Short and sweet for the W headed into an off-day.
Today’s game is free on MLB.tv. Check out the Tigers wearing 1944 throwback jerseys.
My pick to click is Cabrera. He’s fuming from yesterday.
1. Casper Wells, CF
2. Ryan Raburn, 2B
3. Brennan Boesch, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, C
6. Magglio Ordonez, RF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Danny Worth, 3B
9. Rick Porcello, P
Toledo 3, Columbus 4 (Indians)
Duane “look out” Below (LHP) was the losing pitcher after allowing all 4 Columbus runs on 7 hits and a walk over 6 IP. Brad Thomas threw 2 scoreless innings of relief and has allowed just one run in 6 innings of relief while at Toledo.
For the good news of the night, Inge went 2-4 with 2 solo homers. The only other Mud Hen to record a hit was Will Rhymes who went 1-4.
Erie 4, Reading 1 (Phillies)
Brooks Brown (RHP) earned a win and looked terrific in his third start of the year: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Austin Wood recorded his third save of the year after he allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 in the 9th.
Francisco Martinez (3B) was 2-4 from the plate and lead the team with 2 RBI. Rockett and Douglas picked up an RBI each. After his promotion from Lakeland, Michael Rockett (OF) is hitting .333 in 72 ABs with Erie.
Lakeland 4, Daytona 3 (Cubs)
Lakeland trailed 2-3 heading into the 9th before adding two clutch runs and turning the game over to Kenny Faulk (LHP). Predictably, Faulk held the opposition scoreless and got his 18th save of the year. In his last ten appearances, Faulk has held the other team scoreless 9 times. He’s also struck out 39 batters in 30 1/3 innings while walking only 4.
Kenny Faulk’s continued brilliance detracted somewhat from the praise I would have otherwise heaped on Drew Smyly (LHP) who gave up just two unearned runs over 7 innings of work while striking out 8.
Daniel Fields (CF) had a nice night: 2-3, 1 RBI. Brent Wyatt (LF) also had 2 hits and a RBI. Bergolla had the other Lakeland RBI.
Brent Wyatt is a switch-hitting outfielder who is hitting .311 in 212 ABs with Lakeland. He’s walked more than he’s struck out (43 to 39) and driven in 24 while posting an OBP of .444.
Last night’s trivia answer: Jack Morris, Dan Petry, and Walt Terrell. Wilcox had been relegated to a spot starter by 1985.
Tigers are 1-3 thus far to start this 6 game interleague road trip. During these four games, opposing pitchers are 2-7 with 5 RBI and 3 BB. That’s a .500 OBP, and as many RBI as any other spot in the lineup. Arguably, it only really mattered in Saturday’s loss, but watching the opposing pitcher drive in more runs than the whole team can’t be much of a boost in the dugout.
Max Scherzer looks to be the first ML pitcher to get to 10 wins tonight. He hit a rough patch in late May/early June, but he’s rebounded nicely allowing only 3 ER over his last 12 2/3 with a .95 WHIP.
Scherzer will be opposed by Chad Billingsley. Billingsley is hittable with a 1.52 WHIP on the year against a 4.65 ERA. Note his 2011 stats are significantly worse than his career stats (3.66 ERA and 1.37 WHIP), and he had a 16 win season back in 2008. I get the feeling that he’s the kind of guy who could turn into Cy for a night against the boys.
My pick to click is Jackson, as he’s also on my Scoresheet roster.
No Peralta or Cabs (or Maggs) tonight.
1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Don Kelly, 3B
3. Brennan Boesch, RF
4. Victor Martinez, 1B
5. Andy Dirks, LF
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Ryan Raburn, 2B
8. Ramon Santiago, SS
9. Max Scherzer, P
The Tigers stroll into LA on the tail of another JV masterpiece. The last time the Tigers had multiple 9 game winners this early in the season was 1985, when they had 3. Can you name them?
For the Tigers, tonight’s game is all about Brad’s balls. How many, to be exact. Did you know that when he gives up more than 2 walks he’s 0-3 with a 9.73 ERA? On the flip side, when he allows 2 or fewer BBs he’s 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA.
Penny will be opposed by Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is a mid-90’s lefty who relies heavily on his fastball with a good slider out pitch. On the year he’s 6-3 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He strikes out a ridiculous 9.67/9 (contrast that against JVs 8.20/9) against less than 3 walks per 9. He had his two worst outings of the season on June 4th and June 9th, but then righted the ship with a 7 inning, 4 hit, 1 ER performance last time out.
A few notes:
– JV was named co-player of the week in the AL (second time he’s shared the award this season) alongside James Shields.
– Inge is hitting .176 through four games at Toledo.
– Clayton Kershaw has 9 hits and is second in the majors among all pitchers with a .290 BA.
– The Tigers are batting .312 with 95 runs scored, 31 doubles and 20 home runs in 18 games during June.
Today’s pre-game player of the game is Ryan Raburn. For no reason other than he’s on my Scoresheet team.
Your Maggs is Due Lineup:
1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Casper Wells, LF
3. Magglio Ordonez, RF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, C
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Ryan Raburn, 2B
8. Danny Worth, 3B
9. Brad Penny, P
Toledo 2, Louisville 4 (Reds)
Andy Oliver (LHP) took the loss after giving up all 4 Louisville runs in 5 1/3 IP. He allowed 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Wise and Ortega combined to pitch 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Inge went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. In 17 ABs with Toledo he’s only produced 3 singles with 0 RBI. Bryan Pounds (3B) went 1-4 with a homer. Ben Guez got the other Toledo RBI and went 2-3 on the night.
Erie 3, New Hampshire 1 (Blue Jays)
Ramon Garcia (LHP) started and got the win after a quality start: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Chance Ruffin (RHP) picked up save number 8 after striking out 1 while retiring the side in order in the 9th.
Michael Bertram (DH) didn’t have an RBI but was instrumental in the win. He scored two runs and went 2-3 from the plate with a double and a walk. Ciriaco and Retherford each drove in 1.
West Michigan 5, Lake County 10 (Indians)
Nate Newman (RHP) and Bruce Rondon (RHP) each blew a save opportunity as the West Michigan staff allowed Lake County back into this one. West Michigan lead by 1 heading into the 8th before Newman gave up a run on 3 hits. West Michigan rebounded and scored a go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th before Rondon gave up a run in the top of the 9th. After 3 scoreless extra frames, Lake County posted 5 runs in the top of the 13th to win easily. Patrick Cooper ate the loss after allowing all 5 decisive runs over 4 1/3 innings of work.
The glowing bright spot of this pitching implosion was Nick Castellanos who went 3-6 with a double and 3 RBI. Despite a slow start , Castellanos is inching closer to reaching his potential and is now hitting .291 on the year.
My pick for underrated minor leaguer of the year, Rob Brantly (C), went 2-4 with a triple and scored 3 runs.
Dixon Machado (SS) had a terrible 0-fer as he went 0-6 with a strike out.
Happy Father’s Day All. This is my first! (shameless plug) Anyone watching the game with their kids?
Tigers lose last night in a game where they doubled their opponents’ hits – 12 to 6. The Tigers had plenty of scoring chances, and even hit 4-10 with RISP, but back to back walks in the 2nd followed up by a Ubaldo Jimenez single did in Phil Coke. Coke had little control throughout the game, and 9 walks given up by Tigers pitching was just too much. One bright spot – the bullpen was pretty darn good, giving up 1 hit (just happened to be a HR) and 2 walks against 4 ks in three innings. Like Ron Washington said, That’s the way baseball go.
Thus, the Tigers are on the verge of losing back-to-back-to-back games for 4th time this year. But I’m not worried, as Justin Verlander climbs the mound this afternoon.
Since I did not yet get an opportunity to do so, I wanted to take a look at JV’s pitch selection from his masterpiece last Tuesday. To say that he’s mixing it up would be a gross understatement, like saying Maggs in in a little slump. In the first inning he started off relying heavily on his fastball, per usual, but note that every out pitch was on an off-speed pitch, recording two strikeouts on his curveball, and getting Brantley to ground out on a change-up. The 4/14 off-speed pitches that he threw in the first all went for strikes. If he can establish his complimentary pitches like that today, he’s going to be 9-3 when he leaves the ballpark.
In the second he again stuck with the fastball, throwing 6 of them against 3 changeups. In the third, he shifted gears and began throwing more off-speed stuff. This has got to be demoralizing for the opponents, as just when they think they are getting their timing down against the fastball, he becomes an off-speed pitcher. From the third to the seventh, he alternated brilliantly between fastball heavy innings, and non fastball heavy innings. In the 6th he set down Hannahan on three straight fastballs, and then in the 7th he reached 99 MPH for the first time all game to Brantley. So what does he do in the 8th when it looks like he’s all warmed up and ready to hit 100? He throws 2 fastballs against 12 off-speed pitches. The Cabrera hit was on a fastball that JV would likely tell you was poorly located.
Other than starting games with predominantly fastballs, JV’s pitch selection has been impossible to predict as of late, and as a result, he has been nearly impossible to hit.
The Rockies counter with mainstay Aaron Cook, a soft-throwing right-hander who neither strikes out nor walks many, but gives up a lot of hits. Cook has started only 2 games this year after slamming a door on his finger during Spring Training. Seems like a convenient way to get out of drills, if you ask me. He gets pretty good movement on his two-seamer, and that combined with the Rockies’ inability to develop young pitchers have kept him in the rotation for almost 10 years.
Your Father’s Day Lineup:
(coming soon)
Well, Leyland continued his “lousy” performance in Colorado last night, as the Tigers were spanked 13-6 by the Rockies. Walking Jason Hammel with the bases loaded may have been the leak that sprang the dam, but the Rockies tacked on another 7 runs (their margin of victory), after the forgettable 2nd inning.
Phil Coke will be the guy to get the Tigers back on track tonight, as he looks to build on his strong 6 1/3 no ER allowed performance against Tampa earlier this week. Coke’s 1-6 record doesn’t suit his 3.69 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, so let’s just say he’s due.
Opposing Coke is Ubaldo Jimenez. Or a guy who looks just like Ubaldo Jimenez and has the exact same pitching motion as Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez has inexplicably been average this year, suffering a 1-7 record with a 4.63 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. His walks and K/9 are close to his career average, and his .245 BAA is just a little higher than usual. Lefties actually have a lower BA against him (not much – .240 to .250), but slug a little more. Like I said, his ERA and W-L is inexplicable. Let’s just hope the bad luck continues.
Tonight’s boy do I wish Don Kelly could play 2B lineup:
1. Austin Jackson — CF
2. Don Kelly — 3B
3. Brennan Boesch — RF
4. Miguel Cabrera — 1B
5. Victor Martinez — C
6. Andy Dirks — LF
7. Jhonny Peralta- SS
8. Ryan Raburn — 2B
9. Phil Coke — P
Toledo 1, Louisville 2 (Reds)
Thad Weber (RHP) held Louisville to 1 run over 8 innings. He struck out 7, and allowed 3 hits and 2 walks. Matt Hoffman took the loss after he allowed the winning run to get on base. Lester Oliveros gave up the hit to score that run and Louisville walked off in the 10th.
Inge went 0-4 including 2 strike outs. Scott Thorman (DH) was 2-4 with a solo homer.
Erie 4, New Hampshire 5 (Blue Jays)
Jay Voss (LHP) received a no decision after 3 ER in 6 innings of work. He struck out 6 while walking 2, but gave up 6 hits. Robbie Weinhardt (RHP) continued his depressing tailspin after giving up 2 ER on 3 hits in one inning of work to take the loss.
Michael Bertram (DH) lead the way offensively: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB. Michael Rockett (RF) hit a solo homer in 4 plate appearances. Since moving to Erie from Lakeland, Rockett is hitting .321 in 56 ABs.
West Michigan 2, Lake County 0 (Indians)
Kevin Eichhorn (RHP) was the winning pitcher with the following line: 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K. Eichhorn’s ERA for the year is a respectable 3.59. He’s got a 5-3 record through 12 starts and 67 2/3 IP. Bruce Rondon (RHP) picked up save 11 after a scoreless inning and two-thirds of relief with 4 strikeouts.
Hernan Perez (2B) went 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBI. Castellanos went 2-3 with a walk. Despite early struggles, Castellanos average for the year is up to .282.
Well, well, well. I wake up from my Mavericks exuberance state and look where our beloved Tigers are. First place. Who, other than Mr. X, can say they saw this coming?
For all of his idiosyncrasies and questionable moves, Ol’ Smokey has been pulling all of the right strings as of late. Dirks, Worth and Santiago have contributed, and the bullpen has been outstanding over the last month or so. In fact, since an ill-fated Ryan Perry appearance on May 21st which saw his ERA skyrocket to an even 10, the bullpen has posted a 2.48 ERA and limited opponents to a .198 BA. The Furbush call-up and Purcey deal have contributed heavily to the bullpen’s success, and Al Albuquerque leads all AL relievers with 15.49 K/9 and a .128 BAA.
The Tigers resume interleague play tonight at Coors Field, as they look to continue their interleague dominance, and keep Cabrera away from the Coors part of the field. The Tigers are 64-29 since ’06 against the NL, which is second best in the majors behind Boston during that time.
A very good Jason Hammel climbs the mound for the Rockies tonight. For the season he’s posting a 3.65 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. He doesn’t strike out many (45 in 81.1 innings), and he walks just under 3 per game.
Porcello looks for his 7th win tonight, coming off three quality starts in a row after a blowup against Boston. Since that Boston game, Porcello has only allowed 6 ER in 19 2/3 (2.75 ERA) with a 1.27 WHIP. Note that Porcello is 4-1 on the road this year with a 2.27 ERA away from Comerica.
Tonight’s pre-player of the gamepost is Brennan Boesch. The altitude helps his swing as he looks to continue his hot hitting after his 5-11 performance against Cleveland.
Tonight’s Special Alex Avila Experiment Lineup looks like this:
1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Brennan Boesch, LF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, C
5. Magglio Ordonez, RF
6. Alex Avila, 3B
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Ryan Raburn, 2B
9. Rick Porcello, P
Just like that, no more first place. Back with the Stroh’s
It started well, with a 3-run first, but the rest was forgettable and it kept being so, on-and-on, for 3 1/2 hours. But the Tigers can still take the series with a win this afternoon.
Perhaps Raburn will help. Today is his turn; he has been platooning with Santiago. Jim Leyland says of Raburn that he is going to “play him more, play him less, whatever.” Actually I think “whatever” sums it up best.
Today Max Scherzer tries to right the pitching ship vs. Mitch Talbot.
And Brandon Inge is off to Toledo to start a rehab assignment, starting as DH.
Today’s Player of the Pre-Game: Alex Avila
Support for Alex is growing like an Avila beard; he is now 2nd in All-Star voting. And he has even been taking infield practice at 3rd.
Today’s Rubbery Lineup:
Toledo had a scheduled day off
Erie 11, Portland 3 (Red Sox)
Jacob Turner earned the win. He gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3 over 6 IP. The recently demoted Robbie Weinhardt allowed an ER and 2 hits in one inning.
The Erie offense produced 6 runs in the 5th inning en route to a blow out. Jamie Johnson (CF) went 1-3 with a triple, 2 RBI, and a walk. Adam Calderone (LF) went 1-2 with 2 RBI. Rawley Bishop (1B) also went 1-3 with 2 RBI.
Lakeland 5, Tampa 6 (Yankees)
Zach Samuels (RHP) took the loss after giving up a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th. Before that dagger, Trevor Feeney (RHP) started and went 6 innings. He gave up 3 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks.
Brent Wyatt (LF) had a superb night at the dish: 4-4, 2 R, 1 2B, and 1 BB. Over the last ten games, Wyatt is hitting .368 with an OBP of .479 and SLG .579. He’s walked 8 times to 6 strike outs and has driven in 3 runs. Gustavo Nunez (SS) drove in a run while going 2-4 and drawing a walk. Nunez scored 2 runs.
West Michigan 0, Bowling Green 1 (Rays)
Alex Burgos (LHP) had a great start for the caps. He limited Bowling Green to 1 ER on 3 hits and a walk over 7 innings while recording 4 K’s. Unfortunately, the anemic WM offense handed Burgos his first loss of the year. Ramon Lebron (RHP) kept the good night rolling after he held Bowling Green scoreless and K’ed 2 in 1 IP.
Castellanos went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. James Robbins had the only positive night to speak of as he went 2-4 with a 2B.
That, said Justin Verlander, was my good stuff.
Hard to argue with that; if possible he looked even better than he did when he threw his no-hitter against Toronto. Many were convinced by the 7th inning that another no-hitter was inevitable (I won’t name names), but, alas, it was not to be. Still a masterful performance, including fitting our old friend Grady Sizemore for the golden sombrero.
All kinds of people were raving about Verlander on the sports shows and internets, which is nice. The Free Press launched a Let’s Give Verlander a Nickname campaign, which is something else.
Oh, and now we’re really, really in first. Break out the Stroh’s!
Brad Penny will venture out to defend first place tonight. Penny was good enough his last start, giving up 3 runs in 7 innings, but unfortunately that night the Tigers couldn’t muster any offense against Cy Bedard. That may be less of a problem against Fausto Carmona, perhaps best known for playing a tune on Gary Sheffield’s head.
Carmona has dropped 5 consecutive starts, posting a 9.55 ERA over that span. His last start prompted Manager Manny Acta to declare Carmona was “divorced from the strike zone.” So the Tiger plan will be to be patient at the plate and build hitters’ counts, right? Right?
Today’s Player of the Pre-Game: Magglio Ordonez
He didn’t get a hit his first game back, but hit the ball hard twice–harder than he was hitting it before his Toledo stint. Let’s see how today looks.
Today’s Maggsnificent Lineup: