Toledo 5, Ottawa 0
Chad Durbin threw the complete game shut out. He allowed only 6 hits and he fanned 10 on 119 pitches. Mike Hessman provided the runs with a homer and a single. David Espinosa also added 2 hits.
Erie – DNP
Lakeland – PPD
Dayton 1, West Michigan 0
Lucas French pitched 6 innings allowing one run on 4 hits and 2 walks while fanning 5. Justin Justice, Michael Hernandez, and Matt Joyce picked up the 3 hits for the Caps. Cameron Maybin was 0 for 4 with 2 K’s.
PREGAME: It’s an intriguing pitching match-up as young phenoms Justin Verlander and Scott Kazmir hook up. Verlander’s June hasn’t been as stellar as his May with 10 runs in his last 11 innings. However, 6 of those runs came in a 5 inning outing against the Yankees with a cut bleeding on his finger. He was solid in his last start against the White Sox. Verlander experienced “tenderness” in his arm/shoulder after the Yankee game so it will be interesting see how long he stays in.
The last time the Tigers faced Kazmir, he had some control problems. He hit Polanco anbd threw behind a couple other guys which prompted Nate Robertson to send one behind Carl Crawford. Robertson was ejected after the first pitch making for a short day.
POSTGAME: Serious, serious love for Curtis Granderson. I love him swinging away with the corner infielders 40 feet away. I love him seeing at least 4 pitches every at-bat. I love him getting everything hit to center.
The beleaguered bullpen duo of Rodney and Jones combined for 5 scoreless and uneventful innings. With Zumaya still shelved, look for Jamie Walker to serve as closer if one is needed tomorrow night.
The top of the order carried the day going 10 for 29 among the top 5 hitters. The bottom 4 combined for 1 for 22.
Toledo 6, Ottawa 2
Nook Logan had two hits and a walk. Ryan Raburn and Mike Hessman both doubled and walked. Wil Ledezma pitched 7 scoreless innings allowing 6hits and 3 walks against 6 strikeouts. He was pulled after throwing 117 pitches. Mark Woodyard pitched the 9th and allowed 3 hits and 2 runs.
Portland 2, Erie 1
Tony Giarratano had two hits for Erie. Preston Larrison went 7 1/3 allowing only one run on 5 hits and 4 walks.
Lakeland 4, Dunedin 1
Lakeland’s total offensive output was 4 singles, and two doubles. But they bunched those hits for a 4 run first inning. Clete Thomas reached base twice singling and walking. Dallas Trahern started, but pitched only 1 1/3 innings and was pulled after a rain delay. PJ Finigan pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Kevin Whelan gave up the lone run with two hits and a walk in one inning of work.
West Michigan 4, Dayton 3
Cameron Maybin doubled and singled and Michael Hernandez added two hits. Burke Badenhop allowed 3 walks and 9 hits in 5 innings, but that resulted in only 3 runs. Josh Rainwater pitched 2 scoreless innings for the win and Orlando Perdomo picked up the save after allowing two hits. Anthony Claggett pitched a scoreless inning and has now allowed 1 run in 29 1/3 innings.
PREGAME: Nate Robertson will take the mound for the Tigers as they try to win their first series since Cleveland – or since the beginning of this tough stretch. Robertson has pitched well during this string, with nothing to show for it. He’s been a victim of bad bullpen support and a lack of run support. It won’t be easy for Robertson as Toronto has posted a 345/398/517 line against left handed pitching this year.
The Tigers will take on Ty Taubenheim who is making his 4th start, and hasn’t been particularly effective. As a starter opponents are hitting .314 against him. The Tigers will be without Magglio Ordonez and Placido Polanco who are getting days off.
Toledo 9, Ottawa 4
Victor Mendez, who was promoted to Toledo on May 31st, had 3 hits. David Espinosa, Ryan Ludwick, and Kevin Hooper each added two while Ryan Raburn hit his 11th homer. Jordan Tata allowed 7 hits and 3 walks in only 5 innings of work for 4 runs (3 earned).
Portaland 7, Erie 3
Tony Giarratano singled and had two walks for Erie. Eulogio De La Cruz made a 3 inning start. He struckout 5, but allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk.
Portland 4, Erie 2
Brent Clevlen was 2 for 3 and Tony Giarratano added two hits. Virgil Vasquez allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings.
Lakeland 5, Fort Myers 4 (10 innings)
Gil Meija and Jeff Frazier each drew two walks while Nick McIntyre singled and homered. Jair Jurrjens allowed 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 6 2/3 innings. He fanned 6 and walked none.
West Michigan 6, Dayton 1
As Tim pointed out in the comments to yesterday’s game thread, Cameron Maybin hit a 9th inning grand slam. He also added a walk and a single. Justin Justice and Will Rhymes each had 3 hits. Erik Averill had an excellent start allowing one run on 5 hits and no walks in 7 innings while k’ing 7.
PREGAME: I’m sorry, I’m still frustrated by last night’s collapse. Zach Miner against Ted Lilly. Curtis Granderson is my pick. 4:00pm.
POSTGAME: What an excellent start by Zach Miner against a very good offensive team. I saw more of this game than his last start, but in both it appeared that his pitches have excellent movement. Fortunately the first two Tiger hits were very well timed, and very will hit. If not for Magglio Ordonez’s double in the 8th, the Tigers wouldn’t have stranded a single runner.
And most fortunately the bullpen was able to preserve the win.
Also, I was kind of wrong about Granderson. That may have been his worst game at the plate.
And Tim, I know I should relax. I usually preach perspective and big picture and all that other stuff. Friday night’s game though is still ticking me off.
If you don’t know, there is a stat site simply titled Dougs Stats. It has your basic information, but is also has a summary of the stats from the last 20 games. From the AL Leaderboard, here are some Tiger stats of note:
The Tigers 11-9 mark was bettered only by the Yankees and Rangers. This is despite the fact that the Tigers were in the bottom half, or lower of most team categories.
PREGAME: The Tigers move into their final series of the so-called gauntlet. They are looking for their first back-to-back wins since the first two games of the Cleveland series – two weeks ago. Tonight’s pitching matchup is probably the most favorable of the series. Gustavo Chacin has struggled this season, and the Tigers are 11-3 against soutpaw starters. Jeremy Bonderman will pitch for Detroit, and while Toronto hits everybody well, there 838 OPS against righties sounds preferable to their 913 OPS against lefties.
And if you’re looking for something to flilp to between innings, Tigers first round pick Andrew Miller will be pitching for UNC on ESPN.
POSTGAME: Well that blew. I would be very surprised if Todd Jones is the closer tomorrow morning. Tonight he served up 4 line drives. This wasn’t a matter of luck of one bad pitch – this was awful. Leyland’s frustration with Rodney was also apparent when he was removed mid batter. I understand about not making reactionary moves, but if Leyland wants to send a message his new bullpen is Rodney in the 7th, Walker in the 8th, Zumaya in the 9th.
Yes it is important for Todd Jones to get his confidence back, but should it come at the expense of the other 24 guys?
Cameron Maybin has been activated from the disabled list. He will be eligible to play in tonight’s game. Maybin’s season was off to a strong start before a bruised knuckle caused his finger to lock-up.
I’ve been remiss in my minor league updates this week. Fortunately work is slowing down and I can get back into a regular rhythym. Thanks to Tim who provided some updates in the comments of other posts. I really appreciate it when you guys have my back.
Toledo 2, Buffalo 1
Humberto Sanchez who has been starring at the AA level made his AAA debut last night. He allowed 6 hits and 2 walks for one run in 5 2/3 innings. He fanned 5 in a very, very solid effort. Nook Logan, who returned from the DL this week, doubled and scored a run. Stuggling catcher Brian Peterson doubled twice and Ryan Ludwick homered.
New Hampshire 5, Erie 1
Mike Rabelo had two doubles and Kody Kirklkand added one. Nate Bumstead was knoecked around for 5 runs on 8 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He fanned 5.
New Hapmshire 1, Erie 0
The catchers provided all the offense for Erie in this double header. Danilo Sanchez had 3 of the Tigers five hits in this game. Lance Davis pitched very well. He threw 6 innings of 2 hit ball, walking none and stirking out 4. Davis is touring the farm system having pitched at Toledo and Lakeland already. I would have preferred to see Jair Jurrjens get the promotion from Lakeland.
Lakeland 3, Fort Meyers 2
There wasn’t much offense to speak of. Clete Thomas walked and singled and Chris Robinson singled in a run. Kevin Ardoin went six innings allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Kevin Whelan pitched an uneventful 9th for his 12th save.
West Michigan 10, Fort Wayne 3
Michael Hernandez continues to rake as he hit for the cycle. Dusty Ryan added 3 hits and Michael Hollimon doubled twice. The game also featured a brawl. Ramon Garcia went 5 innings and allowed one run on 6 six hits while fanning 4.
PREGAME: Remember when I said not to make too much out of any one game? Well, if I were tempted to make too much out of a game, this would be it. The Tigers are looking to avoid a sweep against the White Sox. If they lose it would be their 6th straight to the Sox, and would also slide them out of first place.
At least in this series, the gap between the White Sox and Tigers doesn’t seem insumountable. Two 4-3 losses are tough to take, but they aren’t devastating. The pitching has been solid against a good offensive team in a good offensive park. The offense continues to sputter, but they are having better at-bats. They are working deeper into counts and typically restricting their swings to pitches near the strike zone. I’m also not particularly concerned about the 0-12 with runners in scoring position. It isn’t good, but I don’t think there is anything fundamentally different than two weeks ago when the Tigers were performing well in those situations.
All that being said, I would love to see the Tigers pile on Jon Garland early and keep this game from even being interesting.
I’ve done okay picking Tiger stars the last two nights. Tonight I’m going with Magglio Ordonez.
POSTGAME: The Tigers didn’t pile on Garland early, but they put enough seperation to make the game uneventful. And Rodney and Jones did their part in keeping the late innings boring.
For those that wondered by Kenny Rogers, who pitched excellent, was removed it appeared to be that his back was stiffening up. He’s come out of several games around the 7th inning for the same reason. What I though was impressive, and odd, is that inthe 6th innings with a foul ball back behind first base Rogers sprinted over and was right alongside Shelton and Polanco.
As for the hitting in scoring position, the Tigers got hits tonight. They didn’t hit the ball hard, but the hits dropped in. Also, the bigger factor was that while the team was 0 for 12 the first two night, I believe they had 11 ABs with RISP last night alone. The previous games were a general offensive funk, not just a problem of clutch hitting.
In any case, that whole “they can’t beat the White Sox” thing is off their backs.
And yes – Hawk Harrelson is awful – but please no swearing in the comments. Thanks guys!
There are reports circulating that Dmitri Young has checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic. This is certainly sad and disappointing news. Between the injuries of the last couple years, the domestic violence charge, and this news, Young’s Tiger career has certainly taken a wrong turn. At this point I’d be surprised if we saw him in the Olde English D again.
Young is making $8 million this year. I wonder if the Tigers can recoup any of that due to the nature of this illness, or through insurance.