 2-run HR, or how a HUNTER charge and scoop and throw saved a big run (though it eventually scored anyway).
HUH?: Crazy play of the game: ROMINE steals second (as DAVIS swings and misses for strike one) and is called safe (he's out), but DAVIS actually interfered (his bat) with C Castro, so DAVIS is out. Do over. KINSLER up, ROMINE tries again. This time he's called out (he's safe). AUSMUS challenges and it gets reversed. But nothing to show as KINSLER lines out to 3B Dominguez.
Game 30: Keuchel v. Smyly. Astros 6, TIGERS 2. Up by as much as 2, down by as much as 4.
NICE PLAYS: KINSLER, RF Springer, WORTH, 2B Altuve-1B Guzman, KINSLER-WORTH-1B V. MARTINEZ, WORTH-V. MARTINEZ
BASERUNNING NEWS: No small ball today, all extra base hits and double plays.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 5th, Altuve hits a 2-run double off SMYLY.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 6th, REED retires Springer on a groundball 4-6-3 DP.
GOOD HITTING: V. MARTINEZ, Dominguez
GOOD PITCHING: Keuchel
OBVIOUSLY: Keuchel had the Tigers' number, and one pitch to Altuve (in a 9-pitch battle) was SMYLY's undoing.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How the game – somehow – just turned on a dime after the nice play by 2B Altuve (and challenge by Bo Porter) got JACKSON at 1B to end the Tigers 4th.
Game 31: Hughes v. Verlander. Twins 2, TIGERS 1. Never ahead, down by as much as 2.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS, 2B Dozier-1B Colabello, AVILA-ROMINE
MISPLAYS: ROMINE, CASTELLANOS, LF Kubel
BASERUNNING NEWS: DAVIS did his exciting best in the 3rd to make a run happen (that didn't), hustling a double out of the box and tagging to go to 3B. JACKSON on the move 1-2 with CASTELLANOS up (singles to RF) gives the Tigers their best chance against Hughes in the 4th. Speed demon AVILA gets his legs into his 9th inning double (the rocket bungled by LF Kubel) off Perkins; should have been the tying run.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded, 2 out, 0-0 in the 7th, Suzuki singles in two off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUTS: 1 out, pinch-runner WORTH at 2B, Tigers down 2-1 in the 9th, Perkins retires J. MARTINEZ and DAVIS in order.
GOOD HITTING: Suzuki
BAD HITTING: Hicks, Plouffe
GOOD PITCHING: Hughes, VERLANDER, Fien
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers wasted 6 good innings from VERLANDER, but he punched his own ticket in the 7th.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Detroit 1 for 9 RISP. Twins not much better, but better enough.
HUH?: A fire alarm at Comerica Park briefly disrupts play in the 9th. Sort of like how the Tigers' would-be rally briefly disrupted the loss.
Game 32: Gibson v. Scherzer. TIGERS 9, Twins 3. Never behind, up by as much as 6.
NICE PLAYS: 1B Colabello-SS Santana-P Gibson, AVILA-KINSLER, LF KELLY, 3B Escobar-C Suzuki, RF Parmelee, KINSLER, CABRERA-SCHERZER, CABRERA-ROMINE
MISPLAYS: Santana-2B Dozier, Dozier, CF Hicks, CASTELLANOS
BASERUNNING NEWS: JACKSON at 3rd makes a bad decision on a sharp ground ball to 3B, dead at home plate. Alert 3B coach CLARK gets CASTELLANOS over to 3B on Hicks muff and helps a big inning along. Suzuki made one of the lamer attempts to steal 2B you'll see. How CASTELLANOS stretched his single to double off LF Nunez was… just barely. Bit of luck with throw and tag.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 2nd, AVILA single off Gibson scores KELLY and gets CASTELLANOS to 3B with help from Hicks. The big inning is underway.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the first, Gibson gets V. MARTINEZ to ground into a 3-6-1 DP.
BAD HITTING: Colabello
GOOD PITCHING: Swarzak, ALBURQUERQUE, CHAMBERLAIN
BAD PITCHING: Gibson, Tonkin
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit had it all going on except for a scuffling SCHERZER, and the bottom fell out for the Twins with their clown show 2nd inning.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Two highlight reel plays (oh, they're called "web gems" now, right?) from KELLY (robbing a HR from Suzuki) and CABRERA (3-6-3 DP), or how CABRERA and V. MARTINEZ countered big fails in their first PA's with 3-run bombs later.
Game 33: Deduno v. Ray. Twins 4, TIGERS 3. Up by as much as 3, down by as much as 1.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Dozier-1B Colabello, RAY-ROMINE-CABRERA, ROMINE-KINSLER-CABRERA, KINSLER, P Fien-Colabello, AVILA-KINSLER
MISPLAYS: C Suzuki, ROMINE, LF DAVIS, Parmelee, Colabello
BASERUNNING NEWS: Fun time play in the 8th from CABRERA, alertly taking 2B on a single, after the big round and hesitate, on end-of-play bumbling by RF Parmelee. He gets to 3B with the tying run but no further. Nunez singles in the winning run and then (mercifully) ends the Twins 8th by assuming he'll go to 2B on the throw home. Smart cutoff by KINSLER hangs him out to dry.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 3-1 in the 8th, Pinto single plus error by DAVIS scores 2 off CHAMBERLAIN.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 3B, 2 out, Tigers down 4-3 in the 8th, Perkins retires CASTELLANOS on a flyball to CF.
GOOD HITTING: Pinto, KINSLER
BAD HITTING: Plouffe
GOOD PITCHING: RAY, Perkins
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers had this one in the bag, and a lot would have to go wrong for them to lose. A lot went wrong.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How much it stings to lose a game and a series this way. Also, the pink bats and sleeves are cool, but don't get caught losing with them.
HUH?: Bases loaded, one out in the 4th, JACKSON is struck by the batted ball between 2nd and 3rd and is out. Twins pick up the ball and get the force at 2B as well, but it doesn't count. Gardenhire comes out to argue for two outs, puts on his show, and gets tossed. This inspires DAVIS to ground out to end the inning. It's huge later.
Game 34: Porcello v. Norris. Tigers 4, ORIOLES 1. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 3.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS-CABRERA, CABRERA-PORCELLO, CABRERA-PORCELLO, P Norris, PORCELLO, C Clevenger-2B Schoop, SS Hardy, CASTELLANOS
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER manufactures a run with a SB and a tag-up in the go-ahead 4th. CASTELLANOS awkwardly swings and misses in the 7th and then interferes with Clevenger trying to throw out JACKSON stealing 2B – inning-ending DP.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1B, 2 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 8th, KINSLER 2-run HR off Norris.
THE BIG OUTS: Tigers up 2-1 in the 7th, runner on 2B (and then 3B), KROL retires the side (flyout-groundout-flyout).
GOOD HITTING: Clevenger, KINSLER
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Norris, ALBURQUERQUE, Guillmet
OBVIOUSLY: Good to get 4 runs and a win with only 5 hits (and 8 baserunners total).
DON'T OVERLOOK: The Tigers outshining the O's defensively, or a rare 7 consecutive outs from the bullpen.
HUH?: HUNTER has some words for Norris after getting drilled in the ribs, coincidentally enough right after the KINSLER home run. Tempers flare, Norris gets tossed, benches clear, etc.. PORCELLO is pulled after only 83 pitches (6 innings) with tightness in his side.
Game 35: Smyly v. Jimenez. Tigers 4, ORIOLES 1. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 3.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS, JACKSON, C Joseph-3B Machado, 2B Schoop-SS Hardy-1B Davis, ROMINE CABRERA, KINSLER-ROMINE-CABRERA
BASERUNNING NEWS: V. MARTINEZ and CABRERA both DOA on SB attempts. Both strikeout-throwout double plays. In the same game, the same close game, the same Tigers down 1-0 game. Throw in HUNTER trying to beat a WP that didn't go far and getting gunned down at 3B with 2 on and none out in the 7th, V. MARTINEZ at the plate. Ouch. The oven mitt of PR DAVIS redeems all in the 9th.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 9th, CABRERA 3-run HR off Hunter.
THE BIG OUTS: Men on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 7th, HUNTER is cut down at 3B by Joseph, and then Jimenez gets a 4-6-3 DP off the bat of V. MARTINEZ.
BAD HITTING: Hardy
GOOD PITCHING: SMYLY, Jimenez, MILLER
BAD PITCHING: Hunter
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit struck like lightning in the 9th after 8 goose eggs and at least validated a strong outing from Smyly.
DON'T OVERLOOK: What a gem that 9th inning was, and how it hung by the thread of a little knocker down the 3B line (against the shift) by AVILA, the pinch-runner insertion of DAVIS (and the SB and the AUSMUS challenge that preserved it), and HUNTER drawing a walk in a 3-2 count.
Game 36: Verlander v. Gausman. Tigers 7, ORIOLES 5. Never behind, up by as much as 6.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Schoop, KINSLER, 3B Machado, WORTH, 3B KELLY
MISPLAYS: P Gonzalez
BASERUNNING NEWS: The Tigers' 3-run 4th was an exercise in small ball, hustle, and taking advantage, featuring a double steal (JACKSON-KELLY), but the centerpiece was the unplayable squeeze bunt put down by WORTH to score KELLY. V. MARTINEZ steals 2B in the 7th, aided in large part by disbelieving hesitation on the part of C Clevenger.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 6-2 in the 5th, Cruz hits a 3-run HR off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 2 out, Tigers up 6-5 in the 8th, CHAMBERLAIN retires Markakis on a fly ball to CF.
GOOD HITTING: Cruz
BAD HITTING: Markakis
BAD PITCHING: Gausman
OBVIOUSLY: The offense built up enough of a pad to survive VERLANDER's fall, and the bullpen held.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The bottom of the order – KELLY-HOLADAY-WORTH – reaches 6 times, scoring 4, driving in 3.
HUH?: Cruz had a dirty look and some self-adjustment for VERLANDER after being plunked in the 4th (retaliatory; see Norris-HUNTER). VERLANDER followed up on his gamesmanship by allowing 5 runs the next inning, including a 3-run jack from Cruz.
DEFENSIVE SCORECARD (in terms of outstanding plays one way or the other)
Alex Avila goes day to day with a left shin contusion, and Bryan Holaday gets some consecutive starts… The Tigers (among others in baseball) are pleased with MLB revision of the "transfer rule," a factor in a strange call on Andrew Romine earlier in the season… Bullpen shuffle: Justin Miller down, Jose Ortega up. Oh, wait. Anibal Sanchez to the DL (blister), Miller's back, 8-man bullpen for now… Avila now bothered by back spasms again, which fortuitously sets up Night Of The Living Bunt for Holaday… Detroit plays just 21 games in first 29 days of the season…Free agent reliever Joel Hanrahan, still on the rehab trail, is signed by the Tigers in hopes he might be ready by July, or mid-season, or something like that, and he begins his "spring training" at the Lakeland complex… No indications from Dave Dombrowski that the Tigers are shopping at SS or have any interest in the still-unsigned Stephen Drew… Drew Smyly: "To be honest, I'm kind of sick of the bullpen talk, that it's where I should go. I've been a starter my whole life."… Nick Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera are tied for the team lead, after 25 games, with 17 RBI each… 7 straight starts with 7+ strikeouts from Max Scherzer to begin the season… Robbie Ray (fill-in for Sanchez in the rotation) is added to the 25-man roster, with Ortega returning to Toledo and room cleared on the 40-man roster by outrighting Toledo 1B Jordan Lennerton's ,… Al Alburquerque is called out by Miggy as the worst dresser on the team… Brad Ausmus tosses early BP to Cabrera before Game 29… 8 HR (and fewer strikeouts) after 32 games for Victor Martinez. 5 starters in the lineup are batting .300+ and Cabrera has been picking it up as well after a slow start as far as average and power were concerned (the run production was there all along, and he now has 25 RBI after 32 games)… The Detroit starting pitchers are rock stars: Scherzer has a 2.04 ERA, Justin Verlander 2.67, Smyly 2.70, and Rick Porcello 3.22. They're 17-6 in W-L… Game 32 is Jim Leyland Day at Comerica, and the Tigers celebrate with a convincing win… OF Andy Dirks, recovering from back surgery, resumes light baseball activities with a June return in mind… Ausmus on Don Kelly after a comment on what a good NL guy he'd be: "I don't want Donnie Kelly going anywhere. I want to keep him here." Kelly is currently at .324 with an .820 OPS… Bullpen prospect Corey Knebel is on the fast track, making the jump from Erie to Toledo… Sparingly used OF J.D. Martinez is sporting a 219/257/313 slash with a heaping helping of strikeouts… Everyday Al (Alburquerque) pitches 4 games in a row. "It's good. It's early in the year," Alburquerque said… Detroit has put together both an 8-game win streak and an 8-game road winning streak within this inning… Miller gets his good slider back, at least temporarily… Victor hits a HR in Baltimore's Orioles Park that carries to Eutaw Street beyond the right field stands… Ausmus thinks that defensive shifting in baseball has "probably gone overboard."… Detroit's run prevention, 131 allowed in 36 games, is second in the AL only to Oakland, no other teams even close…. Luke Putkonen (DL) is said to be close to returning… Cabrera hits safely in 16 of 18 games, and the hits are BIG-BIG in at least 6 of those games… The bullpen during this stretch? Well, the two games it can be said to have blown required big help from poor defense to blow. Alburquerque has been good, and Joe Nathan in 8 games and 8 IP had 7 saves and a o.oo ERA… The Tigers NEVER TRAILED in 9 of these games, and a number of those were CONSECUTIVE… Detroit matches its 2013 stolen base total of 35 by Game 36 of 2014.
24-12, 1st in the Central, 1st in the AL, on pace for a 108-54 season…
It began with the 2013/2014 offseason. Jim Leyland stepping down. The surprise hiring of Brad Ausmus and a partial changing of the guard in the coaching staff. The shocking Fielder for Kinsler trade. The puzzling trade of Doug Fister. The can't-miss acquisition of closer Joe Nathan. A number of good players left to go on to greener pastures (Benoit, Peralta, Infante, Veras, etc.). Interesting but speculative acquisitions such as Rajai Davis and Joba Chamberlain.
Spring training came along, and some best-laid plans began to gang a-gley. The news about Jose Iglesias's shins went from bad to worst, and after a flurry of odd SS moves, the team was left with Alex Gonzalez/Andrew Romine. Back surgery for Andy Dirks nixed the Dirks/Rajai Davis LF platoon idea. High hopes for Bruce Rondon's arrival as setup man ran into season-ending Tommy John surgery. Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera seemed OK after offseason surgeries, but Anibal Sanchez ran into sore shoulder problems that shortened his spring.
The media had the Detroit Tigers as quite probable to win the AL pennant, based largely on brand name star power. The fans were more skeptical. The team had lost a lot of offense, and one famous closer does not a bullpen make. On the other hand, the Tigers still had one of the best starting rotations in baseball, still had Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, and maybe this Ausmus fellow would bring a more modern, effective, and perhaps daring approach to managing than we'd seen in a while. There was cautious optimism that team defense and team speed/baserunning had been improved. (How could it be any worse?) Maybe just enough of all the elements was finally in place?
The 2014 edition began the season as:
SP Verlander
SP Scherzer
SP Sanchez
SP Porcello
SP Smyly
RP Nathan
RP Alburquerque
RP Chamberlain
RP Coke
RP Putkonen
RP Reed
RP Krol
C Avila
C Holaday
1B Cabrera
2B Kinsler
SS Gonzalez
IF Romine
3B Castellanos
IF-OF Kelly
RF Hunter
CF Jackson
OF Davis
OF Collins
DH V. Martinez
Game 1: Shields v. Verlander. TIGERS 4, Royals 3. Down by as much as 2, up by as much as 1. Walk-off win.
NICE PLAYS: 3B Moustakas, VERLANDER, 1B Hosmer, KINSLER, GONZALEZ, CF Cain
BASERUNNING NEWS: CASTELLANOS gunned down by LF Gordon on ill-advised attempt to stretch a single.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 2nd, 2 out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 7th, GONZALEZ triples off Crow to score AVILA.
THE BIG OUT: Runner on 2nd, 2 out, 3-3 in the 8th, ALBURQUERQUE retires Cain.
GOOD HITTING: Perez, GONZALEZ
BAD HITTING: Gordon
GOOD PITCHING: Shields, TIGERS bullpen
BAD PITCHING: Crow
OBVIOUSLY: The comeback win at home on Opening Day is sweet, especially against the chief division rival.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The JACKSON triple off Shields that set up run #2, or AUSMUS pinch-running COLLINS for AVILA in the 9th.
HUH?: HUNTER drops a routine flyball, and VERLANDER walks in a run.
Game 2: Vargas v. Scherzer. TIGERS 2, Royals 1 (10). Never behind, up by as much as 1. Walk-off win.
NICE PLAYS: LF COLLINS, CASTELLANOS (2), CABRERA, SS Escobar-1B Hosmer, LF Gordon, KINSLER, ALBURQUERQUE
BASERUNNING NEWS: Avila caught stealing 2B, GONZALEZ runs on contact into an out at home.
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, 1-1 in the 10th, KINSLER hit to left center off Collins scores JACKSON to win it.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, 1-1 in the 9th, NATHAN retires Hayes (4-3 groundout).
GOOD HITTING: KINSLER (= Tigers offense)
BAD HITTING: Butler, Cabrera
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Vargas, ALBURQUERQUE
BAD PITCHING: Collins, NATHAN
OBVIOUSLY: A nail-biter and a great duel that SCHERZER should have won.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How NATHAN blew the win for SCHERZER, or the ALBURQUERQUE play and AUSMUS challenge that erased Aoki from 1B in the 10th, ending the threat and the inning.
Game 3: Gonzalez v. Sanchez. TIGERS 10, Orioles 4. Down by as much as 2, up by as much as 8.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS, LF Lough, 2B Lombardozzi, ROMINE (2), CABRERA
MISPLAYS: LF Lough, SS Flaherty, LF DAVIS, HUNTER, ROMINE, JACKSON
BASERUNNING NEWS: Aggression doesn't pay off for JACKSON (stretching a single v. Lough) or CASTELLANOS (overrunning 3B). V. MARTINEZ steals 2B.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers down 2-0 in the 2nd, CASTELLANOS 2-run double off Gonzalez.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, Tigers up 3-2 in the 4th, SANCHEZ retires the side (groundout-popout-strikeout).
GOOD HITTING: DAVIS, CABRERA, CASTELLANOS, HUNTER, Davis
BAD HITTING: V. MARTINEZ, Flaherty
BAD PITCHING: Gonzalez, Webb, CHAMBERLAIN
OBVIOUSLY: Early offense and strong middle relief made it a cakewalk.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The importance of SMYLY's shutdown innings with SANCHEZ going only 4, and how the rain delay played to the Tigers' advantage.
THE BAD CALL: Would-be DP where ROMINE had the force and then dropped the ball was ruled safe all around. Challenged to no avail.
Game 4: Norris v. Porcello. TIGERS 7, Orioles 6. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 6.
NICE PLAYS: LF DAVIS (2), SS Hardy, 2B Lombardozzi
MISPLAYS: KINSLER, HUNTER (2), 3B Schoop, GONZALEZ (2)
BASERUNNING NEWS: KELLY beats CF Jones to score on a shallow sac fly from DAVIS.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded, 1 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 3rd, HUNTER clears the bases with a double off Norris.
THE BIG OUTS: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers up 7-6 in the 9th, NATHAN retires Cruz (strikeout) and Davis (with big help from LF DAVIS) to end the game not a moment too soon, formerly big lead almost evaporated.
GOOD HITTING: HUNTER, KELLY, PH Clevenger
BAD HITTING: Cruz
BAD PITCHING: Norris, COKE, Matusz, NATHAN
OBVIOUSLY: Detroit made it look easy for 8 innings.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How defense helped the Tigers bullpen crumble, or how the HUNTER-PORCELLO two-man show (less HUNTER's defense, mind you) kept that from being fatal.
Game 5: Tillman v. Verlander. Orioles 3, TIGERS 1. Up by as much as 1, down by as much as 2.
NICE PLAYS: 2B Lombardozzi, ROMINE, SS Flaherty (2), JACKSON, LF Lough, RF Markakis, LF COLLINS
BASERUNNING NEWS: Markakis stretching the double to RF into a triple is huge.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 1 out, 1-1 in the 8th, Markakis triples off VERLANDER.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-1 in the 9th, Hunter retires JACKSON (strikeout) and COLLINS (groundout) to end the game.
BAD HITTING: Lough, JACKSON
GOOD PITCHING: Tillman, VERLANDER, Hunter
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers just ran into "better" beating "good."
DON'T OVERLOOK: How strong Orioles defense supported strong pitching from Tillman.
Game 6: Scherzer v. Haren. DODGERS 3, Tigers 2 (10). Never in the lead, down by as much as 1. Walk-off loss.
MISPLAYS: JACKSON-SCHERZER, CF Kemp, LF DAVIS
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER legging out a double was impressive. V. MARTINEZ caught stealing 2B in the 9th was deadly.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, 1 out, 2-2 in the 10th, Crawford double to LF off COKE past the not quite capable DAVIS scores Figgins from 1B to win it.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 2B, none out, Tigers down 2-1 in the 9th, Jansen retires KELLY (groundout 3B) and CABRERA (strikeout) before V. MARTINEZ knocks in the tying run and then commits suicide on base.
GOOD PITCHING: Haren, SCHERZER, Dodgers bullpen
OBVIOUSLY: Just a close one that got away after Detroit came back to tie it.
DON'T OVERLOOK: CABRERA 0 for 4, RISP twice.
HUH?: Dee Gordon hits a HR off SCHERZER.
OUCH: HUNTER damages his knee sliding into the RF wall (foul territory) and leaves the game.
Game 7: Sanchez v. Beckett. Tigers 7, DODGERS 6 (10). Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 3.
NICE PLAYS: C V. MARTINEZ, P Beckett, GONZALEZ-CABRERA, CASTELLANOS (2), 2B Gordon, SS Ramirez-Gordon-1B Gonzalez, Ramirez, RF COLLINS, CHAMBERLAIN
MISPLAYS: C V. MARTINEZ (2), V. MARTINEZ-GONZALEZ, GONZALEZ, Gordon, Ramirez-Gonzalez, Ramirez
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER put on a show, manufacturing himself from 1B into a run not once but twice. Detroit was burned by a squeeze play, Beckett bunting with 2 strikes to put the Dodgers ahead (briefly).
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 6-5 in the 9th, Gordon RBI single off NATHAN.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, none out, Tigers up 6-4 in the 9th, NATHAN strikes out Puig.
GOOD HITTING: CASTELLANOS, V. MARTINEZ, Uribe
BAD PITCHING: NATHAN, Beckett, Jansen
OBVIOUSLY: NATHAN blew up, and V. MARTINEZ took the game back with his 10th inning HR. Phew.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How awful V. MARTINEZ was catching, or how much better RF has been the last couple without HUNTER.
HUH?: SANCHEZ hits an RBI double Miggy woulda been proud of.
Game 8: Porcello v. Cashner. PADRES 6, Tigers 0. Behind all the way.
NICE PLAYS: ROMINE (2), KINSLER (2), 1B Alonso, JACKSON, AVILA-ROMINE-1B V. MARTINEZ, Cashner, 3B CABRERA, 1B V. MARTINEZ
MISPLAYS: Headley (2), RF KELLY, 1B V. MARTINEZ
BASERUNNING NEWS: Hey, DAVIS swiped a couple bases in the one inning the Tigers had any chance against Cashner.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 3rd, 2 out, 0-0 in the 1st, Gyorko RBI triple off PORCELLO.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 2-0 in the 6th, CABRERA grounds into a 5-4-3 DP off Cashner, killing Detroit's second and last rally shortly after their first and only hit.
GOOD HITTING: Headley
GOOD PITCHING: Cashner
OBVIOUSLY: Way outpitched and outhit, the Tigers did manage some good defense.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How much good baseball there actually was in a hopeless game.
HUH?: Four RF wall collisions in three games for Tigers right fielders. KELLY's OK after his second.
Game 9: Verlander v. Kennedy. Tigers 6, PADRES 2. Never behind, up by as much as 4.
NICE PLAYS: CF Venable, RF Denorfia, KINSLER, CASTELLANOS, 1B Alonso, LF Smith, 3B Headley, C Grandal
MISPLAYS: AVILA, Headley, JACKSON
BASERUNNING NEWS: CASTELLANOS, in between his own double and the AVILA single that follows, gets picked off 2B by C Grandal.
THE BIG HIT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 2-1 in the 4th, HUNTER 2-run single off Kennedy.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 4-2 in the 5th, VERLANDER strikes out Headley.
BAD PITCHING: Stauffer
OBVIOUSLY: The kind of win you expect from VERLANDER and the Tigers offense.
DON'T OVERLOOK: 3 runs scored by DAVIS, one from each base, without stealing a base.
HUH?: VERLANDER picks up his first 2 MLB hits and scores a run, but is almost thrown out by RF Denorfia on the second single.
Game 10: Scherzer vs. Ross. PADRES 5, Tigers 1. Never ahead, down by as much as 4.
NICE PLAYS: LF DAVIS, 2B Gyorko, SS Cabrera-1B Alonso, LF Smith
MISPLAYS: C V. MARTINEZ (2), GONZALEZ, 3B Headley
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, 1-1 in the 4th, Venable 2-run double to RF off SCHERZER. Alonso scoring from 1B without much of a play underscores the flatness of the whole Tigers effort.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 3rd, Ross retires KINSLER on a groundout to 2B.
GOOD HITTING: Venable
GOOD PITCHING: Ross
OBVIOUSLY: The kind of loss you don't expect from SCHERZER and the Tigers offense.
DON'T OVERLOOK: 104 pitches through 5 made SCHERZER's 10 K's and the lack of run support something of a moot point.
Game 11: McAllister v. Sanchez. Indians 3, TIGERS 2. Never ahead, down by as much as 2.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS, RF Murphy (2), C Gomes, CF Bourn, HUNTER, AVILA, LF DAVIS, KINSLER-CABRERA, 1B Swisher-SS Cabrera
MISPLAYS: CABRERA, AVILA, 2B Kipnis, Bourn
BASERUNNING NEWS: Good read, good call, good hustle as AVILA steams into 3B as the tying run late after a Bourn bobble. KINSLER rundown ruse between 1st and 2nd with DAVIS on the loose from 2B is a nice try but stymied by the Indians. Running on contact works as CABRERA's grounder to SS scores KINSLER from 3B.
THE BIG HIT: None on, 1 out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 9th, AVILA doubles off Axford in the 9th and advances to 3B on E8.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-2 in the 9th, Axford retires KELLY (strikeout) and DAVIS (groundout to SS) to end the game.
GOOD HITTING: Gomes
BAD HITTING: HUNTER, Santana
GOOD PITCHING: McAllister, Axford, REED and the TIGERS bullpen
OBVIOUSLY: You have to be disappointed in the offense's failure to take this one.
DON'T OVERLOOK: What a big factor defense was on both sides, mostly for good.
HUH?: The Indians swung at only 1 of SANCHEZ's first 19 pitches (he walked the bases loaded). He recovered to strike out 8 through 5. Both teams combined for a 2-22 RISP.
Game 12: Salazar v. Verlander. TIGERS 7, Indians 5. Down by as much as 2, up by as much as 3.
NICE PLAYS: GONZALEZ, CF Bourn, AVILA-KINSLER
MISPLAYS: VERLANDER, AVILA, SS Cabrera, P Lee, KROL, C Gomes, CASTELLANOS
BASERUNNING NEWS: CABRERA going 1st to 3rd on a hit and run, DAVIS turning a pickoff into standing at 3B, a HUNTER infield single, and ROMINE going 1st to 3rd on SB + E – a Detroit baserunning show to go with 2 sac flies from JACKSON!
THE BIG HIT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-1 in the 5th, KINSLER go-ahead 3-run HR off Salazar.
THE BIG OUT: Bases loaded, 2 out, 0-0 in the 3rd, VERLANDER strikes out Kipnis.
GOOD HITTING: Brantley, KINSLER
BAD HITTING: Kipnis
BAD PITCHING: Salazar, KROL
OBVIOUSLY: The Tigers offense answered the call when pitching and defense sagged.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How a capitalizing offense with legs made it happen, or the importance of AVILA cutting down Bourn stealing 2B in the 8th.
HUH?: Jason Kipnis strikes out swinging against VERLANDER and then gets himself ejected… by arguing a previous called strike.
Game 13: Weaver v. Smyly. Angels 11, TIGERS 6. Never ahead, down by as much as 10.
NICE PLAYS: KINSLER (2), 2B McDonald
BASERUNNING NEWS: V. Martinez trifecta in the 9th! A. Hit double to RF, get to 1B. B. Only get as far as 2B on a single to RF. C. Get deked and then hung up between 2nd and 3rd for the last out of the game.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 1st, 2 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 2nd, Stewart RBI triple off PORCELLO.
THE BIG OUTS: Man on 3rd, 1 out, 0-0 in the 1st, SMYLY retires Pujols (strikeout) and Kendrick (groundout to SS).
GOOD HITTING: Trout, Kendrick, Pujols, Stewart
GOOD PITCHING: Weaver
BAD PITCHING: SMYLY, PUTKONEN, Wall
OBVIOUSLY: Blown out by a team that has kicked their butts 10 straight now.
DON'T OVERLOOK: One glorious inning where the Tigers sent 10 to the plate.
HUH?: SMYLY's first start of the season, PUTKONEN's second appearance.
Game 14: Wilson v. Scherzer. TIGERS 5, Angels 2. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 4.
NICE PLAYS: C Conger-2B Kendrick, CABRERA-ROMINE, CF Trout, SS Aybar, CASTELLANOS, P Wilson, KINSLER (2), LF Shuck
MISPLAYS: RF Boesch
BASERUNNING NEWS: CABRERA tags and advances to 3B, beating a good throw from Trout (and it took a good throw, because he'd been deked by CABRERA into throwing late). ROMINE dares Shuck in stretching a single and loses. HOLADAY puts down a beauty of a bunt for an IF single, later scores.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 1st, 1 out, Tigers down 1-0 in the 2nd, CASTELLANOS 2-run HR off Wilson.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers up 3-1 in the 5th, SCHERZER strikes out.
GOOD PITCHING: SCHERZER, Herrera, Chamberlain
BAD PITCHING: Wilson
OBVIOUSLY: A satisfying win, taking over the lead early and holding onto it with ease.
DON'T OVERLOOK: The importance of the AUSMUS challenge on the CABRERA-to-3B play, how Detroit capitalized, and how the Angels didn't under similar circumstances the very next inning.
HUH?: Golden sombrero for Trout.
Game 15: Santiago v. Porcello. TIGERS 2, Angels 1. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 1.
NICE PLAYS: AVILA (2), 1B V. Martinez-PORCELLO, KENDRICK (2)
MISPLAYS: HUNTER-1B V. MARTINEZ, P Santiago-C Conger, Conger (2), 2B Kendrick
BASERUNNING NEWS: KINSLER scores from 1B on a remarkable 3-error play, with hustle and some luck. ROMINE gets beat twice and still manages to get the two SB in with deft slides. Tigers push and run the Angels ragged.
THE BIG HIT: Runner on 2nd, 2 out, 1-1 in the 6th, CASTELLANOS RBI single off Jepsen.
THE BIG OUT: Man on 1st, none out, 1-1 in the 6th, PORCELLO retires Pujols (6-4-3 DP).
GOOD PITCHING: PORCELLO, Santiago, NATHAN, KROL, ALBURQUERQUE
OBVIOUSLY: Well-pitched and saved by one clutch hit.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How Detroit's aggressive baserunning paid off, challenging the L.A. defense and winning (both runs unearned). Good thing, because the bats were 1-11 RISP.
Game 16: Danks v. Sanchez. White Sox 3, TIGERS 1. Up by as much as 1, down by as much as 2.
NICE PLAYS: CASTELLANOS, KINSLER-CABRERA, 2B Semien (2), SS Ramirez, CABRERA (2)
MISPLAYS: JACKSON, 3B Gilaspie, CASTELLANOS, LF DAVIS, RF Viciedo, CF Danks
BASERUNNING NEWS: Viciedo's evasive slide to the plate beats AVILA and scores an injurious insurance run.
THE BIG HIT: Man on 2nd, 2 out, Tigers up 1-0 in the 7th, Abreu RBI double off SANCHEZ.
THE BIG OUT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Tigers down 3-1 in the 7th, Belisario retires KINSLER (inning-ending 5-4-3 DP).
BAD HITTING: KINSLER, Dunn
GOOD PITCHING: Danks, REED
OBVIOUSLY: A pitchers duel of sorts, more offensive frustration (0-10 RISP), and certainly one that got away.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Where it all unraveled for SANCHEZ after dominating, the Abreu double falling just on the RF chalk when HUNTER had so very far to go and slid a bit early. Bad break. But Detroit had their chances, before and after.
Game 17: Leesman v. Verlander. TIGERS 8, White Sox 6. Down by as much as 1, up by as much as 7.
NICE PLAYS: AVILA, ROMINE (2), SS Ramirez-1B Konerko, ROMINE-KINSLER, 3B Semien-C Nieto, LF J. MARTINEZ
MISPLAYS: RF Viciedo, SS Ramirez, C Flowers-2B Garcia, Garcia, LF J. MARTINEZ, Semien
BASERUNNING NEWS: Tigers are running hard and well all over the place, even the less speedy guys, and it translates to runs. Notable exceptions being AVILA caught stealing 2B easily, and CABRERA just standing at the plate on a tapper where KINSLER made it 2B to 3B (beating C Flowers's throw) and he could have reached. V. MARTINEZ legs out a double, tags and advances twice to score!
THE BIG HIT: Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out, 1-1 in the 3rd, KINSLER 2 -run double off Leesman scores ROMINE and DAVIS (these three on the basepaths at the same time is like some kind of harmonic convergence).
THE BIG OUT: Men on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, 1-1 in the 2nd, VERLANDER retires Flowers (inning-ending 6-4-3 DP).
GOOD HITTING: CABRERA, KINSLER, Viciedo, Dunn
BAD HITTING: Flowers, HUNTER
GOOD PITCHING: VERLANDER, Putnam
BAD PITCHING: Leesman, COKE
OBVIOUSLY: A solid win that the bullpen declined to help with.
DON'T OVERLOOK: Detroit had their hitting shoes on but may have caught a break in dodging a Chris Sale start (DL).
HUH?: COKE strikes out 2 and then blows up.
Game 18: Rienzo v. Smyly. White Sox 6, TIGERS 4. Up by as much as 2, down by as much as 2.
NICE PLAYS: SMYLY, CF Danks (2), AVILA-CASTELLANOS, SS Ramirez, SMYLY-CASTELLANOS, 2B Garcia, CABRERA (2), ROMINE, Abreu
BASERUNNING NEWS: White Sox baserunners got hung out to dry a couple times by the alert Tigers.
THE BIG HIT: Bases loaded (by REED), 2 out, Tigers up 4-2 in the 7th, Semien grand slam off KROL.
THE BIG OUT: Men on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out, Tigers down 6-4 in the 9th, Lindstrom retires AVILA (line out to 1B on a 3-0 pitch!).
GOOD HITTING: Semien, JACKSON
BAD HITTING: De Aza
GOOD PITCHING: SMYLY, Belisario
OBVIOUSLY: The double whammy of losing a 2-run lead on one pitch and then leaving the tying runs on base to end the game.
DON'T OVERLOOK: How the pitch count limit on SMYLY opened the door to bullpen disaster, one bad pitch from KROL proving to be the difference in a well-played game.
DEFENSIVE SCORECARD (in terms of outstanding plays one way or the other)
Postponements (home game rainouts) add to an unusual amount of April down time… Miguel Cabrera gets his 2,000th career hit… Torii Hunter goes day to day with bruised knee… Evan Reed's in trouble with the law… Joe Nathan reports a dead arm… Miggy not liking his swing: "My swing, he wants to pull the ball right now."… Alex Avila off to a 3 for 23, 14 K start, and the "need to get him going" theme is revisited… Justin Miller up from Toledo to refresh a "taxed bullpen," OF Tyler Collins (.143 in limited action) sent down to Toledo… Austin Jackson is thriving in the #6 spot… The Alex Gonzalez experiment ends after only 3 weeks with his release, and the ever-buoyant Danny Worth rises up from Toledo again… Some guy named J.D. Martinez has hit 10 HR in 17 games with the Mud Hens and gets the call as a bench bat when little-used Luke Putkonen is placed on the DL with elbow inflammation… Max Scherzer and 1B Cabrera work on fielding communication drills before a game… Robbie Ray gets off to a good start in AAA… Brad Ausmus on Phil Coke: "There's got to be spots where he can pitch."… Cabrera's OPS sits at .698… Justin Verlander is 3-1, 2.18 though 4 starts, and Scherzer is also off to nice start at 1-1, 2.33.
10-8, 1st in the Central, 4th in the AL, on pace for a 90-72 season…
Admittedly, I've browsed a few articles here and there, and forced myself to stay with sporadic MLB highlights before changing the channel to something less kick me in the gut, but the sting of the 2014 playoffs still remains.
I know you feel it.
As Tigers fanatics, we have entered into that dangerous limbo of good but not great, where expectations crescendo into a World Series or else mentality, and anything less is, well, unacceptable.
I remember seeing empty seats at Braves home playoff games in the 90s, and more recently in Tampa Bay, and thinking what spoiled, thankless punks those fans are.
Now our Tigers fans have not fallen to the same level of apathy; but I can see how that would be easier than the disappointment we are experiencing now.
For a while, early on, this team had it. The 27-12 start was a mix of offense, clutch hitting, and shutdown pitching, from both the starters and relievers. But for some reason, in early May, we lost it, and we spent the rest of the 2014 season looking for it. The talent on this team was so overwhelmingly good, that the Tigers were still able to win the division (I get that the AL Central is weak, but we can only play the schedule as given) even though the club played .500 ball for the final 3/4 of the season. This team lacked leadership and decisiveness at the top, and the lack of those intangibles manifested themselves into a shell of a playoff baseball team over four days in October. That "playoff team" was, unfortunately, exactly what we had come to expect.
And so we're left to yearn for what could have been, or even worse, to try to ignore the yearning. It wrenches my sports heart, and clouds my ability to enjoy some entertaining baseball being played right now.
But eventually, the pain and disappointment will wear away. I know this from experience.
Somehow, some way, in the not too distant future, the pain will be replaced by hope, excitement, and even blind faith, though those feelings will be just a little bit weaker than this year's. And so the pattern will continue until we are no longer contenders, or win on the final day of the baseball season.
So says a fan.
Still, there is a game today, and for the sellout crowd who shelled out for tickets, I hope the Tigers don't go quietly into that nap. Hey, look, there are fans of 22 teams out there who only wish they could watch their teams play today. And the Tigers are actually in a better position, if you can imagine, than the two teams who most experts picked to meet in the World Series, the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels, who were both swept in two games at home. Only a late-inning Dodger home run has kept the 2014 ALDS round from having the look of a sweepapalooza.
It's pointless to give a Game 2 re-crap now, since we've all been through it too many times–though that hasn't stopped Captain Obvious and all his lieutenants in the national media from providing expert opinions which could be summarized as: the Tigers have bullpen problems. Who knew? Although to be fair, the numbers for the consecutive 8th-inning blowups are literally amazing.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the game, while it was happening, was listening to the TBS announcers more or less call everything in advance. You've got to bring Sanchez back out, you can't go back to what you did yesterday (here comes Chamberlain). The Orioles have 3 outfielders with strong arms, you have to be careful about trying to run on them (there goes Cabrera). Be careful here, you know Delmon Young is going to be going after the first pitch (here comes hanging slider up over the middle of the plate). The Tigers have a very weak bench (Carrera goes stumbling around center; the Tigers end the game with nobody better to send to the plate than Perez-Romine-Suarez).Perhaps must frustrating of all was the repeated line "the Tigers need to play this like it's an elimination game." Brad Ausmus managed the game like it was a mid-season game against the White Sox, "saving" his pitchers when their pitch counts got high, using his "8th-inning guys" because, well, it was the 8th inning, etc.
I think a lot of us, perhaps unfairly, looked forward to the change to the Ausmus regime, thinking we'd get some different approaches, some creativity, some life outside the standard operating procedures. No such luck. I said "perhaps unfairly" because it's only his first year on the job, at any level. Also–and I think this point is overlooked–he inherited half the coaching staff from the Leyland regime, pitching coach Jeff Jones and bench coach Gene Lamont. If Ausmus is back next season (I would be surprised if he isn't), I would feel much better if he said OK this is MY staff now and replaced Lamont and Jones, and figured out what the Brad Ausmus way of managing really is.
I know some of us frustrated fans have said we might as well lose today and get it over with. I get the frustration, and there is nothing more wearying than waiting for the inevitable bullpen collapse: you can't even enjoy being in the lead by 3 runs. Not me though, I'll be rooting all the way. I think the best chance we have would be for David "Complete Game" Price to show up. And for the bats to not go into hiding like some overly-shy clan of wooden leprechauns. But if we do have to lose this afternoon, the rascal in me would prefer it goes down like this: Price takes a lead into the 8th, Ausmus pulls him out, Chamberlain comes in…. Might as well make some heads explode on our way out.
Today's Donkey-Time Lineup:
Price, P
Forgotten Man: Holaday
Win this game and we're going home, tied 1-1, with David Freaking Price pitching game 3. That's right, DAVID PRICE.
To get us there, Verlander will have to be Playoff Justin, and not 2014 Regular Season Justin. By "Playoff Justin" I mean the guy with a 30-inning scoreless streak in the division series. The guy who still haunts the Oakland A's. The guy who, time and time again, has put this team on his shoulders and delivered a win when we needed it most. Verlander hasn't walked a batter over his past two starts, and I think he's just as sharp today, if not even better.
Rajai Davis still CF. Good for the lineup, not sure if this is good for the defense.
Lots of stats in the Baseball-Reference game preview here.
My pick for player of the game is Kinsler. He's been a complete player as of late, and I think he sparks the offense today.
Today's #DoItForTheRotation lineup (with stats v. Wei-Yin Chen). Chen is pretty good, our hitters are better.
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B (3 for 10)
2. Torii Hunter, RF (1 for 4)
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B (1 for 4)
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. J.D. Martinez, LF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Alex Avila, C
8. Andrew Romine, SS
9. Rajai Davis, CF (1 for 3)
But that's not going to happen.
Let's be candid. Last night sucked.
The Tigers played from behind last night all game, Scherzer failed to pitch to the level of an ace, Hunter couldn't come up with a big hit, and the bullpen got de—-stroyed.
By any interpretation, this was absolutely the worst possible start to a series we could have hoped for.
But it's just one game.
Remember when we had the best start to a series we could have possibly hoped for? Up 4 runs in the 8th inning with a 1-0 series lead, on the road? I mean, could we have felt any better then?
This is why winning the division was so important. We can stretch the series out. We get at least one game at home.
More coming soon.]]>
In case you haven't seen the story yet, when Max Scherzer was going around collecting signatures to receive playoff share money on Wednesday, Cabrera wasn't interested: "I just want the ring."
And with those 5 words, the tone for Detoit's 2014 ALDS has been set. No excuses, no distractions (not even money), nothing will do but the ring.
(Does anyone else find it odd that you actually have to sign up for playoff money? One would think they team would distribute it automatically. I suppose it's one of those quaint remnants, like golfers having to keep their own scores).
I had just read this article about Cabrera as team leader, with a strange disparity between the headline ("Cabrera Speaks Loudly") and the content (he is a quiet leader), but Cabrera's response to the playoff share signup was simultaneously quiet and very, very loud (it's the top trending topic on Facebook).
The Detroit ALDS Roster has finally been released (the team had been waiting as long as possible to gauge Rajai's ability to play–they submitted the roster 15 minutes before the 10 am deadline):
RHP Al Alburquerque
RHP Joba Chamberlain
LHP Phil Coke
LHP Kyle Lobstein
RHP Joe Nathan
RHP Rick Porcello
LHP David Price
RHP Anibal Sanchez
RHP Max Scherzer
RHP Joakim Soria
RHP Justin Verlander
Alex Avila
Bryan Holaday
1B Miguel Cabrera
3B Nick Castellanos
2B Ian Kinsler
INF Hernan Perez
INF Andrew Romine
INF Eugenio Suarez
OF Ezequiel Carrera
OF Rajai Davis
OF Torii Hunter
INF/OF Don Kelly
OF J.D. Martinez
Victor Martinez
There aren't really any surprises, unless you count leaving out Blaine Hardy, who had a good season, until his last two appearances, in which he was awful. Hernan Perez on the roster means that the team doesn't foresee any issues with Rajai Davis, which would have resulted in an extra outfielder. Speaking of which, I don't really trust Carrera as a defensive replacement, but there he is. I was holding out a faint hope for Tyler Collins. (Edit: Ausmus said that Hernan was going to be on the roster regardless; if Rajai wasn't good to go they would have added Collins and gone 1 short in the bullpen).
Today's Show-Me-The-Ring Lineup:
Scherzer, P
Baseball Reference Game Preview. Baltimore's Chris Tillman has had a pretty good career against current Tiger hitters: .238 BA against, .671 OPS against. One notable exception has been Miguel Cabrera, who has hit Tillman at .385 with an OPS of 1.159.
The good news is that Max's numbers have been almost exactly the same against the Orioles: .238 BA against, .663 OPS against. But hold your breath when Nelson Cruz comes to the plate: Cruz hits Scherzer for .381 (.952 OPS), and absolutely bombed him in his one postseason game facing him (2 doubles, a HR, 5 RBI).
Season Series: Detroit 5, Baltimore 1, including a 3-game sweep in Baltimore. (Tillman had only Baltimore win).]]>
I figured I would throw out a new post for pre-ALDS talk. As you may have heard by now, the Tigers have announced their starting rotation for the playoffs, which goes Scherzer/Verlander/Price/Porcello, ending the speculation/hope of some that they would buck tradition and go with a three-man rotation.
Chris Tillman (13-6, 3.34) is going for Baltimore in the opener, but the Orioles have yet to announce their rotation beyond that.
The actual schedule of the first three games of the series is out:
Those 3:07 (if Pirates win) and 3:45 games would seem to favor the pitchers, with the odd late-afternoon shadow factor. Sunday would also seem to be courting a little panic in Detroit with the Lions' home game ending shortly after the Tigers begin.
Tonight the Royals and A's play their game 163 (otherwise known as the Wild Card game). I'd love to see KC win. Besides representing the much-maligned Central, the A's just plain got buried by the Angels at the end of the season, and it would be nice to see someone take out the Angels and save Detroit from another horrid LA experience. The Royals seem to have a better chance at that than Oakland. Of course, as I am typing this the Royals just ran into an out from 3rd, not a good sign.
In other Tiger news, Victor Martinez was nominated for the Hank Aaron Award, and Miguel Cabrera was named the AL Player of the Month for September.
It's pretty simple here friends. Thanks to the White Sox, the Tigers still control their own destiny, even if those evil baseball schedule makers did force us to end the seasons against the Twins.
Win and we win the division. Lose and we can still win the division, if the Royals lose. If the Royals win, we are playing in Comerica on Monday for the division. Win that, and it's against the Orioles (on Wed, I think). Lose that, and it's against the Mariners or Athletics in Detroit on Tues for the right to play in the ALDS.
That's a pretty messy paragraph, so it would be much preferred that David Price step up and deliver.
David Price has been a front of the rotation pitcher in Detroit, but he hasn't been an ace. A guy who, on a consistent basis, steps up and stops a losing streak, lets the bullpen rest, and delivers a W. Today is his chance. Last time out Price had a gem working through 8, then was charged with 3 ER in the 9th, and ended up with a no-decision. Note, he's posting a 1.18 WHIP and .670 OPS against with the Tigers, so some luck has factored into his 3.97 ERA during that time. But Aces make it happen any way they have to.
The Twins send Kyle Gibson to the mound to close out what will be a winning head to head record against the Tigers, no matter what happens today. Gibson is 2-2 against the Tigers this season, but the Tigers have hit him hard, batting .325 with an .826 OPS for a 6.86 ERA. He's walked 10 Tigers batters in 19 2/3 innings this season, so patience should lead to hittable pitches and walks.
In case you are wondering, the Royals – White Sox starts an hour after the Tigers game, not that will matter…
As I'm sure you've seen by now, spark plug Rajai Davis strained his pelvis in the batters box last night (I know that players adjust themselves a lot, but this seems excessive), and is out for a few days. He claims he'd be ready by Thursday, which is when the division series should start. Carrerra gets the start in CF, which is baffling to me, considering the consistently awful defense we see as a team. Ausmus even mentioned the poor defense in his post game interview last night. Kelly also bats left, is a significantly better fielder than Carrera, and gets on base at a better clip (.333 to .300). I just don't get it.
Baseball Reference Game Preview here.
1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Martinez, LF
6. Avila, C
7. Castellanos, 3B
8. Romine, SS
9. Carrera, CF