Behind a fantastic performance by Doug Fister, the Tigers beat the White Sox 2-1 tonight at Comerica Park to win their 6th straight on the current home-stand.
Fister was dealing. He pitched 8 complete, allowed only 1 earned run on 7 hits. He struck out 2 and walked none on only 88 pitches.
Benoit came in and closed the game out pitching a scoreless 9th.
The offense was led by Prince Fielder, Jose Iglesias, who played 3rd for the ailing Miguel Cabrera, and Austin Jackson.
In the Tigers’ half of the fourth, Prince Fielder led off with a double and moved to 3rd on a Victor Martinez fly out. Jhonny Peralta followed Martinez with a fly ball but it wasn’t deep enough to score Fielder. That brought Iglesias to the plate with two out and Fielder at third. In his first game as a Tiger, Iglesias delivered a line drive, base hit, to right that gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 5th Austin Jackson hit a solo shot to give Tigers a 2-0 lead and Fister and Benoit made it stand up.
The key moment in the game came in the top of the 8th. With the Tigers leading 2-1, Dayan Viciedo led off with a single. Jordan Danks came in to pinch-run. Gordon Beckham came to the plate and with a 3-1 count hit a ground ball just to the right of second. However, the hit and run was on so Santiago was moving toward second on the pitch. This was a fortunate break for the Tigers because instead of a single up the middle, Santiago was able to field the grounder, step on second and fire to first for a double play.
I really hope Miggy gets well soon. I’m not sure how long the Tigers can keep rolling without him. Also, it is a small sample but the rumors look true regarding newly acquired Jose Iglesias. He looks very smooth in the field. His demeanor reminds me of the Orioles Manny Machado. I’m not sure how much he’s going to hit, but it looks like he can flash leather.
The Tigers picked up a game on the Tribe who got pounded in Miami 10-0.
Scherzer goes for his 16th win tomorrow night.
“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Flashin' Leather 
This game reminded of a Mark Fidrych gem from ’76. I think this one took only a few minutes past 2 hours. I fully expect a sweep this weekend because JV isn’t pitching, and lately he has been the only blemish on an otherwise dominating staff.
I misspoke he other day, and we’re not going to see Chris Sale this weekend. All the more reason for a sweep. They might be saving Miggy for the road trip, where his bat will be needed more. We should be able to beat this sorry team without him.
Sark, I was really impressed with Iglesias. If he can hit .250, he looks like a fabulous fielder. He just has that look and a glide to his movement. I hate to see Avi go but this might be a good move.
Also, I love how Fister pitches so quickly. That’s how JV used to pitch but got away from. Perhaps he needs to speed it up again. Catch and throw it.
I believe after all the positives we saw in that game that perhaps the most underestimated moment may have Benoit. In the post game interview he admitted he is still adjusting to the closer role. Those three outs attacking the zone…putting the ball in play and keeping it in the park…..and getting DONE to roll over and finish IMHO looked textbook. Gotta be good for the brain. Continue like that and I feel fine. On another note I have been watching the Tribe closely after the break and they have been promoting this next series as their season now with 50+ games left that’s a little strong however if we win that series I will be interested to see which direction they go.
Nebraska, good point about Benoit. That really was a big step for him. When Dunn came up with a runner on, that could have been a time when a lesser pitcher stumbled. So far, so good!!