2009 Season, Game Post

Game 2009.039: Rangers at Tigers

83 Comments

PREGAME: Some day baseball today as the Tigers try and pick up a second sweep and extend their winning streak to 6 games. It will be Edwin Jackson going for Detroit and Kevin Millwood for the Rangers.

Millwood has a reverse platoon split this year with lefties only managing a .591 OPS while righties are at .773.

Also, there will be no Rod Allen in the booth today so John Keating will join Mario Impemba and they will entertain questions from Twitter and Facebook. You can find them on Twitter @Foxsportsdet.

Texas vs. Detroit – May 21, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: It’s times like this that I really love baseball. When my team is winning, and things are clicking. The defense is solid, the pitching is dependable, and the offense is doing enough. Today the offense responded when they needed to. When the Rangers started the game with a first inning run, Clete Thomas answered with a shrubbery shot. When the Rangers tied the game, the Tigers responded with a two out rally to take the lead in the subsequent inning. The result was a 6 game winning streak.

  • Thomas definitely had a stamp on the game with the aforementioned bomb. He also saved a run with a PERFECT gun home. But then in the 8th he struggled with a fly ball to the wall.
  • Edwin Jackson wasn’t quite as sharp as his past starts, but still very effective and I feel like I didn’t jinx him. But I’m still worried about that pitch count. He walked 5 on the day, but I won’t hold the last one against him as he shouldn’t have been in at that point.
  • Fernando Rodney’s string of retiring 16 straight hitters came to an end with a leadoff walk (and later a single). But Rodney once again notched a save, his 8th of the year. He’s pitched the last 3 games though so I’d anticipate that Joel Zumaya will be  your closer on Friday night.

83 thoughts on “Game 2009.039: Rangers at Tigers”

  10. Apparently Cletus has decided to single-handedly beat the Rangers today. EJ’s not looking so hot. Hang in there Tigers!

  12. Cletus should be rewarded by the pussy-cats in the cougar section with a kiss on the cheek (ya’ll know I’m trying to keep it clean, butcha know what I mean)

    1. Instead, he’s probably going to sent back to the bushes when Carlos “GIDP” Guillén comes back.

    1. Clubhouse attendants; I believe about 2 or 3 home and road per year; umm…laundry?

  16. Jackson found the strike zone and is now cruising easily. Good pitching is a beautiful thing.

  17. How much longer do we wait to make Ryan the No. 1 catcher, move Laird to backup and send the Laughing Fish back to Toledo?

  20. The Rays got soooooo screwed… What a heist 🙂
    Thanx TB for serving up a solid starter to put in our lineup.

  21. Bartolo Colon gives up 8 runs in 2 innings, but only one of them was earned. Interesting.

  22. Greinke just got 2 ks with the bases juiced v. Cle. Terrible looking swings, but I think that Greinke will do that to you.

  26. Don’t understand why he’s still in. Dude pitched 7 complete innings. No need to bring him back out in 8th. Especially no need to keep him in after the first double.

  27. Why have guys warm up if your not going to use them? ARGGH! C’mon does EJ’s arm have to fall off or what? 128 pitches and counting…why Jim, why?

  28. I really don’t know if Jackson can get one more out. I certainly hope so…

    1. because he’s at 130 pitches and has no breaking pitches. he has no clue where the slider is going.

      when you’re still throwing 97 though, wow. impressive.

  30. I don’t know if he can get one more this season, after this load.

    Leyland, sometimes I really wonder.

  31. They’re calling the ball missed by Clete a double??? That’s gotta be reversed. Didn’t it bounce off of his glove?

  34. I will be really interested in hearing why JL let Edwin go out for the 8th. And then keep him out there!

  35. I think Jackson being left in made a good point to the critics who want Leyland to leave pitchers in longer. Obviously it doesn’t work. Now we know for sure. End of argument.

    1. Not really. It should have been his game to win lose or draw.

      I loved how this game was managed, it shows confidence in him and only made one guy out of the pen pitch. Much better than 2 pen guys who could have 2 chances to blow it.

  39. Been following this game for fantasy reasons, but man, I think EJ’s teammates really pulled one out for him. Sux for Milwood if he loses because his pitch count was almost as high.

    1. Sox fan – Clete Thomas flat out dropped a fly ball at the wall in the 8th, called it a dbl by Blalock, otherwise the game wouldn’t be in question.

      But with Rodney out there, I wouldn’t hand this to EJ just yet.

  41. Ugh. It’s the freakin’ number nine hitter. Throw it right down the middle.

  52. Wow. Let’s enjoy it, I don’t expect to sweep every series. If we hovered at 7+ for a few weeks, that would be just fine with me.

  53. So, we get Verlander, Jackson, and Porcello against the Royals next week. Perfect.

  54. Going against popular sentiment thus far, I’m okay with Leyland leaving Jackson in the game. IMO, it was the right move. He was still dealing and hit 101 at one point on a low pitch. EJ left the pitch up on the double that tied the game, which was a mistake — but anyone out of the bullpen could have easily made that same mistake. The fact that EJ got out of the inning after the Rangers tied the game demostrates further, to me, that he had enough in the tank to justify the decision to leave him in there for a chance at the win. Say it with me folks: It’s okay for these guys to elevate their pitch count a little bit in certain situations. I emphasize “certain situations” because there are certainly times when doing so is not appropriate. I don’t think this was one of them.

  55. I’m with you T Smith. I think it was the rght move too. Absolutely.

    Four sweeps in a row. Gotsta b sum kinda record.

  56. Its only May and already we have had a bunch of 120 pitch games from JV and EJ. What happens in Aug.? I guess we are deep with pitchers so Leyland will not hesitate to skip someone if Bondo or Nate is ready to pitch.

  57. Minnesota is up 20-0 over the White Sox. Weee. And, they might not get Peavy after all. Tough day.

    1. Hold on, it’s not over yet–make that 20-1…they’ll need to get lucky with a couple onside kicks though…

  58. I read somewhere (can’t remember where — but I think it may have even been Leyland saying it) that EJ was a horse — and the most durable and conditioned pitcher in the rotation. The implication was he can take the innings. Of course we’ll find out in August whether this is the case, but I doubt very much that Leyland would have left anyone else in there after 120 pitches, JV included.

    Could we possibly see a six man rotation during the dog days? Or maybe a trade in July sometime? Porcello seems to be hitting a groove and it’s hard to fathom giving Galarraga the boot so soon. This may get interesting, especially if Galarraga gets back on track with a good outing or two.

  59. EJ deserved a win like this given some of his early season starts where he should have won but didn’t. Still don’t like sending him out for the 8th, though.

    This win felt a bit like a steal, but we’ll take it!

  60. After letting it sink in a bit, I’m fine with Jackson staying out there. He pitched pretty well and hasn’t thrown too many pitches in recent games.

    What I am a bit worried about though, is Verlander. He has thrown an average of 117 pitches in his last 5 games. I just don’t think he can make it through a full season (let alone his whole career) throwing that many balls every five days. And if all goes well, we’re going to need him fresh in October.

    1. Verlander does have a track record of running out of steam in Aug/Sept, so in that sense I share the concern

  61. 132 is a whole boatload of pitches. I hope Leyland doesn’t make it a habit. But I have no problem with it once in a while. Like, twice a season. Averaging 115 is one thing. But 130+ is something else. And I’m not a guy who whines about pitch counts.

    Anyway, bring on the Rockies. Their starter tomorrow has got some of the best stuff in baseball. But he’s also still pretty hit and miss with his command, so it’s a coin toss on what Jimenez they draw tomorrow. Hopefully Porcello is up to the task.

  62. I was a little annoyed today with Keating and Mario….They spent way too much time with the Twitter and Facebook nonsense, really took away from the game…

  63. And the Royals lose with Greinke on the mound.

    Not a bad day for Tiger’s fans.

  64. Just read most of the user comments at the Freep. Half think Leyland was nuts for leaving Jackson in that long. The other half think he was brilliant. I’m not saying either because a good solution doesn’t exist with our pen.

    We just can’t use Zumaya every game. We really need someone else who can come in any situation and shutdown the other team. I think that person needs to be either Porcello, Bonderman, or Galarraga. I don’t even care which one it is.
    I just hope we don’t trade someone like Minor or Galarraga to make room for Bonderman. That would suck. It would be nice if we could trade Lyon or Robertson though. Guillen and Thames should also be on the block also. I bet the Mets could use some of these guys. Guillen and Thames can play 1st base.

    1. Perry hasn’t pitched since the second Oakland game. That’s, what, six days. Maybe they’ve been working on some things on the side, as has been alluded to by the press, but he needs some work. Today would have been a good opportunity to get some in and save the wear/tear on Jackson a bit.

    2. Magglio is becoming expendable. If he shows any signs of life, I’d be happy to shop him around.

      No one wants Guillen. Though I bet we could get a decent MR for Thames. I wonder of Cle wants to give up on Perez or Betancourt.

  65. Bonderman’s line is final tonight – 6.0 IP, 98 pitches, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.

    Not the best. All of the runs came in the sixth inning, his final frame.

  67. I wonder if the 20-1 loss was a factor in Peavy’s decision….I hope it was…

  68. Last year, when trade talks concerning Peavey started, he said he didn’t want to pitch in the AL. I am guessing it is in his contract, since evry time an AL team is mentioned as a possibility, it is always left up to his discretion – and he always says no.

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