2014 Season, Game Post

Game 2014.141: Giants at Tigers

75 Comments

77-63, 1 game behind KC. 2.5 games behind WC#1, .5 games ahead of Sea for WC#2.

The Tigers return home for a three game set against the Giants before the giant series vs. KC on Monday. The Tigers ended the Cleveland series in dramatic fashion, putting up 7 in the top of the 11th, to blow out the Indians 11-4, and more importantly, to take 3/4 in Cleveland. For a minute there, it looked as if the series would be an absolute disaster, having led 4-0 early in the game with the reigning Cy Young winner on the mound, and then looking like another Cle late inning come from behind victory. A split after winning the first two would have been devastating.

But then Miguel Cabrera led off the 10th with a double, and Ausmus wisely inserted Oh-E-genio Suarez, forecasting that we would need his bat in the 11th. I’ll admit, then when Dan D announced that Suarez was pinch running for Cabrera, my immediate reaction was to run to my computer to hammer out an angry DTW comment, predicting that Cabrera’s spot would come up again in a key situation in the ensuing innings. Am I right here? Doesn’t it seem like we are 0 for 100 in our last “late inning faster runner guys” replacement attempts? Only to see those guys bumbling around defensively, or worse, failing at the plate when Cabrera or MVP Mart would have been preferred?

But Suarez lined a single to left, then VMart ripped a HR to right, and then some other stuff even happened after that.

So the Tigers ended an 18 game stretch in 17 games, 15 of those on the road, with an 11-7 record. That’s what a playoff team does.

Pitching Matchups for this weekend:

Peavy v Porcello

Bumgarner v Price

Hudson v Lobstein

I gotta admit, I get sweaty palms thinking about Panda Bear and Sergio Romo. Holy cow did we get dominated in that WS.

Baseball Reference Game Preview Here.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Torii Hunter, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, DH
4. Victor Martinez, 1B
5. J.D. Martinez, LF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Bryan Holaday, C
8. Eugenio Suarez, SS
9. Rajai Davis, CF

 

75 thoughts on “Game 2014.141: Giants at Tigers”

  1. Lets see the Tiger pitchers have picked off two guys this year but have made about 15 errors trying….anyone coaching these guys?

  2. You can put this one in the win column because Assmus says Avila is available to PH tonight…that should just about do it!

    1. Oh my. How did this happen? Just tuned in, thought the delay had been from the beginning at first.

  5. In addition to other problems, we need to face the reality that Cabrera is a big liability at first now. Got to get him back to DH.

    1. Yes, probably. Unfortunately, Martinez doesn’t instill a lot of confidence, either. Ausmus recently commented that “we have plenty of guys who can play 1B.” No “well” at the end, truthfully enough.

      1. More of a Cabrera error? Haven’t seen that part yet. (mlb.tv can get pretty funky when you’re trying to jump around innings.)

      2. They should just skip the pickoff throws, that’s about the 3rd that just sailed right on by, in addition to the wild ones, vs how many guys they have picked off/prevented from running…seems like we’re coming out behind. Better to just hold the ball forever like Max.

        1. Not a big fan of Scherzer’s endless holds and lobs, but maybe I can’t argue with the effectiveness. Hardy has a brilliant move.

    2. I wish! Just looked back (mlb.tv) on the game so far. I like to joke about the NL, but it’s Detroit that looks minor league tonight. This really smarts against the GIANTS. Even a pitching error thrown in to help reinforce bad WS memories…

      I think there are only 8 Tigers active remaining from the team that faced the Giants in 2012.

      No edit button for me again tonight.

      Let it rain let it rain let it rain. Do over, like PHToy said.

  7. What a crushing season for Rangers fans. Now Washington resigns. Just imagine all that stuff happening to the Tigers. Could happen to any team. Wow. We’re whining about being a game out of first. Rejoice, we’re in the race. The weather might even be on our side for a change.

    1. Day-night makeup doubleheader? Would Porcello start again? Probably not, eh, after all the pithes he’s made already and getting struck on the foot?

    1. I still question the dancers’ timeliness. This one should have been washed out from the beginning. I say this with the benefit of hindsight, but aren’t the dancers supposed to be attuned to these things in advance?

        1. Avila available to pinch hit. Does this sentence qualify as a non sequitur or as an oxymoron? I can’t seem to make any sense of it. My closest translation comes out as “Ron Illitch available as designated driver.”

    1. what a novel concept…a team’s top pitcher comes up big when they really need him to come up big

      KC has been taking care of biz and beating the bad/mediocre teams, and tonight they TCB against another (so-called) contender…

      1. Tigers are 4-1 vs. KC in the one-run games. Detroit has taken 3 of 4 low-scoring (2-1) affairs. It’s been almost two months since they faced each other, but I don’t know if that much has changed. It’s probably a good thing that 6 of the final 19 are against the Royals.

      1. the weather radar map shows heavy weather coming again around 11 pm. My guess is that they are looking to get 5 innings in so they can declare this gem a complete game yet tonight. That will allow them to play just one tomorrow.

  17. A runner on 3B seems to decrease the likelihood of Detroit scoring. They should probably avoid the situation with an ICS.

  18. We’re doing this all wrong…if we aren’t going to score, we should be letting them bat around the order.

    1. He only scored because he wasn’t *supposed* to be at 3B. SF tactic backfires. Blanco sacrificed his streak for nothing.

  25. Looks like they’re playing in Cleveland still. No, I take that back. There are probably still more people at Comerica.

    1. Mortal enemies, at least if John Doe is to be believed.

      We need a Fisher here. Hey, look. Maybe J.D. Martinez counts.

        1. Drafted by (1973) but never played for. That’s how into baseball I was in those days. 41 years later I remember the name and could have told you he was a pitcher. Weird.

          1. Sorry, not drafted but signed by Detroit as an amateur free agent. There’s some kind of story there I *don’t* recall. Must be the reason I remember the name.

    1. She always sounds like she’s losing her voice, in a not-unappealing way. I guess at this point she’s given up looking for it.

      1. Good observation. Yes, part of her appeal, now that you mention it. Not sure why. I used to find her annoying. I blamed the long grind of the season for wearing me down to the point where I found her impossibly cute.

        All that aside, she did add some energy and enthusiasm to the broadcast. She’s going to cover the Islanders in New York. Hockey? Huh.

  28. Watching the Giants hitters now, it’s hard to believe what happened to Porcello. Isn’t it?

  31. Agreed. At this point Smarty and DD should let a few fans suit up and play. what difference would it make? They might discover one who can actually run into one.

  32. Tigers go to the West coast and can barely function….San Fran comes here and the Tigers can barely function!!!

  35. With a 3 game lead now in the loss column KC will very easily go 12-10….means the Tigers need a near impossible 16-6 ( I say near impossible based on the past 3 1/2 months of win lose win lose win lose lose…..)

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