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PREGAME: Interesting match-up of young pitchers tonight with Justin Verlander taking on Adam Loewen.
Verlander is coming off a start in which he limited the Royals to one unearned run on 2 hits. It wasn’t a perfect outing though with 5 walks.
Loewen was the 4th overall pick in the 2002 draft. The left hander went 5 innings in his first start this year allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 K’s.
With the left-hander on the mound, the Tigers will bat Ivan Rodriguez lead-off. Luckily his foot is feeling good enough to keep him in the lineup. It will also be the debut of Marcus Thames at first base.
Game Time 7:05. This one is on FSN +. The channel number will vary by your provider, but a complete listing can be found at Fox’s website.
POSTGAME: From Fangraphs:
Kind of tired after that one. So I’ll let the graph tell most of the story.
- Great outing by Verlander who was money, save for a blip where he couldn’t get the ball down.
- Great outing by Fernando Rodney who seems to have gotten his groove back.
- Great outing by Wil Ledezma who has been awesome. I’d love for him to be able to slide into the rotation
- Brandon Inge looked great in his first two plate appearances and awful in his last 3
- Thank you Craig Monroe!
- Here’s hoping Mike Maroth can make it through 6 tomorrow. The pen consists of Mesa and Zumaya tomorrow night. (Seay can probably go again and Jonesy will if need be)
{ 136 comments… read them below or add one }
Just to let everyone know, I had a dream that this game ends up being one of those “routine wins” everyone is looking for. Don’t know any details, but I remember Todd Jones wasn’t eligible for a save, so we won by more than three.
In my dream.
Oh, and Inge gets his first hit.
There, what did I tell you?
attaboy inge
Go Inge!
finally, at-a-boy inge
Adam, you’re clairvoyant!
I don’t agree with giving the pitchers a warning there.
Really? I don’t know how much more blatant the Sheff hit could have been.
(And by hit I mean bean, for all future look-backers on this thread.)
I just thought it had a real nice tail on it.
Verlander is pitching way too well for us not to produce some runs for him.
Ten baserunners in 5 innings. Is the offense breaking out of the slump? True the big hit hasn’t been there, but it’s nice having scoring chances for a change.
Loewen’s at 95 pitches after 5. He’s got to be about done.
Inge….he just can’t hide his happiness. Did you see the little smiles and visible relief on his face?
All these hits and no runs. Looks like a nail-biter to the end.
someone is going to connect for a deep one against Parrish
Anybody going with Granderson?
I think Curtis has seen enough left handers tonight
I know I’m getting here late, but YAY Brandon! Now, let’s score some runs.
‘Lander got through that one in less than ten pitches. Give him another inning or two.
And by the way, this is the most boring game all season.
Just a heads up to y’all, if you can split your attention Felix Hernandez has a no hitter going in the 7th
Too bad they took him out (according to Gameday, Pineiro is pitching.)
Um. Retract that. Excuse me for being an idiot and looking at the wrong team.
Umm, isn’t Pineiro pitching for Boston?
Wouldn’t it be cool to see Hernandez upstage Matsuzaka with a no-hitter?
Yeah, yeah…
Sorry Adam, you’re on top of it!
C’mon Inge, this is the perfect time to break out!
Or not. *sigh*
No more no-no
….Aaaand Drew breaks it up with a single. No hit no more.
Apparently, Billfer’s jinx works for other teams, too…
Who is going to come up big for the Tigers with a clutch hit or homer. I almost hate to say it but Rodney looks good
Steve
Am I the only one that every time they see a big strike out hears Dan Dickerson’s “and..he..GOT-em-on-strikes”
So…here’s a question. On MLB.com, it says there are two pitchers tied for first with a 0.0 ERA. Neither of them is Verlander or Jones or any of our pitchers. Why is that?
First hit, first error…who am I talking about?
Now this is getting reminiscent of the last game of the year against KC. Rodney allows a baserunner, and Inge throws high to second base on a double play ball.
Maybe they don’t have the minumum number of innings?
Like Rodney needs any help keeping things interesting. Bad time for an error.
Monstrous pop-out.
Fernando “Mr. Excitement” Rodney. Sheesh.
The only thing MLB.com says is “Minimum of 1 inning pitched per game.” So…
Hmmm. Anti-Detroit bias, I guess.
You promised, Billfer, no more “last year” talk.
I’m beginning to wonder if Verlander is going to be the “great pitcher who gets no run-support” on my fantasy squad this year.
Now we get to Walker, who as we all know, is far from infallible. If there’s a time to do this, it’s now.
It seems really strange that Gary Thorne is doing the baseball game. IMHO he was OK at ESPN for hockey, I am not sure he has a “baseball” voice. I did read his bio, he is an attorney and has been admitted to the bar a while ago.
I hope this game does not go late. I am beat. One hard day at the office and 2 hours of homework with jr and its over for me.
Go Tigers
Steve
Joey C. Last year it was Nate Robertson who had that tittle.
Steve
Or never…we haven’t scored since Granderson crossed the plate yesterday.
Did anyone know that Baltimore had such an unbelievably great staff?
They’ve pitched well, but come on! We’ve got to put at least one across against these guys.
Let’s see Inge hit the game-winner.
Nothing could be more frustrating than having Clemens in a league that counts wins two years ago.
This is pure torture. I hate these kind of games.
Um. Sorry about my dream prediction. I was as wrong as I could have possibly been.
Cmo
THANK YOU CRAIG.
Did anyone see Rick Dempsey selling “reverse” mortgages between innings. What a shame.
Monroe on the other hand just reversed a pitch into left field
sacbunt plz
or that
That’s it Monroe…Now let’s get him in. Move the runner Casey!
Kinda of scary looking but it looks like a SAC in the paper Thursday morning
ok inge lets get r done, back in ur hometown
lets go~~
I’d like to tell the Tigers something…either swing or don’t swing. None of this “halfway” crap.
Inge has looked horrendous all night.
ouch!
Inge = Cheese.
Dude RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Oh Inge…
That was a god-awful at bat by Inge. He needs to sit.
That’s why I didn’t want a bunt. Inge with a man on third and one out? I’d rather have Casey swinging away.
His first 2 ABs looked so promising. The in each of his last 2 at-bats he did check swings on fastballs right down the middle.
I don’t know if I didn’t notice in the past or what, but there have been an ungodly number of check swings this season it seems.
You’re right, I haven’t seen this many check swings for strikes in 1 game in my life. Inge may have been a 1 and done type guy that we thought was growing into a decent prospect. May have just paid a guy pretty good money to eventually sit the bench. I know it’s early in the season, but he’s pretty much sucked offensively his entire career.
I hope we don’t need this game later in the season. A lead off double in the top of the inning and nuttin. OUCH at least we are all warm and 20′ from our beds. The fans look cold and wet.
Pudge is tough. He got nicked yesterday on a foul ball and is back in today. Love that mental ability to block it out and play on.
Steve
Ok…think we’re going to lose this inning. Can’t throw away that kind of opportunity.
He’s actually been okay since 2004. He was awful prior to that. Inge will be fine when he stops thinking - even he admitted it wasn’t his strong suit.
Jeff -
Or if you’re gonna bunt, maybe pinch hit for him. Is Infante hurt? He doesn’t have a single at bat yet this season.
Maggs looked good in right on the two hopper
Bilfer-do you know how many double plays we’ve turned this year? It has to be pretty low; I can’t actually recall a single one.
How about that Inge! A swing that weak couldn’t knock over a Tonka truck….
Now a .434 strikout average for the season. And an error that would have lost the game had it not been for Polanco’s “Go-Go Gadget” Leapers to keep the ball from rattling off of the Camden foul area.
How bad does a player have to be when Neifi Perez starts looking good?
The understatement of the game just came from Dan Dickerson: “Well, the fans who are still here are really into this game.” He hastened to add: “Of course, there aren’t many of them.”
It nearly made the last two hours of dreadful listening worthwhile.
Whew…one more inning.
EZ - why do you take such glee in Inge failing?
By the way, Gameday has Craig Monroe catching that last fly ball in the fifth row of the bleachers.
Millar has had two very close ones. Last night off Z and tonight only needed a bit more gas.
We need a miracle or a home run. either is OK with me.
Steve
Pudge
can we do it.
yes we can
Because I want to see our Tigers win. Playing 8 against 9 makes it hard to win.
Hey hey…another baserunner! This game is really killing Polanco’s and Granderson’s averages.
Is that “Let’s go Tigers” I hear?
EZ - why do you take such glee in Inge failing?
For some it’s more pleasurable to take a strident stand and feel vindicated than it is for one’s favorite team to win. Others who have ragged on Inge tonight would have been more excited to see him succeed than to see him fail, because it’s not about us.
Believe me Bilfer, I would have had more glee if Inge didn’t crumble again. But he always does. He always has. It’s either laugh or scream. I prefer to laugh.
Look at Polanco battle…
What a gamer.
EZ –
Without renewing this site’s (sometimes) friendly discussion about the merits of Brandon Inge, I would suggest that he’s got a long way to go before Neifi Perez looks good:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/m.....eal-chase/
I know this link has been posted here repeatedly, but it’s worth a laugh every time. As is the response of the Cubs fan who posted here when he found out that the Tigers had traded to get Neifi from Chicago: “Great! Who did we get?!”
Time for Sheff to earn his dough.
Alright Gary…It’s time to do what you were brought here to do.
The O’s are on their 8th pitcher. If the Tigers can just hang on they may win by attrition.
Or not.
Ugh.
The only one’s left at the game seem to be Tiger fans.
Was Clue Haywood on first to greet Maggs with, “you really knocked the sh.. out of that one.”
Hey Mark >> thanks that was an interesting stat sheet.
I like Inge for what he does for the team. Hey everyone ….he just is having a hard time right now. We all do, from time to time. Lets buy the guy an icecream and hangout on the porch a bit. You know make him feel loved. Then he will break out of his slump and get back to normal.
C Mo
GONE
CRAIGDIDITAGAIN!
nice craig
CRAIG DID IT AGAIN!!!!
Yes! C-Monroe does it again! Welcome to 2007!
Okay Casey, bounce out to second and gete it to Jonesy before the rain makes a mess out of this.
HE DID IT AGAIN!!!!
Whooopppiiieeee!!!!!
C’Mo!!
pretty much Dead Center
I can’t believe it. I’m going to be right. Todd Jones won’t be eligible for a save.
Oh, and CRAIG MONROE JUST HIT A MOTHER#*#*ING GRAND SLAM.
Casey would have had to hit that to Tennessee to get to second
Holy schlamoley, C-Mo does it again!!!
Man did craig knock the crap out of that one.
How about that Cecil Fielderesque single off the wall for Casey.
Boy that was really refreshing…. Reminds me of New York in August. Thanks C-MO…
Now throw strikes Jonesy.
So one of the announcers on WXYT just said that Sean Casey “buggy-whipped on that ball.”
I have no idea what that means. Anybody? Bueller … Bueller?
Inge is so disgusted with himself right now. That bat toss after his K to end the 12th was nearly comical.
In graphical form:
http://www.fangraphs.com/livew.....=270411101
Thank you Craig.
The problem with Inge is that normal for Brandon ain’t so grand, either. I really like Inge as a player, he’s fine and all, but he needs to distribute his .240 lifetime avg a little more evenly thoughout the year.
does this mean I can leave work now? (I’ve been following on Gameday all night)
hahahahahaha. hysterical, billfer.
If that was a one run homer would Seay be in there
This will be a great weekend Series coming up at Toronto. I have been to the last two but could not swing it time wise this year.
Jones is warming,
Modern day MLB handling of closers is so stupid. No save opportunity? Can’t bring in your closer!
Billfer, the time stamp is off about an hour. I looked at Joeys post and almost thought I was not tired.
Does Maggs know he is playing right field
Maggs is killing me in RF. He looks hilariously terrible out there.
Goodnight everyone!
It was a grueling good time!
Nine hard innings……no, scratch that, Twelve hard innings. Glad they didn’t give up.
So Jonesy DID get the save.
Hmm, 5 Tiger victories, 5 saves for Jones. There’s a connection in there somewhere, but I’m too tired to figure it out now. Wow, what a marathon. Great win Tigs.
Freakin’ Seay. Makes my dream prediction wrong. But hey, I DID dream about them winning by three or more. And I got Inge’s first hit. So put that in the books, Billfer.
Adam’s dream predictions: 1 for 1
Bilfer,
RE: your post game… We have Grilli available as well tomorrow night. If Maroth struggles, and against that Toronto line up it is very possible, then we can probably expect Grilli to pitch for 2-3 innings. I am just not sure if that is necessarily a good thing.
Here is to hoping Maroth takes his Frank Tanana Crafty Pills and gives us a solid 6 and 2/3rds….
Ok, so what’d I miss?
haha, kidding. Thanks Craig, we needed that hit. Hopefullly all the baserunners are an indication that the offense is coming around. All we need is some more big hits. I forsesee a good start in Toronto tomorrow nite…
P.S. Somebody get Inge a beer or something. he looks like he’s ready to kill someone.
The Good News thru the first eight games:
1. The Tigers are 5-3 and could EASILY be 1-7.
2. Robertson and Verlander look awesome so far.
3. Granderson & Polanco… maybe Pudge
The Bad News:
1. The Tigers could easily be 1-7
2. Verlander has an ERA of 0.00 through 13+ innings and no recorded win yet. Huh?
3. Everybody else except Granderson & Polanco … except maybe Pudge
Toronto will not lay down as easily as KC and Baltimore… need to start firing on more cylinders if we hope to at least split this series
Good points, Mr. Smith. Better in my book to be playing poorly with a better record than you deserve than to be playing well with a worse record than you deserve.
Off to Toronto this afternoon to see the Tigers play Saturday. A great year for a spring trip to see baseball under a dome . . .
Craig- He country strong!
Inge- ok its really in his head now. Not running on the dropped 3rd strike was bad. and his bat throwing in the 12th, not a good sign. I was also going to comment on just how many check swings he is taking! C’mon buddy, snap out of it!
Rodney had a good outing, which I was glad to see.
Todd Jones is lockdown. Order your jerseys.
I made a mental note about Inge not running on the dropped third strike, too. With a runner on third, that was especially bad since if you draw a throw, there is always the chance for the unexpected.