Last year, Tigers right hander Rick Porcello had trouble pitching deep into games. He typically breezed along for for four or five innings and then he would lose it. Going off of memory for the moment, his fastball velocity would often be under 90 MPHafter 50 pitches or so and then he'd get hit hard. The chart below taken from Brooks Baseball shows that, in today's game, he was still firing his fastball at about 92 MPH at about the eighty-pitch mark. That's a good sign. The key will be whether he can continue to do that as the season goes along and the innings pile up.
Figure 1: Rick Porcello's Pitch Speed by Pitch Number, 04/15/2012
Porcello's results were encouraging again today. He allowed just one run on five hits, including a home run by Dayan Viciedo, in 7 2/3 innings. He got most of his outs on 11 ground balls plus four strikeouts. His control was superb as he walked nobody and has issued just one base on balls in his first two starts.
Offensive support came from the unlikeliest of sources today. Gerald Laird, who has caught both of Porcello's starts this year, blasted a homer, a double and a single as the Tigers topped the White Sox 5-2. Delmon Young also had two hits today rising his on-base percentage to a robust .382. That's higher than Miguel Cabrera at .350. Yes, the early season numbers can be weird sometimes.
On the negative side, the Tigers bullpen continued to struggle, specifically closer Jose Valverde. Papa Grande came into the game with a 5-1 lead in the ninth and proceeded to allow three hits and a run. He managed to hang on and preserve a win (it was not a save situation), but he has not been impressive in the early going.
The win prevented a sweep at the hands of the White Sox and propelled the Tigers back into first place. Next up is a three-game series versus the Royals in Kansas City.
The long awaited Justin Verlander/ CC Sabathia finally took place tonight in game three of the first round of the playoffs (I hate calling it the ALDS). While it wasn't quite the pitching duel some may have expected, it was an entertaining and tension-filled game from start to finish.
Tigers ace Justin Verlander allowed a lead off single to Derek Jeter and a triple to Curtis Granderson to start the game and the Yankees took a quick 2-0 lead in the first. Verlander quickly settled down or more accurately got amped up showing off some his most dominant stuff of the year after Granderson's triple. JV usually holds back his hardest fastballs for the late innings, but tonight he was throwing 98-101 MPH fastballs all night long. He struck out every Yankees starter at least once and had 11 for the night.
The Tigers fans could sense that Verlander was doing something special and roared on every two strike count. The crowd noise sounded like what you hear in the background of one of those old World Series films. For a while, it looked like the powerful right hander would cruise to a complete game victory, but he ran into some trouble in the seventh.
With two outs and two strikes on designated hitter Jorge Posada, Verlander tried to put the Yankee veteran away with curveballs and ended up walking him. He then hit catcher Russell Martin with a pitch and allowed a game tying two-run double to speedy Brett Gardner. It looked like Justin got a little to pumped in that inning, but then settled down and got through eight innings allowing four runs.
On the other side, Sabathia did not have good command tonight walking six batters in 5 1/3 innings. He survived the early innings reasonably well thanks to three double plays. However, the Tigers chipped away getting some offense from unlikely sources. Brandon Inge had a double and a single and scored two runs. Ramon Santiago also had a double and a single and knocked in two runs. Jim Leyland's favorite utility man, Don Kelly, later singled and scored.
Finally, the big blow came in the bottom of the seventh. With the score tied at four, Delmon Young crushed a homer to right field to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead they would not lose. I think the controversial Mr. Young (Some internet Tigers fans love him while others hate him) added a few new fans tonight.
Closer Jose Valverde, who made us nervous in a non-save situation yesterday did the same in a save situation tonight. He put two Yankees on base via bases on balls in the ninth, but then danced after striking out Derek Jeter to end the game.
After yesterday's game, Papa Grande joked that the series is over and that the Tigers will not go back to Yankee Stadium. He has a chance to be proven right tomorrow when the Tigers try to win the series with Rick Porcello facing AJ Burnett.
It took two days to finish the first game of the playoffs versus the Yankees and it was not worth the wait. The Tigers lost to the Yankees 9-3 in a game with few highlights for the Tigers. Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano accounted for the run differential with a six-RBI night.
Right-hander Doug Fister took over in the second inning for ace Justin Verlander who had pitched the first inning of the game last night. Fister was not as bad as his pitching line (six runs in 4 2/3 innings) indicated, but he made a couple of mistakes and paid for it. The biggest mistake was probably the hanging curve he threw to Brett Gardner with two on , two outs and two strikes in the sixth inning. Gardner's two-run single made the score 4-1 and opened the floodgates to a six-run inning.
The biggest blow of the sixth inning was a grand slam by Cano off reliever Al Albuquerque. Albuquerque had allowed just two inherited runners to score all year, but he matched that total on just one pitch in the playoffs. So, two of our most trusted pitchers had rough nights.
Delmon Young hit a solo homer off Yankees ace CC Sabathia last night in the first, but tonight the the offense was non-existent until they scored two in the ninth. Rookie Ivan Nova pitched six scoreless two-hit innings before tiring in the ninth. The Tigers scored two in the ninth and then loaded the bases forcing the Yankees to bring in Mariano Rivera. That looked like a positive given that there will be four games in four days. However, Rivera struck out Wislon Betemit on three pitches, so it may not have much effect.
Fister versus Nova looked like a pretty good match-up for the Tigers. It didn't turn out that way. Tomorrow, it will be Max Scherzer versus Freddy Garcia in a crucial game two. If the Tigers lose, they'll be one game from elimination. If they win, they'll be tied one to one as the series moves to Comerica.
The Tigers upped their record to 93-67 tonight by shutting out the Indians 14-0. The story of the game was starting pitcher Doug Fister who absolutely dominated the Indians. He allowed just three hits and walked nobody in eight scoreless innings. His control was so superb that he went to only one three-ball count all night. On top of his usual control, he also struck out nine Indians. In has last 55 2/3 innings, he has done his best Cliff Lee imitation with a 0.65 ERA and an amazing 52/4 K/BB ratio.
The often unlucky Fister received a generous amount of run support tonight. The Tigers scored as many runs for him tonight as the Mariners typically scored for him in a month. Seattle scored 12 runs for the big right-hander in May, 10 in June and 7 in July. Tonight, the Tigers scored 14 runs, including an eight-run explosion in the eighth.
Red hot Miguel Cabrera led the 18-hit attack with three singles raising his league-leading batting average to .343. He also took over the lead in on base percentage with a .448 mark. Every other Tigers starter had two hits except Ramon Santiago, who had one.
The win leaves the Tigers a half game behind the Rangers who play the Angels on the west coast tonight. If the Tigers can catch the Rangers, they will get home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
It's getting to the point where Tigers fans expect a walk-off win and we predict who will knock in the game winner each night. You could have guessed anyone tonight, because it took three innings to happen. If you picked Victor Martinez, you were the winner. He drilled a hit just inside the third base line and into the left field corner scoring pinch runner Danny Worth with the game-winning-run in the eleventh inning. Brandon Inge's lead-off walk and Miguel Cabrera's one-out single set up the winning hit.
The 4-3 win over the Orioles gives the Tigers a 28-16 record in one-run games, the best in the American League. That's a big difference from 2010 when they went 16-26 in one-run games. If they had played .500 ball in one-run games both years, they would have gone 86-76 last year and 85-72 this year. So, one-run wins explains all but a 1 1/2 game disparity between the two years.
Rick Porcello pitched his usual high-hit game allowing nine safeties in seven innings, but he limited the damage to just three runs. Thankfully, he allowed just one extra base hit, a run-scoring double by Vladimir Guerrero in the first inning.
The bullpen took over in the eighth. The playoff-ready Phil Coke, Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde cruised through the eighth, ninth and tenth innings allowing no runs and one base runner between them. The playoff-unready Ryan Perry allowed two base runners but managed to pitch a scoreless eleventh.
Tomorrow tonight, Justin Verlander will attempt to become baseball's first 25-game winner since Bob Welch won 27 for the Oakland Athletics in 1990.
The Tigers capped a fantastic four-week stretch tonight by clinching their first division title since 1987. Their 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics officially eliminated the Indians who earlier beat the twins.
With almost two weeks left in the season, this one came a lot earlier than the 1987 title. That one came on the last day of the season completing the most thrilling pennant race of my lifetime. Southpaw Frank Tanana pitched a complete game shutout to outduel Blue Jays starter Jimmy Key 1-0. Outfielder Larry Herndon provided the only run with a solo homer.
Much like the 1987 clincher, this one featured an outstanding performance by a Tigers starter. Doug Fister allowed just one run on three hits and no walks through eight innings. At one point, the tall slim righthander had retired 17 batters in a row.
It's the kind of game we have come to expect from a pitcher who has had as much to do with the Tigers surge as anyone on the team. In his last six starts, he has posted a tremendous 0.81 ERA and a 41/4 K/BB ratio in 44 2/3 innings. Past mid-season acquisitions Woodie Fryman (1972) and Doyle Alexander (1987) also were keys to division titles, but they have nothing on this guy.
Fister threw only 91 pitches and probably could have pitched the ninth, but manager Jim Leyland called upon his invincible closer to finish it off. Jose Valverde gave up a lead-off double to Athletics center fielder Coco Crisp, but then proceeded to retire the side for his 45th save in 45 opportunities.
The Tigers offense came from the most improbable sources tonight, but the way things have been going for this team you can expect the unexpected. They tied the game at one in the third inning when second baseman Ramon Santiago tripled and then scored on a single by right fielder Don Kelly. Third baseman Wilson Betemit then tripled home Jhonny Peralta run in the sixth for the go ahead run. Kelly added another in the seventh with a solo shot to right field.
It shouldn't have taken this long for the Tigers to win a division title. There's been a lot of frustration with disappointing teams and second half collapses. The past failures just make this one so much sweeter though.
The American League Central finally belongs to the Tigers.
The Tigers 12-game winning streak, their longest since 1934, came to an end tonight when they were defeated 6-1 by the Athletics in Oakland. With the Indians losing to the Rangers tonight, the Tigers had a chance to clinch their first division title since 1987, but that will have to wait for another night. They did clinch a tie for first.
There's not much to say about the game itself. Tigers starter Max Scherzer was not sharp tonight allowing five runs on seven hits and three homers in just five innings to a weak-hitting Athletics offense. Meanwhile, Athletics starter Brandon McCarthy struck out eight Tigers and allowed just one run in seven innings. The only Tigers run scored on a solo shot in the third inning by Delmon Young.
They will try to win the division outright tomorrow night with Doug Fister on the mound versus Trevor Cahill. Let's hope it will be a Clinched Fister.
Lately, I have expected the Tigers to come back and win every game regardless of the score, but this one felt different. I was listening to the radio at work and wasn't to focused on the action, but it had the feel of one of those lazy weekday afternoon games where they just can't get it going. They had a bare bones line-up with Alex Avila, Jhonny Peralta, Austin Jackson and Ryan Raburn on the bench. They were losing 5-2 going into the ninth and it it looked like a sure loss.
Then it happened again. With one-out in the ninth, Raburn clubbed a pinch-hit homer to left to make it 5-3. Another pinch hitter, Magglio Ordonez, followed with a walk. Avila, yet another pinch hitter, then smashed a long two-run home run to center off of White Sox closer Sergio Santos to tie it at five.
It looked like the game might slip away when reliever Phil Coke walked two batters in the bottom of the ninth. Chicago catcher AJ Pierzynski then hit a rocket on a hop to second baseman Carlos Guillen at second. Guillen bobbled it momentarily but turned it into an inning-ending doubleplay.
Designated hitter Victor Martinez got things going in the tenth with a one-out double. Guillen, who earlier homered, then put the Tigers ahead 6-5 with a single to center. Then it was time for Jose Valverde to close it out and he did so in dramatic fashion. He struck out the side for his 44th consecutive save of 2011.
It was the 12th win in a row for a Tigers team that just won't lose The last time they won that many games in succession was 77 years ago in 1934 when Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg and company terrorized the American League.
In a year of amazing comebacks for the Tigers, this one was probably the most stunning of all.
The Tigers shutout the White Sox 5-0 tonight to extend their winning streak to 11 games. They are now tied for the fourth longest streak in franchise history. The 1909 and 1934 teams, both pennant winners, had 14 game winning streaks. The fourth-place 1927 team had a streak of 13 games. The exact dates of the streaks are shown in the table below.
Table: Tigers Longest Winning Streaks
Year | Start Date | End Date | Games |
1934 | July 31 | August 14 | 14 |
1909 | August 19 | September 2 | 14 |
1927 | August 10 | August 22 | 13 |
Source: Baseball-Reference
Beyond the streak, the Tigers are now 21-4 which is tied for their most wins ever in 25 games. The last time they did that was in 1984. That team, of course, went on to go 35-5 to the start the season. They won 104 regular-season games overall enroute to the most recent Tigers championship.
(Note: They were 21-3 with one tie in 1909)
An individual streak was also extended tonight. Justin Verlander pitched seven shutout innings to gain his 23rd win of the year and 11th in a row. That is the longest Tigers individual winning streak since Jeremy Bonderman had 11in 2006. Bobo Newsome won 13 in a row in 1940 and School Boy Rowe won 12 in succession in 1934.
The Tigers will go for win number 12 in a row tomorrow afternoon with Brad Penny on the mound.
Where were you the last time the Tigers won ten games in a row? Manager Jim Leyland was a 23-year-old catcher for the Montgomery Rebels of the Southern League. General Manager Dave Dombrowski was a twelve year-old boy attending Crab Orchard Jr. High School in Palos Heights, Illinois. Personally, I was a five-year-old fan following the Tigers for the first time. From September 9-21, 1968, the Tigers won 11 games in a row.
Forty-three years later, the Tigers have again won their tenth in a row, a 14-4 rout of the White Sox. The last time the Tigers faced the Pale Hose on September 4, they scored 18 runs on 25 hits in Comerica Park. Tonight, the White Sox staff held the Tigers to just 21 hits. So, that's 32 runs on 46 hits in two game versus their central division rivals.
Ryan Raburn led the Bengal attack with four hits, including a double and a home runn. Delmon Young added three hits. Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta had two hits apiece, but those four do that every night.
Rick Porcello, whose father Fred was 12 the last time the Tigers won ten in a row, allowed three runs on six hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings. As usual, he was not over powering (just three strikeouts) but had the White Sox pounding the ball into the dirt and recorded 14 outs on ground balls.
You might be surprised to learn that the Tigers are 19-9 in games that Porcello has started. Of course, they have given him an average of six runs per start, the fourth best run support in the American League. Conversely, Doug Fister has a league low 2.8 runs of support per game.
Justin Verlander, who has picked up his team so many times this year pitching the day after a Tigers loss, will get a chance to extend the winning streak to 11 games tomorrow night.
The Tigers edged the Twins 2-1 today to complete their third consecutive three-game sweep of an AL Central rival. They previously brushed aside the White Sox and Indians. This one didn't come easy though. After scoring two runs in the first inning, the Tigers were held scoreless by Twins starter Scott Diamond and reliever Jim Hoey for the rest of the game. However, the Begals pulled it out thanks to another strong performance by Doug Fister.
No stranger to lack of run support, Fister pitcher seven shutout innings allowing three hits and two walks. In his last five starts, Fister has posted a 0.74 ERA and 36/4 K/BB ratio in 36 2/3 innings. He must think he is Cliff Lee or something. To say that the acquisition of Fister has worked out well for the Tigers so far would be the understatement of the year. He has turned a shaky rotation into one that should be able to match any American League opponent in post-season.
Delmon Young, another late-season addition, also continued to make a contribution. His RBI-double in the first inning produced one of only two Tigers runs today. While he has his shortcomings, Young has filled in nicely for the injured Brennan Boesch with a .305 batting average and .476 slugging average in 25 games as a Tiger.
Jose Valverde didn't get one of those shut down saves today. He allowed two base runners and a run in the ninth, but managerd to close it out for his 43rd save in 43 save opportunuities. He now holds the Tigers record for most saves in a season. The previous record was set by Todd Jones with 42 in 2000. The only other pitcher on any team to have that many saves in a single season without a blown save was Eric Gagne with 55 in 2003.
The Tigers are on quite a roll. The nine game winning streak is their longest since May 14-24, 1984. They haven't had a ten-game streak since 1968. They will attempt to reach ten games versus the White Sox tomorrow night.
Some of the statistics for this post were abstracted from Baseball-Reference.
When Brad Penny allowed four runs in the first inning, we were not worried. Not with the way the Tigers are playing right now. This is the same team which came back from an 8-1 deficit to beat the White Sox in a recent Penny start. Sure enough, they came back again to win 8-4 thanks to a couple of three run rallies.
A three-run homer by Alex Avila in the second cut the deficit to 4-3. They put up another three spot in the fourth thanks to an RBI triple by Wilson Betemit and a two-run blast by Ramon Santiago. Meanwhile, five Tigers relievers - Dan Schlereth, Ryan Perry, Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde held the Twins scoreless for eight innings and the Tigers won going away.
After losing to the Twins on August 17th the Tigers were 7 games over .500, were just two games ahead of the second-place Indians and had given up more runs than they had scored for the season. Over the past three weeks the Tigers have gone 17-4 by outscoring opponents 136-80. They have also won seven in a row and, assuming the Indians hold on to beat the White Sox, the Tigers will have a 9 1/2-game lead.
What an amazing run. The Tigers really do seem unbeatable right now.
It's pretty hard for an analytical writer like myself to capture the excitement of game like today's 9-8 victory over the White Sox, but I need to say something. I couldn't watch the game because the Red Sox were on Fox and all other games were blacked out even for those who paid for Extra Innings. But you guys already know about that Saturday afternoon foolishness. As a result, I listened to the game on the radio.
The Tigers were down 8-1 in the fifth and it was a beautiful day out, so I went outside to do some yard work. I checked in periodically and noticed that the Tigers were chipping away. They scored three in the bottom of the fifth, when red hot Austin Jackson (four for five on the day) tripled in a run and Delmon Young hit a two-run homer. Third baseman Wilson Betemit belted another homer in the sixth to make 8-5 and I started paying more attention.
Then there was a rain delay in the eighth, so I went out to get a pizza. I came back to hear shortstop Jhonny Peralta single in a run to close the gap to 8-6. Meanwhile, the Tigers bullpen was doing a great job keeping the Tigers in the game - three scoreless innings by David Pauley and one perfect frame by rookie Luis Marte.
White Sox closer Sergio Santos came in to pitch the ninth. Santos has been outstanding this year, but the way the game and the season has been going, you sensed it wasn't over yet. With one out, Jackson lined a triple down the left field line. Ryan Raburn, who earlier entered the game as a pinch hitter for the left-handed Andy Dirks, followed with a long blast down the left field line to tie the game at eight. With two outs, big Miguel Cabrera then launched a shot over the left field fence for a 9-8 walk-off victory.
As it turned out, Tigers radio broadcaster Dan Dickerson did such a great job capturing the drama of the ninth inning that is was almost good that the game was not on television. This was one of the most exciting comebacks in an important game the Tigers have made in my 44 years as a fan. The game needed a great call and Dickerson gave it to us.
In the first game of a big series versus the second place White Sox, The Tigers crushed their central division rival 8-1 tonight. The Tigers now lead the White Sox by 6 1/2 games. The Indians are currently 6 games back pending the result of their game versus the pesky Royals tonight.
Tigers ace Justin Verlander pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing just one run on seven hits and a walk to lower his season ERA to 2.34. He also upped his record to 21-5. I don't usually pay a lot of attention to pitcher wins because I consider wins to be a team statistic, but it's unusual for a pitcher to have 21 wins so quickly. If he is going to be the rare pitcher to win an MVP award, he'll probably need an extraordinary number of wins. The last starting pitcher to win the award was Roger Clemens in 1986 when he 24-4 for the Red Sox. Verlander will likely get five more starts.
How consistent has Verlander been this year? He has 26 quality starts (6+ IP, 3 or fewer ER) in 30 games. His 86.7 quality start percentage (QS%) is the second best of any starter with 30 or more starts since 1991. The best QS% was by Felix Hernandez with 30 out of 34 (88.2 QS%) in 2010. Jered Weaver is second in the majors this year with an impressive 24/28 (85.7%).
Austin Jackson on Fire
Austin Jackson had three more hits today including his ninth home run. He has now gone 12 for 24 with five extra base hits on the home stand. Scouts have hinted that AJax could eventually hit 15-20 homers in a season. With four bombs in the last 15 games, he might be starting to realize that potential.
Another good sign is that Jackson is not striking out quite as much lately. After whiffing in 31% of his at bats through July, he has struck out in 21% of his at bats since then. These are all small sample sizes here, but it's something to watch in future games.
In the unlikeliest of outcomes, Ramon Santiago blasted a game-winning homer to right field on a 1-2 pitch from Royals reliever Aaron Crow in the tenth inning tonight. It was his fourth round tripper of the year and probably his biggest as a Tiger. The 2-1 victory allowed the Tigers keep a five game lead over the White Sox in the A,.L. Central. That assumes that Chicago hangs on to beat the Twins tonight. Otherwise, the lead would be six games. The Indians are 5 1/2 back.
Doug Fister pitched another strong game going six perfect innings before an Alex Gordon double in the seventh. Fister went 7 2/3 inning allowing one run on four hits and no walks (as usual). He now has an impressive 23/2 K/BB ratio in 36 1/3 innings as a Tiger.
Unfortunately, Fister continues to not receive run support. In 27 starts for the Mariners and Tigers, his teammates have scored two or fewer runs 19 times. That's how a pitcher goes 6-13 with a 3.26 ERA for the season.
Magglio Ordonez came into the game batting just .205 in the last 20 games. He showed some life tonight though when he grounded a ball up the middle for a game-tying single in the eighth inning.
the Tigers now play two consecutive afternoon games versus the Royals. Rick Porcello will be on the mound tomorrow and rookie Jacob Turner will go on Thursday. Let's hope the Tigers don't do any of their weekday afternoon sleep walks this week.
In an uncommon stress-free (at least for us fans) performance, the Tigers pounded the division-rival Indians 10-1 tonight. The attention-grabbing story was the triumphant return of Brandon Inge to the Tigers line-up. In his first at bat since being recalled from Toledo, he blasted a solo home run to left field in the second inning off Indians starter David Huff. The Tigers third baseman followed up with a run-scoring ground-rule double to center in the third. It's just one game, but it's possible he did regain his stroke playing for the MudHens. If he can contribute any production at all in a position share with Wilson Betemit, it would be a boost to the Tigers.
More important than Inge was the comeback performance by Tigers starter Doug Fister. After getting shelled by the Orioles in his last start, Fister excelled tonight versus a heavily left-handed Cleveland line-up. He had his good command tonight allowing just one run while striking out seven and walking just one in seven innings.
Like last night's starting pitcher Max Scherzer, Fister will be relied upon to pitch like this on a regular basis down the stretch. The same can be said of tomorrow's starter Rick Porcello. Both winning the Central Division and advancing past the first round of the playoffs will probably be dependent on those three starters more than anything else. If they can get hot at the right time, they can make the difference between blowing the division lead and having a memorable playoff run. Getting the mid-rotation guys to gel at the right time is so often the story at this time of year though. Isn't it?
Since Fister and Porcello don't get a lot of strikeouts, it's important to put a good defensive infield behind them. I have to think that Fister feels more confident with Inge and Ramon Santiago behind him than Wilson Betemit and Ryan Raburn. Perhaps a defensive platoon is in order, that is play Inge and Santiago behind Fister, Porcello and Penny and Betemit and Raburn behind Scherzer and Justin Verlander. It need not be a strict platoon but getting the good glove men behind the ground ball pitchers makes sense.
The night would not be complete without remarking on yet another outstanding performance by the amazing Alex Avila. Playing in his 13th consecutive game behind the plate, Avila reached base five times on a single, double and three walks. After slumping in the heat and humidity of July, he is batting a sizzling .442/.524/.788 in August.
All year long, the Tigers have been pretty consistent - no long hot streaks and no long cold streaks. Every time it looks like they are going to take off, they sputter for a couple of series. Coversely, every time it looks like they are going to fade away like they have recently, they come up with a big series. They could really use one of those right now and they got off to a good start tonight beating the Indians 4-1.
Max Scherzer is one of the big keys for the Tigers this season and they need him to pitch like a top of the rotation starter down the stretch. Tonight, he did just that allowing just one run on five hits and one walk through seven innings. He also helped the Tigers avoid their shaky middle-relief staff by throwing a season-high 127 pitches.
The one run that did score against Scherzer should not have. First baseman Miguel Cabrera made a pretty good stop of a hard-hit ball to the right side in the seventh, but Cabrera stumbled trying to make the throw to Scherzer covering first and rookie third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was safe at first with an infield single. The hit extended the inning and put runners on first and third. The lone Indians run then scored on a wild pitch by Scherzer.
Indians starter Josh Tomlin held Detroit scoreless for five innings, but the Tigers broke through in the sixth. Second baseman Ryan Raburn led off with a single and Austin Jackson followed with a two-run homer to right center field. The Tigers added two more in the seventh on solo shots by Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta.
Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde closed it out with one perfect inning apiece. Valverde now has 36 saves in 36 opportunities for the season.
The win put the Tigers 2 1/2 ahead of the Indians. The White Sox currently trail the Rangers 7-4 in the seventh and would be five games back if they lose.
It didn't look too good when the Tigers fell behind the Orioles 5-0 in the second inning tonight. Starter Max Scherzer allowed a two-run homer to veteran designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero and a three-run blast to rookie second baseman Blake Davis. The Tigers have had two many games this year where their pitching staff has been blown out and this looked it would be another one.
Fortunately, Scherzer settled down nicely pitching shutout ball from the third through the seventh inning. With the bullpen needing a rest tonight, Scherzer threw a season-high 120 pitches and racked up 10 strikeouts. After the awful second frame, Max did a great job keeping the game within reach and the Tigers took advantage.
The Tigers scored one in the fourth on a double by Andy Dirks a ground out and a sacrifice fly by Miguel Cabrera. They then staged a dramatic five-run rally after two were out in the sixth. Magglio Ordonez started the outburst with a double and Miguel followed with a home run to right field making it 5-3. After singles by Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta, Alex Avila smashed a run-scoring ground-rule double to right to close the gap to 5-4. Ryan Raburn then singled up the middle scoring two runs to give the Tigers a 6-5 lead.
The Tigers hung on to win 6-5 thanks to some gutsy pitching by Scherzer, a scoreless eighth by lefty Phil Coke and of course another save by Closer Jose Valverde. The Tigers are now 8-4 in their last 12 games and all the wins have been by one run. Valverde has saved all eight of those games which gives him 35 saves in 35 opportunities for the season. The Tigers are now a league best 19-13 in one-run games.
The Indians kept the heat on the Tigers with a 3-1 victor over the Twins tonight. They are still three games out. The White Sox are 5 1/2 games back pending the result of their game versus the Royals tonight.
When Austin Jackson laid down a perfect suicide squeeze scoring Alex Avila in the second inning, the Tigers took a 4-0 against Indians starter Fausto Carmona . With ace Justin Verlander on the mound, it looked like it would be an easy win for the Tigers. Nothing hass been easy for the Tigers lately though and this one would be no different.
Verlander allowed a solo homer to Indians catcher Carlos Santana in the second to make it 4-1. He then uncharacteristically walked two batters in the third ahead of an Asdrubal Cabrera double. The score was 4-3 at that point and that's where it would stay. Santana gave the Tigers fans another scare when he blasted a 400-foot fly ball to center field with a man on the sixth. Fortunately, Jackson made a long run and a leaping grab against the wall to save the Tigers lead.
Verlander went seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks - a good game for an ordinary pitcher, but a somewhat disappointing one for him (until they held on for the victory). Joaquin Benoit held the lead with a scoreless eighth leaving it up to closer Jose Valverde. Valverde retired the Indians without incident to register his 33rd save in 33 opportunities. That broke the Tigers previous single-season record of 32 by Willie Hernandez in 1984.
The win broke a 13-game Tigers losing streak at Cleveland's Progressive Field and it couldn't come at a better time. The Tigers now have a three-game lead over the Indians in the American League Central. The White Sox beat the Orioles tonight leaving them four games back.
Over the past few years, it seems like every time the Tigers start to gain some momentum they get stung by a last-place Royals team. When a three-run seventh by the Royals wiped out a 3-0 Tigers lead, it looked like it was going to be one of those games. However, some clutch relieving and hitting gave the Tigers a 4-3 win in 10 innings.
Rick Porcello pitched another solid game tonight allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks in 6 1/3 innings. As he did throughout the month of July, Porcello continued to mix his pitches well getting 11 outs on ground balls and four on strikes. All the strikeouts were on swinging strikes - three sliders and one change-up. Porcello now has a 2.56 ERA and 28/5 K/BB ratio over 38 2/3 innings in his last six starts.
Many fans including myself questioned Jim Leyland's quick hook in the seventh inning. The Tigers manager pulled Porcello with one out and two on and the Tigers up 3-1. Porcello had thrown just 82 pitches at that point, but Leyland wanted to go with southpaw Phil Coke versus the left-handed Mike Moustakas. Coke, who has not readjusted very well to the bullpen, allowed a run-scoring single. Recently acquired David Pauley then allowed a game-tying single before inducing a double play to end the inning.
More bothersome than the questionable managerial move was the Tigers infield defense. Third baseman Wilson Betemit and second baseman Carlos Guillen turned two playable balls into singles. Had they made those plays, the inning would have been over with no damage. That was just the latest example of poor infield defense giving extra outs to opponents. It's been a problem much of the year.
Another lefty - Daniel Schlereth - saved the game with one of his biggest performances as a Tiger. He came on in the 8th with the score tied at three and pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. Jose Valverde got the save with a scoreless tenth.
For the second time this week, Brennan Boesch knocked in the eventual game winner late in the game. His single in the tenth inning scored pinch runner Andrew Dirks for the go ahead run. Credit must also be given to Dirks for alertly moving into scoring position after the ball got away (but not very far) from Royals catcher Manny Pina.
Game two of the series pits ace Justin Verlander versus rookie Danny Duffy. It looks like a great match-up for the Tigers, but you never know. It's never easy versus the Royals.
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