PREGAME: It’s Kyle Lohse and Armando Galarraga tonight. You know which Tigers like hitting against Lohse? All of them.

Meanwhile, here’s hoping that Galarraga can nail down that All Star game invitation.

And here’s really hoping the rain drops hold off so they can get this one in, cuz I’ll be there.

STL @ DET, Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: I’m back from the game so you get the 2:00am post game report. I’m exhausted so expect lots of typos, more than normal even. Why did I stay you ask? Because a certain Yankees game last year taught me that good things happen when rain delayed games resume at 11pm. That and rooting on your team with 3000 strangers when the calendar flips to the next day is kind of a fun and surreal experience.

The early 2-0 deficit wasn’t too worrisome. After all, the Tigers were facing Kyle Lohse. It resulted in lots of baserunners. I just had the feeling that the hitters were all saying to each other, “Dude, it’s Kyle Lohse.” And when Galarraga kept giving up homers, the offense probably told him “Don’t worry about it. Dude, we’re facing Kyle Lohse.” The only concern was when Lohse was lifted. But it seemed as if the guys decided “Let’s just pretend these other dudes are Kyle Lohse.”

• First things first. Todd Jones put on a Magglio jersey and wig and reenacted the 2006 ALCS homerun during the rain delay and he added his own embellishment at the end by sliding into home. I guess the knee is feeling okay.
• And second things second. Paws caught a foul ball. It was on a ricochet and he made a nice play on it.
• After the delay we moved down and say behind home plate. And yes, the strike zone was ridiculous from that vantage point as well. We were standing in the concourse when Thames was ejected and I couldn’t really make a judgement on the pitch. But given Thames nature in general I’m going to trust that his reaction indicated a really bad call.
• This wasn’t the crispest of games. There was the Thames error. And Renteria not converting a double play. And a bad bunt by Polanco (and a questionable bunt decision by Leyland). And the 5 walks from Joel Zumaya and Zach Miner. And the Cardinals had their issues too with a couple double plays, and an error by Kennedy, and a should have been error on Duncan.
• But it was still very entertaining with multiple lead changes and scoring chances, and some nice defense as well like Carlos Guillen’s play in the 9th inning.
• And Todd Jones looked dominant. That is rare. And Bobby Seay K’d the only batter he faced.
• As for Zumaya, it was great to hear Voodoo Child reverberating through the park. Joel had his velocity. And he had his curveball working (but he hardly through it). But he couldn’t control the fastball to save his life.
• The offense was simultaneously great and frustrating. You can’t scoff at 19 hits. But it probably should have resulted in more than 8 runs. But the Tigers still got big clutch hits like Guillen’s 3 run homer, and Magglio’s game tying single, and Gary Sheffield’s game winning single.

PREGAME: The Tigers welcome in the St. Louis Cardinals for their annual trip to Comerica Park (seriously, why do the Tigers never play at Busch?). It also marks the third consecutive series for the Tigers against a sainted city (the others being San Diego and San Francisco for those with uber short memories).

The Cardinals are behind the Cubs in the Central, but are the current front runners for the Wild Card. They are coming off a series win in Fenway Park, and prior to that a sweep at the hands of the Royals. They are without Albert Pujols but have gotten some nice production from former minor league scrap heaper Ryan Ludwick. You may remember Ludwick from his 266/342/506 season with Toledo in 2006. Or maybe you don’t.

The pitching match-up features a couple guys who are on a roll. For the Cardinals it’s Braden Looper. The Tigers pummeled Looper last year, but the man hasn’t allowed a homer in his last 4 starts and he hasn’t allowed a walk in his last 3.

Kenny Rogers is also having some success of late going at least 7 innings inhis last 5 starts and only allowing 4 earned runs over that span. He has a 1-0 record to show for it.

Tonight also marks the return of Gary Sheffield to the Tigers lineup. He’ll bat 7th as Jim Leyland keeps the top 6 spots intact.

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Thames, LF
7. Sheffield, DH
8. Renteria, SS
9. Rodriguez, C

STL @ DET, Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: Well both hot pitchers were derailed tonight. Of course Rogers got the worst of it. The Tigers broke up Looper’s homerless and walkless streak, but couldn’t manage many good scoring chances. Rogers on the other hand gave up a variety of hits. Some drilled, some dribbled, but in the end it was too much for the Tigers to overcome.

• Rogers pace tonight seemed to be exceedingly slow. Don’t know if he wasn’t feeling well, or if he just didn’t have a lot of confidence in his stuff. But I think it would qualify as agonizing – especially that game turning 5th inning.
• Yes, the 5th was when the Cards only tied it but it proved to be the pivotal inning. Rogers was a strike away from a 1-2-3 inning. Instead a full count pitch was deposited in the left field bullpen and Rogers would load the bases before fanning Rick Ankiel. It was a long draining inning that insured Rogers was almost done.
• Freddy Dolsi didn’t have it tonight either. He threw strikes and got ahead. But like his last few outings he hasn’t been able to put batters away. I believe he hasn’t fanned anyone since the Indians game which inspired the Sexy. That is bad boding.
• But, Fernando Rodney pitched a clean inning. His first couple fastballs were erratic but he settled down and pitched well.
• Gary Sheffield homered in his return. It’s only one at-bat but certainly an encouraging one.
• The Cabrera homer shouldn’t have been but the Pudge one was a no doubter.
• Cabrera did play some excellent defense tonight. He made a couple of tough picks of throws and did a nice job fielding balls to both his left and right.

PREGAME: The Tigers rap up their road portion of interleague today in San Diego. The pitching match-up will be Justin Verlander and Randy Wolf.

Miguel Cabrera is Hungry Like A Wolf (I know, it’s awful) with 22 career plate appearances, 10 hits, 2 homers, and 3 walks against Randy. Lefties have been hitting Wolf to the rune of a 997 OPS this year so I’d like to see Granderson stay in the lineup. Wolf has been much tougher at Petco with a 2.45 ERA there and a 5.84 everywhere else.

DET @ SDP, Sunday, June 22, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 4:05

POSTGAME: I like the winning. Justin Verlander had the live fastball thing working with 10 K’s. However he also had 5 walks, 2 of them intentional. That makes for a lot of pitches and he was at 115 when he was lifted with one out in the 6th.

• Very nice job by Bobby Seay coming into a 2 on, 1 out situation and getting out of it unscathed.
• Pudge Rodriguez walked twice and picked up his first unassisted homer of the season. Don’t look now, but his OBP is up to .325.
• Magglio Ordonez found his extra base groove with a double and a homer, following up on his homer last night.
• Granderson hit the ball well again today, with only one hit to show for it. But seeing him take a left hander to the warning track twice was encouraging.
• Joel Zumaya came in with the lead, and left with the lead. But he did allow a walk and a couple hits and had the tying run gunned down (closely) at the plate.

White Sox are down 6 in the 9th as I write this. Assuming the Cubs can hang on, the Tigers are only 5 games back with 87 games left on the schedule. That so seems doable.

PREGAME: The Tigers will look to bounce back from another late inning collapse. They’ll send out Nate Robertson who pitched 6 innings of shut down ball spanning a rain delay his last time out.

The Padres send out Cha Seung Baek. You may remember him from a Seattle Mariner beat-down. Baek got to leave Seattle and has been starting for the Padres with decent results. He hasn’t allowed a homer in any of his 3starts, and his last 2 have been quality in nature.

Via Beck, Marcus Thames gets the night off – or at least he isn’t starting. I’d think he’s a decent bet for pinch hitting duties later on. And Brandon Inge returns to the lineup.

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Renteria, SS
7. Thomas, LF
8. Inge, C
9. Robertson, P

DET @ SDP, Saturday, June 21, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 10:05

POSTGAME: This was a big win for a number of reasons. It assures a .500 road trip and gives them a chance to win the series. It keeps the team in 3rd place. The team picks up a game on White Sox. And it means the Tigers only have two more 10 pm starts this season!

• Nate was Nate. He looked dominant at times as he breezed through the lineup. He made a pretty good pitch that Michael Barrett hit out. But later he walked the pitcher which led to the tying and go ahead runs (with some help from Cabrera). The pitcher. It reminded me of Robertson’s start against the Diamondbacks where he was pitching great, took a couple big swings when batting, and then couldn’t locate the strike zone. I think Robertson needs the take sign.
• The bullpen did a good enough job. Each pitcher allowed a baserunner, but no damage. That was thanks in part to Ordonez who gunned own a runner in the 8th at home plate.
• Granderson is ripping the ball, at least for the last 2 days. One of my favorite things about watching the Tigers is seeing Granderson round first with his eyes on third. It’s a thing of beauty.
• Marcus Thames though came in to pinch hit for Granderson against a lefty. Definitely a questionable move, but not a questionable result has Marcus goes boom-diggity.
• The Tigers got their second assisted homer of the season when Magglio hit one deep to straight away center that glanced off of Jody Gerut’s glove and into the stands. It happened to Pudge earlier at Comerica Park. The Tigers are 2-0 when opposing outfielders assist balls over the fence.