Bryan Holaday

Tigers 8 Twins 6

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The Tigers survived a bad start from Verlander, a bad game from Miggy, and Joe Nathan to get a badly needed win. I’m not saying this is a turning point but it’s nice to not have to write about another loss.

Even though Miggy was bad, enough of the other guys stepped up to put eight runs on the board.

The key play in this game came in the top of the sixth when Eugenio Saurez got a one out hit that drove in the tying and go-ahead runs. It is the kind of hit, although with only one out, that this team has failed to come up with.

Torri, Victor, J.D, Costellanos, Suarez and Bryan Holaday also had good nights offensively. When six of the players in the lineup have good nights, they can overcome a night where Miggy was slightly better than horrible.

When Miggy got his hit and RBI in the eighth, he looked like he was limping when he got to first base. I think he’s hurt a lot worse than I know or even suspected. If he is, I tip my hat for playing everyday.

I’m not sure what to make of JV. His velocity seemed pretty good but I’m not sure about his pitch selection. It looked like when he shook Holaday off, he paid for it.

Oh, well, I’ll take the W.

Max Stops The Bleeding

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Let’s hope it isn’t a band aide on a hemorrhage.

There’s no other way to say it, Max was smokin balls! Not only did he get the win but he got his first complete game as well.

The Tigers finally got an Ace to beat an Ace. Chris Sale was good but Max was better.

Is Bryan Holaday the number two catcher?

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

 

Tigers 5 White Sox 1

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Another good effort today by the Tigers.  They swept a short two game series from the White Sox via their 5-1 victory in the Windy City this afternoon.

The Good:

  • The pitching.  Max lasted “only” six innings but he kept the Sox scoreless, striking out seven and walking three.
  • Five runs should be enough to win most games.
  • Bryan Holaday continues to come up big at the plate.  He was 1-3 with 2 RBIs.
  • Victor is still raking.  He drove in two and went 1-3
  • AJax had three walks.  Can you imagine what his numbers will be if he walks 100 times this season.
  • The Amazing Al and Joba were smokin balls out of the pen.

The Bad:

  • Hunter, Cabrera and Castellanos each struck out twice.
  • Evan Reed allowed a run in the ninth.

The Ugly:

  • The Tigers, as a team, struck out 10 times this afternoon.  I hate strike outs almost as much as GIDP.

Does it seem like there are a lot of two game series this year?

Off to Kansas City.

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

Tigers 4 White Sox 3

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This was a nice come from behind win.  After the Sox put up three on JV in the third the Tigers battled back to tie.

In the top of the ninth, with two out and AJax on third, Bryan Holaday put down a bunt single that scored Jackson and gave the Tigers the lead for good.  Holaday’s bunt looked like the final inning scene from Major Leagues.

The Good:

  • The Tigers fought back after falling behind and found a way to win.
  • The Tigers scored the winning run on an unconventional play rarely seen by a Tigers team in recent history.
  • Joba Chamberlain continues to get it done out of the bullpen.
  • Joe Nathan recorded his fifth save.

The Bad:

  • Not too much today.

The Ugly:

  • Rajai Davis took the golden sombrero, striking out four times and generally looking off balance all night.

Max is on the hill for tomorrow’s finale, a 2:10 EST start.

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

 

 

Tigers 7 White Sox 4

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Behind six good innings from 2013 Cy Young winner, Max Scherzer, the Tigers earned a split with the White Sox in this four game series.

The only thing I don’t like about Max’s line, while it is hard to complain when he strikes out 10, is that he only lasted six innings.  Max needed 110 pitches to get through six complete.

The Good:

  • The Tigers won.
  • The Tigers scored in five different innings, the second, third, fifth, seventh, and eighth.
  • The Tigers put up seven runs.
  • Max struck out 10 and walked only one.
  • Miggy had three RBIs.
  • Castellanos and Holaday had two hits.
  • Rajai Davis had three hits and two RBIs.
  • Joe Nathan earned his 4th save without surrendering a run.

The Bad:

  • Joba got roughed up today. He allowed two earned runs on three hits in one inning of work.

The Ugly:

  • Nothing today.

The Tigers go to Target Field for a weekend series with the Twins.  Freeway Rick Porcello is on the mound in Minnesota tomorrow.

 

 

John Lowe – Speed

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Hat Tip to Nebraska for pointing this article out.

It appears John Lowe of the Freep dot com has come to the same conclusion readers of this blog have come to.  Namely, the biggest problem the Tigers have is their inability to throw out runners.

On a night when the Tigers set a team record for home runs allowed in a game with eight, the significant question that emerged nonetheless dealt not with power, but with speed:

If there is a Tigers-Red Sox playoff series next month, could the Tigers lose because of their inability to prevent stolen bases?

Ominously, that inability is what allowed the East-leading Red Sox to score the run that put them ahead to stay in a 20-4 thumping of the Central-leading Tigers on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Keep reading here.

The part of the Tigers’ inability to throw runners out that baffles me is that they don’t have ANYBODY that can shut down the running game.  Can all the blame go to the pitching staff?  Are they that bad at holding runners close?  It seems to me that the catchers have to start sharing the blame. Avila, Holaday, Pena, none of them can throw anybody out.

Perhaps speed defense should have been addressed at the trade deadline.

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

Tigers lose game and series to Twins

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This was a disgusting loss.  The Tigers fell to the Twins 7-6 this afternoon at Comerica Park and dropped the series 2-1.  Since the their 12 game win streak ended , the Tigers have lost series to the Yankees, White Sox and Twins.

I wrote yesterday how shutting down the running game and using the running game on offense were issues for the Tigers.  But I can’t fall back on that today. The Tigers didn’t pitch well enough to win today.

Starting pitcher, Justin Verlander, lasted 7 innings but was just short of terrible. He allowed 10 hits and six earned runs while walking 3 and striking out 6.  I don’t have the words for JV.  In one start he looks like he’s the JV of old, in the next he looks like he’s not going to get anybody out.  Today was the latter.

The Tigers were down 6-2 heading to the bottom of the 6th.  Bryan Holaday, for the second night in a row, sparked a Tigers rally.  With two out, Infate on third and Igelsias on 2nd, Holaday drove in Infante and turned the lineup over for Austin Jackson who tied the score with a 3 run shot.

The scored stayed tied at 6 into the top of the 8th when Bruce Rondon gave up the winning run on a walk and a Chris Hermann double.  It looked like Austin Jackson misjudged the ball off of Hermann’s bat but regardless, when you give up 6 runs, you can’t expect to win many games.

In the bottom of the 8th and the Tigers trailing 7-6, Jim Leyland pinch hit Brayan Pena for Matt Holaday.  Normally, I wouldn’t have a problem with this move, but Holaday was having a nice game.  He was 2-2 with a walk, 2 RBIs, and his first MLB home run.  I think he should have played the hot hand and let Holaday bat.

Off to NYC for a weekend series with the Mets.

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

Tigers Beat Twins 7-1 – Even Series

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Behind 6 and 2/3 strong innings from Anibal Sanchez, the Tigers beat the Twins 7-1, at Comerica Park tonight.

This was a frustrating game to watch for 6 and half innings.  The Tigers offense seemed like it could do nothing against Twins’ starter Kevin Correia, despite having 6 hits entering the 7th inning.

The problem with the Tigers’ offense is their lack of speed.  Cabrera, Fielder, Martinez and Infante can’t run at all.  While none of these guys are burners, injuries have slowed them further.  Additionally, as a team, they steal very few bases and rarely take an extra base on singles, especially going first to third.  Given this lack of offensive speed, the Tigers have two ways of scoring.  First, and most difficult, is to play station to station and string together 3-4 base hits.  The second way is to hit home runs, and extra base hits in the outfield gaps.  When they aren’t getting the extra base power their offense fizzles and looks lethargic.  Today’s game was a case in point, for 6 innings, and there was no better example than Victor Martinez hitting a ball off the right field wall and settling for a single in the 4th.

On defense, the biggest problem the Tigers have is stopping, or slowing down, the running game.  I hate to sound like a broken record but every team the Tigers play runs on them at will.  In the top of the 7th, I thought the story of the game was going to be a 1-0 Tiger loss and a wasted quality start from Anibal.  With two out in the 7th, Sanchez walked the Twins’ number 9 hitter, Pedro Florimon.  Florimon promptly stole second and scored on a Brian Dozier single giving the Twins a 1-0 lead and chasing Sanchez.

Luckily, the Tigers’ offense exploded for 4 runs in the 7th and 3 in the 8th.  The big hit came in the 7th.  With two out, and nothing really to cheer about, Bryan Holaday extended the inning and turned the lineup over with a single.  Austin Jackson followed with another single and Torii Hunter doubled in Jackson and Holaday to open the flood gates and give the Tigers the lead.

An oddity in Today’s game was the pattern Sanchez fell in to.  In the first four innings, Sanchez retired the first two hitters easily.  However, with two outs he would give up base runners.  In fact, it wasn’t until the 5th inning that Anibal had his first 1-2-3 inning.  I’m not sure what this means, or if it means anything, it just struck me as a little odd.

Jose Iggy Iglesias continues to impress.  In addition to his stellar defense, he had two more hits tonight raising his average to .324, not too bad for a guy known for his glove.

Verlander pitches tomorrow afternoon.  This is a win the Tigers must have.  (It sounds like I say that a lot.)

“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

Not Good!

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The Angels took Rick Porcello, and the Tiger bullpen, behind the woodshed again tonight, pounding the Tiger pitching staff for 14 runs.

I can’t make any excuses for Rickey this time, he was not good, and that is kind.  He allowed 7 earned in four and a third innings and didn’t get any help from his friends in the bullpen.

Darin Downs came in with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth and allowed all three inherited runners to score.

Evan Reed relieved Downs and sabotaged himself.  He allowed 4 runs but none of them were earned.  He made two errors himself.  His first error was a pick off throw to first that went down the right field line where Tori Hunter had to field it.

By the time the top of the fifth was over the Tigers were down 10-2.  The offense tried to fight back, answering the Angels’ 8 with 3 of their own in the bottom of the fifth, but the pitching staff couldn’t stop hemorrhaging runs.

The Angels demolished the Tigers 14-8.

This is two bad starts in a row for Rickey and all of the sudden I’m finding holes in the Tiger rotation.  The last two starts for Porcello and JV have been terrible.  Add to that an empty closer position and Sanchez on the DL, and I’m getting a little worried.

One of the key at bats for me was when Porcello faced Josh Hamilton in the top of the fifth.  With one out he had Hamilton 0 and 2 on two straight change ups.  I was expecting a high heater to try to induce him to chase.  Instead, Porcello threw him a 78 MPH curve ball low and in and Hamilton promptly drilled it to right, driving in a run.  If this is the pitch and location Holaday wanted, they should re-evaluate their game plan.

Alvarez goes tomorrow, hopefully he can stop the bleeding.

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