Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Tigers Lose Series to Twins

Justin Morneau smashed a two run home run in the eighth inning tonight as the Twins came back to beat the Tigers 4-3. For a moment, it looked like it might be another dramatic victory for the Tigers as Brandon Inge crushed a two run homer to left off Johan Santana in the bottom of the 7th to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. However, the lead did not last long. After Jamie Walker allowed a lead off walk in the 8th, Joel Zumaya came in to pitch and struck out the side. Unfortunately, he also allowed the two run blast to Morneau which gave the lead back to the Twins.

This loss was a little easier to take than the last Jeremy Bonderman/Santana showdown. In that one, Bonderman pitched a 1 hit shutout for 7 innings before the team suffered a 6 run eighth inning melt down. Bonderman called it the "worst inning of his life" although most of it was not his fault. That one featured a series of bleeders and choppers and a comedy of errors. This one was lost on a home run by one of baseball's hottest sluggers. They both count the same though.

The Tigers lost the series 2 out of 3 but there is no need to panic. After all, it was their first series loss since July 3-5 at Oakland. It was their first loss at home since June 2-4 versus the Red Sox. As I type this, The White Sox trail the Yankees 7-1 in the 7th. If that lead holds up, the Tigers will enter the upcoming White Sox series with an 8 1/2 lead over the Twins and 9 game lead over the White Sox.

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