Dailies

Mighty Miggy!

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The Mighty Miggy hit his 39th home run, a solo shot, in the bottom of the 9th to give the Tigers a 6-5 win and even this 5 game series with the Royals.

Despite leaving 9 men on base, the Tigers offense was able to bail the pitching staff out tonight.  The pitching wasn’t horrible but it is not what Tigers fans have come to expect.

Doug Fister lasted 6 and 1/3.  He surrendered 3 earned.  Fister walked 2, struck out 6 and gave up 10 hits.

The top of the 4th inning featured one of the strangest plays I’ve ever seen. With Chris Getz on first base and nobody out, Fister threw a pitch that Alcides Escobar foul tipped behind home plate.  Home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski ruled it a wild pitch.  While Brayan Pena was waiting for the umpire to hand him a new ball, Chris Getz ran all the way to 3rd base.  If it wasn’t for Doug Fister, realizing what had happened, and retrieving the ball, Getz would have scored.  As it turned out, Getz ended up scoring when Escobar doubled to tie the game at three.

Jim Leyland and Brayan Pena, furious at the call, were both thrown out of the game.  Replays showed that the call was blown.  It was clearly a foul tipped ball.

Withe score tied at 4 in the bottom of the 7th, Prince Fielder homered to give the Tigers the lead back 5-4 but the bull pen couldn’t hold it.  Jose Veras allowed the tying run in the top of the 8th and the stage was set for Miggy’s heroics.

Royals reliever Aaron Crow came in to pitch the 9th with Miggy leading off.  Crow fell behind Miggy 3-1 and I was sure he was just going to put him on.  And in fact, he may have been trying to.  The 3-1 pitch looked to be about 6 inches off of the plate away, but Miggy expanded the strike zone and did what he does.  He hit a bullet over the right field fence giving the Tigers a much needed win.

The running game is becoming a big problem for the Tigers.  They can’t stop anybody from running and this deficiency is compounded when the pitching staff gives up walks.  They need to find a way to address this but I’m not sure they have the tools to do so.  Neither Pena, Holaday nor Avila have been very effective at throwing this year.  I hope this doesn’t come back to bite the Tigers in a crucial situation, like a playoff or World Series game.

On the flip side of the coin, the Tigers did a bit of running themselves tonight.  They scored their third run in the bottom of the second on a suicide squeeze.  With Infante on 3rd and one out, Iggy, laid down a bunt that not only scored Infante but gave Iglesias another infield hit.

With a win tomorrow, the Tigers can win the five game series 3-2.

Update, Cleveland Indian’s second baseman, Jason Kipnis, tweeted this today, “Dear Miggy… You’re making the rest of us look bad.. Knock it off! – MLB Hitters”.  Hat Tip to Sark for showing me the Kipnis tweet. I have retweeted the Kipnis tweet and it can be seen on the right side of this page.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

Tigers Drop Both Ends of Double Header

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There’s not much to say about either of the games today.  The Tigers only surrendered 5 runs but could only muster 1.

The pitching in both games was good.  Even Coke and the Amazing Al pitched well but you’re not going to win many games, or series for that matter, by only scoring 1 run in two games.

In game one, JV was JV.  He pitched 8 innings, allowed 2 earned, on 7 hits.  He struck out 6 and walked 2.  But it’s hard to win when you don’t score any runs.  The Tigers were no-hit through the first 5 and 2/3.  Miggy broke up the no-no with a two out bullet down the third base line.  Royals’ Emilio Bonifacio got his glove on it but it was hit so hard it still rolled into left field.

Danny Duffy was brilliant for the Royals. He allowed no runs, only the Miggy single, walked three and struck out three.

The only run the Tigers got was a solo shot from Ramon Santiago in the 8th.

In game 2, Alvarez, Bonderman, Coke, and Alburquerque allowed only 8 hits.  Alavarez gave up the two earned his 5 and 2/3.  Bonderman gave up one unearned run aided by his wide pick off throw to first.

In game two the Tigers hit the ball hard but always in the wrong spots. After getting just two hit in the first game, they managed only 4 in the second.  So that makes 1 run and 6 hits in 18 innings.  That won’t get it done.

The only thing I can think of is that during their 12 game winning streak everything seemed to be going the Tigers’ way.  Since they went to New York, things have started to even out, and they’re not getting the breaks.

The good news is that there is still time to win this series, but they’ll wins tomorrow and Sunday to make it happen.

The bats have to wake up and the Tigers have to figure out a way to slow down the running game.  The Royals, like just about everyone else, are running on the Tigers at will.

Back at it tomorrow.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

GOOD OLE DIRKSY!

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After struggling mightily this season, especially on the last road trip, Andy Dirks started in left field tonight and batted lead-off, while Jim Leyland rested Austin Jackson.  Dirksy paid dividends right away.  He led off the bottom of the 1st with a single and ended up going 4-4 with 2 singles and 2 doubles.

I’ve been hard on Dirksy this year but I thought he had some good at bats Tuesday in Chicago and was on the verge of coming out of his funk.  Today was a good start.  Hopefully, he can keep rolling and the Tigers won’t have to worry about what to do in left field anymore.

Prince Fielder, almost on queue, hit a two run homer in the bottom of the first and that was more than enough for the Tigers pitching staff tonight.

After a very rough first inning, Anibal Sanchez, gave the Tigers 7 1/3,  allowing only a first inning run.  He struck out 5 and walked one.  What makes this start more impressive is that Sanchez needed 30 pitches to get out of the 1st inning.  It looked like it was going to be a short night, but he composed himself, and pitched into the 8th while throwing 115 pitches.

What’s even more interesting, in regard to Anibal’s start, was that Jim Leyland allowed him to throw 115 pitches, which is usually reserved for only Justin Verlander.

Bruce Rondon relieved Sanchez with one out in the 8th and continues to impress.  He recorded the last two outs.  I was hoping he’d come out for the 9th to preserve Benoit for the rest of the series.  But it was not to be.  Benoit came on in the 9th and recorded his 16th save.

Jarrod Dyson flashed some serious leather in the bottom of the 8th.  Victor Martinez led off the inning by hitting a laser to right-center.  Off of the bat, it looked like a sure double and perhaps even a triple, but Dyson kept gaining ground and made a beautiful running catch.

Here are a few random notes:

  1. It was nice to see Prince hit a home run. I’m not sure exactly how long since his last one, but it seemed like a month or so.
  2. I’m more than a little concerned at the way teams run at will on the Tigers.  It seems to be a combination of the pitchers falling asleep and the catchers not throwing well.  Right now, it hasn’t bitten them to much, but in close games it could be huge.
  3. I’m also concerned about the way the Tigers run the bases.  Dirks and Hunter both made blunders, on the same play, in the bottom of the third tonight.  Dirksy led off with a double.  Hunter followed with a ground ball back to the pitcher.  Dirks got a little too anxious and got caught between second and third.  To make matters worse, Hunter got caught between first and second.  It was very strange double play.  Right now the running game doesn’t look like a big deal, but it could really come back to haunt the Tigers in an important game.
  4. Jose Iglesisas and Omar Infante turn double plays like they’ve been together for years.  As long as Iglesias can hit just a little, his acquisition should turn out to be fantastic.
  5. I hope Dirksy is on a roll and this isn’t just a one game reprieve.
  6. Brayan Pena is raking.  He had two more hits tonight and is batting .313.  That’s a lot more than I expected.
  7. After a rocky start to his big league career, Bruce Rondon looks fantastic.  He has lowered his ERA to 3.68.

There were a few omens that proved prescient for the night Dirksy had.  First, is this sign from a guy in a Tiger striped suit, right behind the Tiger dugout.

Andy Dirks The Andy Man
The Andy Man Can

Second, as Dirks was stepping to the plate to lead off the game for the Tigers, my Dad said Dirksy is going to hit a bullet to right field.  He was correct.  Actually, the older I get, the smarter my Dad becomes.  🙂

The Tigers could use a “JV” performance tomorrow in game one.  It would be nice to take the first two of this 5 game series with TBD slated for game two.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

Tigers Avoid Sweep – Beat Sox 6-4

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The Mighty Miggy and Joaquin Benoit bailed the Tigers out and helped to avoid a three game sweep to end the 10 game road trip.

This game looked ugly, early.  Rick Porcello required 37 pitches to get out of the first inning and when he did, the Tigers were down 3-0.

Ricky settled down after the first.  He put up zeroes for the next 5 innings and was able to go 6 complete.  He allowed 3 earned runs, walked 1 and struck out 4.  What is kind of troubling however, is that he surrendered 11 hits and didn’t have a 1-2-3 inning.  In fact, no Tiger pitcher recorded a 1-2-3 inning today.

With the Tigers trailing 3-0 in the 3rd, The Mighty Miggy got the Tigers even with a 3 run bomb with Austin Jackson and Bryan Holaday scoring in front of him.

The Tigers got 3 more runs in the 6th to take a 6-3 lead.  With one out, Victor singled then went to 3rd on a Matt Tuiasosopo single.  This was a very encouraging sign because it actually looked like Victor was running well.  Victor scored when Omar Infante singled breaking the tie and giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead.  I was hoping for a big clutch hit from someone else in the lineup, to break the game open, but it never came.  The next two runs were scored on a Conor Gillaspie throwing error on a ground ball off the bat of Austin Jacskon.  I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but a clutch hit would have been better than a throwing error.  However, with the way things have been going lately, I’ll take it.

In the bottom of the 7th, it looked like Jose Iggy Iglesias chose the wrong time to make his first fielding error as a Tiger.  With two out, Jeff Keppinger, hit a routine ground ball to short that Iggy booted.  Drew Smyly then walked Conor Gillaspie.  When Dayan Viciedo was announced as a pinch hitter for Tyler Flowers.  Jim Leyland countered by bringing in the Amazing Al and I thought the flood gates were about to open.  But, to my and the Tigers’ delight, Alburquerque got Viciedo to fly out and end the threat.

Jose Veras is beginning to scare me.  He came out to pitch the 9th and with one out gave up a run on two walks and a single.  This basically forced Leyland into bringing in Benoit for a 5 out save.  Benoit got Dunn and Garcia on strikes to end the inning and the threat and eventually got the save.

This win wasn’t pretty but it was needed.  It would have been a real downer to end the road trip at 5-5, especially with a sweep at the hands of the White Sox.

The Tigers are back home tomorrow for a 5 game series with the Royals.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

Tigers Lose 3 In a Row – Fall to White Sox 4-3 In 11 Innings

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The Tigers lost their 3rd consecutive game and 4th of their last 5 by falling in extra innings to the White Sox.

Max Scherzer started, went 6 complete, allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, struck out 6 and walked 3.  Much like Fister yesterday, Scherzer was cruising through the first 3 innings but needed 36 pitches to get out of the 4th.  The White Sox scored 3 runs in the 4th with the damage coming on a 2 RBI triple from ex-Tiger Avisail Garcia.  Garcia then scored on an Infante throwing error.  The Sox led 3-1 after the 4th.

The Tigers had plenty of chances to score but just couldn’t get the hit to break the game open. On the bright side, they did battle back from a 3-1 deficit with single runs in the 6th and 8th to send the game into extra innings.

Miggy was 0-5 today but hit 3 rockets, one to short and 2 right back up the middle, but had nothing to show for it.  Also, Andy Dirks came into the game to replace Tui.  Readers of this blog know that I’ve been hard on Dirksy and while he was 0-3, I thought he had 3 good at bats.

In Dirks’ first at bat he hit the ball hard but it was right at the left fielder.  His next at bat, he got himself into a 3-1 count and looked like he just missed a fastball.  His final at bat, I thought was his most impressive.  He fell behind 0-2 but worked the count full before flying out to Garcia in right.  He had no hits but sometimes when a player is struggling and puts together good at bats, it is a sign that he is coming out of his funk.  Let’s hope so.

Another encouraging sign is that it looks like Jose Iglesias and Omar Infante are a very good double play combination.  Strong defense up the middle is always a recipe for success.

Basically, this series in Chicago has been a disaster.  Let’s hope they can salvage one with Ricky on the hill tomorrow afternoon.

FYI:  The Royals lost tonight but the Indians won.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

UGLY! Tigers Fall To Sale, White Sox 6-2.

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What started out looking pretty good turned really ugly, really fast.

The Tigers got on the board in the first with a Miggy solo shot.  Brayan Pena put the Tigers up 2-0 after two with an RBI double, but the Tigers would score no more tonight.

Chris Sale pitched a complete game.  He allowed two earned, walked 0 and struck out 6 on 109 pitches.

Doug Fister started out well but seemed to fall apart in the 4th inning.  With 1 out Gordon Beckham singled.  Fister got Alexei Ramirez to pop out but then walked Adam Dunn and the wheels began to fall off. A wild pitch moved the runners up to second and third.  A walk to Konerko loaded the bases and another wild pitch scored Beckham and the White Sox were on the board.  Fister got ex-Tiger Avisail Garcia to end the inning but Fister could never really recover.

Fister came out for the 5th, gave up three more runs, and the Sox never looked back,  In Fister’s defense, he ran in to some bad luck.  With one out and runners on first and second, Gordon Beckham hit a ground ball back to Fister, which at first was looking like an inning ending double play, but the ball went off of Fister’s leg past Infante and into right field and the Sox were rolling.

The Tigers had chances to score, they touched Sale for 9 hits but couldn’t get the big knock when they needed it.  A big part of the Tigers’ offensive struggles were that Jacskon and Hunter were a combined 0-8, which meant Miggy was always hitting with nobody on base.

The Tigers left 16 men on base tonight, Omar Infante, back in the lineup, for the first time in over a month was 0-4 with 6 LOB.

I’m starting to worry a little bit.  Since the streak ended, the Tigers have lost 3 of 4 to bad teams, the Yankees and the White Sox.  Everything that seemed to be going so well suddenly isn’t.  Fister was not good tonight.  He wasn’t horrible but he had trouble with the strike zone and didn’t put in a quality start.  Even more concerning is Al Alburquerque out of the pen.  The Amazing Al has been more of an abomination lately.  Tonight, for example, he pitched one inning, gave up 5 hits and 2 earned runs.  I don’t think he’s an option out of the pen anymore, he’s a nightmare.  And, where is the clutch hitting?  We could have used a big hit from Infante, but I’ll cut him some slack, since this was his first game back.

On the bright side, Iggy is really flashing leather.  He made an unbelievable play in the 6th. Josh Phegley hit a chopper that got over Fister’s head and looked like a sure infield hit.  But on came Iggy, who dove, barehanded the ball, and threw to first with both feet off of the ground to get Phegley at first.  Iggy also chipped in offensively with an infield single.

Bruce Rondon looked pretty good.  He came on in the 8th to clean up the Amazing Al’s mess.  With runners at second and third and nobody out Rondon surrendered a Texas Leaguer that got over the drawn in infield and a sacrifice fly but got Gordon Beckham to ground into an inning ending double play.  This was not a bad outing for Rondon considering what he inherited.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

Tigers Lose Game and Series…

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in the Bronx.

The Tigers lost this afternoon to the Yankees 5-4 and lost the weekend series 2 games to 1.  This was a terrible series to lose.  The Yankees have been struggling and the Tigers surging. but the Tigers found a way to lose two games.

Justin Verlander was, ok, not great, not terrible. He pitched 7 complete, allowed 4 runs on 4 hits, struck out 9 and walked 1.  JV was not lights out but his offense didn’t pick him up today.  The Tigers as a team left 23 runners on base.

Austin Jackson made another crucial base running error in the 8th inning.  With the score 4-2, Jackson was on first base with one out.  Torii Hunter followed with a long fly ball that Yankee center fielder, Brett Gardener, flashed some leather on. He made a fine running catch and crashed into the wall. He was momentarily hurt and unable to throw the ball in.  As a result, he shoveled the ball toward the left fielder Alfonso Soriano.  For some reason, Jackson never went back to first base and got double off leaving Miguel Cabrera in the on deck circle.

Miggy struck in the 9th.  He lead off the 9th with a solo shot off of Yankee closer Mariano Rivera.  After Prince lined out softly to third, Victor stepped up and hit a solo homer to tie the game.  Unfortunately, Brett Gardner homered off of Jose Veras in the bottom of the 9th to win the game for the Yankees.

Even with the late inning heroics, you can’t leave 23 runners on base and expect to win baseball games.  The Tigers have a gaping hole in left field and need to figure out a way to fill it, at least partially.  Matt Tuiasosopo played today and he seems to have cooled off but you can hardly blame him.  He hasn’t played much in the last two weeks as Tiger manager Jim Leyland was suffering from Dirksburger Syndrome and couldn’t find many at bats for Tui.

It’s on to Chicago.  They need to win this series.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

Tigers Thrash Yankees 9-3…

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even series at 1.

The Tigers beat up on Yankee pitching early and often.  The 1-2-3 hitters were on fire but the big hit came off the bat of Don Kelly in the top of the 5th.  After a Victor Martinez double, Kelly came to the plate with runners at second and third with two out and delivered a 2 RBI single making it 6-0.

Miggy, Ajax, and Hunter each hit home runs today.  Hunter’s 3 run shot in the 6th, effectively put the game out of reach.

Anibal Sanchez pitched well.  He went 7 complete, allowed 2 earned, struck out 8, and walked only 1.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, Yankee Brett Gardner, went in to second base high and hard on Jose Iglesias to brake up a double play.  He was successful.  Iglesias threw the ball wide and Ichiro was safe at 1st.  This may be considered an acceptable, hard, baseball play, but after what happened to Omar Infante in Toronto, I think the Tigers should have responded and sent the Yankees, Gardner and the rest of the league a message.  In his next at bat, Gardner should have gotten a 95 mph fastball in the ribs but it didn’t happen.  Perhaps tomorrow? Perhaps next year?

As far as I’m concerned, the Tigers have two scores to settle.  The first is with the Toronto Blue Jays and Colby Rasmus.  That little jerk should be given chin music in his next 3 at bats against the Tigers and his in his 4th at bat his ribs need to be light up with a Rondon 103 mph fastball.  As for Gardner, one in the ribs should suffice, Verlander perhaps tomorrow?

Jose Iglesias and Victor Martinez flashed leather today.  In the bottom of the 3rd, Iggy made a nice diving stop on a ball hit sharply, off the bat of Austin Romine, between short and 3rd and Victor made a nice scoop at 1st to complete the play and end the inning.  Iggy also had two hits raising his average to .323.  Not too bad for a guy the Tigers got for his glove.

Tiger manager Jim Leyland had a slight reprieve from his Dirksburger Syndrome.  Andy Dirks was replaced in left field by Don DK Kelly.  Kelly was 2-4 with 3 RBIs.  What’s even more surprising is that Dirksy didn’t even come in as a defensive replacement late in the game.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

The Streak Ends At 12…

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as the Tigers fell to the Yankees tonight, 4-3, in 10 innings.

Rick Porcello started the game and only lasted 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits.  He struck out six and walked 2.  Ricky didn’t pitch poorly but I knew he was in trouble from the very first batter.  The umpire, Will Little, was not calling the inside pitch to left handers a strike.  Brett Gardner led off the game with a walk and the replay showed that Ricky had struck him out twice but couldn’t get the inside strike called.  In fact, the Yankees first 5 hits were all from left handers and all to left or left center.  The only hard hit ball was Robinson Cano’s double that drove in 2 runs in the third.

In fact, this was one of the worst umpired games I’ve seen in a long time at home plate.  I couldn’t tell what was a strike and neither could anybody else.  Most of the time replays show that umpires get the calls right but not tonight.  I’m not sure what Little was looking at.

That being said, the Tigers had plenty of chances to score but the offense basically consisted of Autsin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera.  Jackson was 4-6 and Miggy was 2-5 and drove in all three Tigers runs.  The big hit was Miggy’s two run bomb in the 9th inning off of Mariano Rivera to send the game into extra innings.  It looked like the Tigers might go ahead in the 9th.  After Miggy’s homer, Fielder followed with a double.  The Yankees then walked Martinez putting runners at first and second with 2 out.  Andy Dirks stepped to the plate and completed his 0-5 night by grounding out to 2nd base.  Between Torii Hunter and Andy Dirks, they left 15 men on base.  Hunter stranded 8 while Dirksies chipped in with 7.

Ichiro Suzuki, Torii Hunter and Jose Iglesias all flashed leather tonight.  Ichiro was first when he made a nice running grab in right field, crashing into the wall and robbing Miggy of extra bases in the 3rd.  Torii Hunter made a fine sliding catch in foul territory on a ball hit by Alfonso Soriano to end the 7th and Jose Iglesias, smooth as silk, started a 6-4-3 double play in the bottom of the 8th to bail Bruce Rondon out of a jam and keep the Tigers within striking distance.

With the run the Tigers have been on it is hard to complain.  Hopefully, they can regroup and start another streak tomorrow afternoon.

Looking at the big picture, the most important thing is that Jimmy Leyland got Andy Dirks a start and kept him in for the whole game.

Here’s a thought, Don Kelly was brought in to pinch hit for Jose Iglesias to lead off the 9th.  I know there’s no way of knowing Miggy would tie the score but perhaps it would have been a good idea to keep your best defensive player in the game in a tight game on the road.  It might have been a better idea to have Kelly pinch hit for Dirksy to lead off the top of the 8th.  Kelly could then have played left field instead of shortstop.  But, I guess at that point, Dirksy was only 0-3 with only 5 left on base.  But, what do I know.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

12 IN A ROW! TIGERS SWEEP TRIBE 10-3!

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Max Scherzer improved his record to 17-1 as the Tigers pounded the Indians and swept the 4 games series.  Max pitched 7 innings, allowed 2 earned runs, struck out 5 and walked on to earn his 17th win of the season.

The Tigers offense exploded in the 3rd when Indians starter Zach McAllister couldn’t throw strikes.  They scored six runs, 4 on back to back doubles by Fielder and Martinez.  They added 2 runs in the both the 4th and 5th innings and cruised to their 12 consecutive victory.

After 5 innings, the Tigers led 10-1.  I was expecting Miguel Cabrera, and possibly Prince Fielder, to come out of the game for some rest with the game well in hand but that didn’t happen.  Both Fielder and Cabrera played the entire game.

I’m a little confused.  Last night in a one run game, Jim Leyland pull Miggy out of the game for a defensive replacement and to rest his ailing hip.  Tonight, with a 9 run lead, he’s left in to play the whole game.  Perhaps, the thinking was that a defensive replacement in yesterday’s game might help preserve the lead and avoid extra innings?  I’m not sure.  But as it turned out, the Indians tied the game and Miggy missed at least 2 more at bats.  If that is the thinking, I can understand not pulling Miggy for defensive purposes, but how about to rest his injury.  Nothing seems to make sense but it’s hard to complain with the role the Tigers are on.

I guess the Important thing is that Andy Dirks started and played the whole game.  I’m not sure if the Tigers could have survived if Dirksy didn’t play.  He did have two hits and an RBI but they came when the game was well in hand.  In the third inning, with no score, Dirksy came up with the bases loaded and nobody out and promptly struck out on three pitches, all fast balls, up in the zone.

I think I’ve diagnosed a new illness.  It is very rare and only known to affect one person to date,  The illness is Dirksburger syndrome.  Similar to Assburger syndrome when the sufferer sees everybody’s behind as a cheeseburger, Dirksburger syndrome is more concentrated.  Those inflicted have this nagging neuroses that requires them to insert Andy Dirks into the lineup of a baseball game no matter what the circumstances are.  It is rare, never fatal, but could prevent the Tigers from ending their 29 year World Series drought.

In the 9th inning, Indians manager, Terry Francona, brought our old friend Ryan Rayburn in to pitch, and he looked pretty good, actually.  He retired the Tigers 1-2-3 and got Tui for a swinging K.

On to New York City, the city so nice they named it twice.  Hopefully Ricky can keep the wagon rolling.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural