Toledo 0 Charlotte 4
Danny Worth had the lone hit, a double. Brooks Brown allowed 2 runs in 7 innings on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 K’s. Casey Fien allowed 2 runs in his inning of work.
Harrisburg 3 Erie 4 (10 inn)
Brennan Boesch, Santo De Leon, and Cale Iorg all had 3 hits. Iorg 12 for 36 in his last 10 games with 6 of the hits for extra bases, but he still has a 10/2 K/BB ratio over that time span. Duane Below allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks with 4 ‘s. Zach Simons pitched 3 scoreless innings and Cody Satterwhite pitched 2 and neither allowed a hit while fanning 5.
Lakeland PPD
Great Lakes 6 West Michigan 4
Brent Wyatt and Brandon Douglas each went 2 for 5. Ronnie Bourquin had 2 hits and 2 walks. Casey Crosby allowed only a walk and a home run while fanning 7 in 6 innings.
A look at all the add-on fees that teams charge for tickets. The Tigers dropped their fees this year $2.75 and are among the cheapest. Toronto is towards the top. I was shocked to find out that even buying tickets in person at the box office still incurred fees.
Steve Kornacki speculates that Jeremy Bonderman may pitch out of the bullpen while he builds arm strength. I'm not sure how that would help him build strength and stamina. Also in the article he notes that Bobby Seay has been battling some back stiffness this week.
In case you missed this yesterday, the Rays screwed up their lineup card which resulted in pitcher Andy Sonnanstine having to bat in the 3 spot instead of Evan Longoria.
Toledo 2 Charlotte 5
Wilkin Ramirez went 3 for 3 with a homer and a walk and has a 325/389/500 line. Chris Lambert struck out 8, but he allowed 2 homers as part of his 6 hits and surrendered 5 runs in 6 innings.
Erie 1 Bowie 3
Scott Sizemore doubled twice and Cale Iorg was 2 for 2 with 2 walks (he now has 3 on the season). Alfredo Figaro allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks in 7 innings with 5 K’s.
Clearwater 9 Lakeland 8
Justin Henry was 3 for 5 with a triple. Kody Kaiser homered and walked. Mike Gosse doubled twice. Lauren Gagnier struck out 9 but allowed 5 runs in 6 ininngs.
Great Lakes 4 West Michigan 5
Bryan Pounds was 2 for 4 with a double. Ronnie Bourquin doubled and walked. Brandon Hamilton allowed 2 runs in 6 innings on 2 walks, and 6 hits with 6 K’s.
PREGAME: The Tigers are going for their third sweep in a week – of course one of those times they were the sweep-ee. The Tigers have outscored the A’s 23-2 in the first 2 games of the series. I’m going to this one though and the Tigers are 1-4 when I’m in attendance. But the 1 win was Opening Day with Armando Galarraga on the mound. So anything could happen.
Galarraga hasn’t pitched well of late, throwing lots of sliders and not enough balls in the strike zone.
Trevor Cahill pitches for the A’s. He has more walks than strikeouts (20/14) but a 3.69 ERA. He’s riding a string of 3 straight quality starts and he’s only given up more than 2 runs in a start one time this season.
Adam Everett and Ramon Santiago congratulate Curtis Granderson
POSTGAME: This one looked bad at the outset. Armando Galarraga was the-awful again, but I get the feeling this wasn’t entirely unexpected. Jim Leyland had Zach Miner up and working relatively quickly. Yes, 5 runs were plated before Galarraga was lifted, but it’s not often you have a replacement up and warm 15 minutes after the game starts.
It makes me think that there may be something beyond simple mechanical issues hampering Galarraga. I have no idea if he’s injured, but he does have a history of injuries, he saw a large spike in innings pitched last year, and he has lost the strike zone.
Fortunately the Tigers offense responded as they had all series. Detroit scored 34 runs over the last 3 games and have been responsible for 20% of the runs the A’s staff has allowed this season. In 3 games they hit 2 grand slams and 3 3-run homers. I kind of prefer that to small ball myself.
Ramon Santiago made the most of his start with a 4-4 day where he missed a cycle by just a double. Adam Everett did what he could to hold on to the primary shortstop role with 2 doubles, a single, and a sac bunt. And Curtis Granderson sealed the deal with a 3 run jack (he also had 3 walks).
Zach Miner was a pseudo starter today. He was by no means lights out but he deserves some credit (and he did get the win). He came in with runners on first and second and stranded them. He allowed a run in second inning, but when the Tigers scored their runs in the 3rd and 4th innings, he didn’t give any runs back to the A’s which let the offense take the lead for good.
The rest of the bullpenning was good as well save for 2 walks from Luke French.
This had to be a discouraging series for the A’s, to be blown out in 2 games and then cough up a 6 run early lead. Billy Beane has rightly been praised for his work with a limited budget, but A’s fans are getting fed up.
Photo Day
Today was on field photo day. It’s something we’ve done a couple times in the past. Back in 2003 there weren’t a lot of people. In 2007 it was a crushing mass of humanity. Today was something in between. It was full, but not packed and the Tigers organization did a great job of carving out areas for the kids. It is tough to make everyone happy, but I think they did a nice job striking a balance.
But I really have to give credit to the players. I don’t know if they enjoy these days or not, but if they don’t you would have no idea. Everyone I saw seemed to be having a wonderful time. The smiles seemed genuine and they took time to really try and pose for pictures instead of just walking the line. Inge was of course a fan favorite, but Andy Van Slyke probably got the biggest laughs when he was holding an infant and making faces at the kid. Willis picked up a kid and gave him a hug. Cabrera was playing with another kid.
I know that none of this stuff makes a difference in terms of wins and losses, but for fan relations it does make a difference. I’ve said it a number of times, but if a player is nice to my kid he’s earned himself my support. I’m sure that’s true for a lot of other parents as well and the team did well in that regard today.
Toledo 8 Charlotte 9
Wilkin Ramirez had himself a game with 4 hits, including 2 homers. Mike Hessman hit another homer and finished a triple short of the cycle. Scot Drucker allwoed 12 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings. Freddy Dolsi suffered the loss allowing 4 runs (2 earned) in two-thirds of an inning.
Erie 0 Bowie 4 (7 inn)
Deik Scram had the Seawolves lone hit. Jon Kibler went all 7 innings walking 2 and fanning 2.
Brevard County 1 Lakeland 0
Jordan Newton doubled. Audy Ciriaco singled and walked. Trevor Feeney allowed a run in 2.1 innings and Jay Sborz pitched 2.2 shutout innings. Robbie Weinhardt pitched 1 inning not allowing a runner and fanning 1.
Brevard County 6 Lakeland 10
Audy Ciriaco homered twice and doubled, driving in 7 runs. Kody Kaiser had a 3 hit day and he walked. Charlie Furbush K’d 4 and walked none in 5 innings. Brett Jacobson allowed 3 runs in two-thirds of an inning and Scott Green allowed 3 hits and 2 walk in 1.2 innings.
Great Lakes 6 West Michigan 13
Jeremy Bonderman pitched for the Caps, but I think you knew that already. Brandon Douglas went 3 for 4 pushing his line to 358/438/413. Brent Wyatt singled and homered.
A big chunk of the Tigers payroll was making some noise today for a variety of reasons. Let’s recap it:
Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Bonderman made his first rehab start for the West Michigan Whitecaps tonight. He lasted 7 innings and 94 pitches and posted an encouraging line (4 K’s, 1 walk, 6 hits, 2 runs). Bonderman thought before the game that he’d only need 1 or 2 starts to get ready. I think the Tigers would prefer at least 2 to give them more time to figure out who is leaving the rotation to make room.
Whether 1 or 2 starts is reasonable though is up for some debate. He’s still building velocity and arm strength. If this report is accurate though, it may take a little longer if his velocity was truly in the low to mid 80’s.
Magglio Ordonez
Magglio Ordonez just started to hit the ball with some authority and now it appears that he’ll miss a couple games this week. He will be away from the team Tuesday and Wednesday and the Thursday afternoon game appears up in the air as well. This is being called a personal matter and it is probably safe to assume this is related to Jim Leyland’s recent comments about Magglio having some things on this mind.
Carlos Guillen
It sounds like there is some progress in Carlos Guillen’s recuperation from a shoulder injury. He started hitting off a tee and was in the dugout carrying a bat around Saturday night.
PREGAME: Hopefully the Tigers didn’t use up all their offense last night and they have some runs left to pile on Dallas Braden. I covered Braden yesterday, so borrowing from earlier writings:
Lefty Dallas Braden takes the hill for Oakland. He has a sub 6 K/9 rate, but he walks less than half of that and keeps the ball in the park. Lefties only have 33 at-bats against him this year and they’ve only put together 7 singles and a walk. Most of the damage against Braden has been done in the later innings with a sub .700 OPS in the first 4 innings. But the third time through the lineup hitters post a 953 OPS against.
The Tigers will send out Rick Porcello. Porcello has only allowed 1 run over his last 2 games. He has walked 5 in his last 12 innings and the tigers would probably like to see that number drop a little.
POSTGAME: Starting pitch? Check. Bullpen? Check. Offense? Check. Defense? Check. Nothing at all to complain about in this one.
Porcello continues to hold his own at the big league level, showing progress with each outing. The curve ball was particularly effective today and he used his hook to notch 5 K’s. He also limited the walks to two. Early in the game he seemed to be leaving balls up a little with more balls in the air than he normally allows. But as he’s done in several of his starts, he’ll settle down after adversity and get on what seems like an effortless roll.
The infield did a very nice job making a number of tricky plays highlighted by a Miguel Cabrera web gem (at least it was a web gem prior to the late games ending).
Bobby Seay got an out and allowed a single. But Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney were perfect. It was a little overkill to use those 3 in this game, but with an off day on Monday they can still go tomorrow if need be without any repercussions.
And then there is the offense which started coming to life in the Metrodome. After seeing the Tigers slap singles around for a decent chunk of the season, it is nice to see balls banging off the fence or laced down the line. Miguel Cabrera, Gerald Laird, and Placido Polanco all had 3 hit games and Ryan Raburn picked up 3 more RBI with an opposite field homer. Things are good in Tiger town tonight.
Jackson has pitched better than I ever would have anticipated. He was credited with a breakout year in 2008 when he notched 14 wins, but wins and losses don’t really measure breakouts. His walk rate certainly improved, but he struck out fewer than 6 batters per 9 innings. His K/BB ratio was well under 2. Based on his career he looked to be a number 4 starter coming into 2009. That combined with Joyce’s potential, and other issues like contract status and years of service caused me to pan the deal.
Pawtucket 0 Toledo 6
Mike Hessman is only hititng .200, but he hit another homer and now has 6 on the season. Jeff Frazier tripled and singled. Ruddy Lugo pitched 7 innings of 3 hit ball with no walks and 4 K’s. Casey Fien preserved the shutout with 2 scoreless innings.
Erie 12 Bowie 5
Scott Sizemore homered, singled, and walked. Brennan Boesch, Alex Avila, and Cale Iorg did the same, but without the walk. Jonah Nickerson allowed 5 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings. Josh Rainwater pitched 2 scoreless innings.
Erie 4 Bowie 5
Max Leon and Brennan Boesch each homered. Cale Iorg doubled. Ramon Garcia allowed 3 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings. Brett Jensen blew the save allowing 2 runs while recording just one out.
Lakeland – Suspended and DNP
West Michigan 5 Dayton 2
Ronnie Bourquin homered. Jordan Lennerton doubled twice. Mauricio Robles allowed 2 runs in 6 innings with 1 walk and 5 K’s.
Minors Notes
There was some roster shuffling today. Juan Rincon has chosen to become a free agent if he’s not claimed on waivers. Matt Hoffman has earned a promotion to Lakeland. Brooks Brown has been bumped up to Toledo. Take 75 North has more on Brown and Lucas French.
PREGAME: The Tigers journey through the AL Central with 6 wins, 6 losses, and a rain out. So they didn’t really lose or gain anything. Now they go out of the division for a while starting with the Oakland A’s. Kurt and Blake have already written up previews of this series, so I’ll just put my feet up after I tell you a little about tonight’s pitching match-up.
The Tigers look to Edwin Jackson to perhaps bullpen proof this game – or at least minimize the pen innings. Jackson hasn’t received a lot of run support this year, so if the pattern holds he’ll need to be close to perfect. My guess is that tonight’s pen consists of Fernando Rodney, Lucas French, Ryan Perry…and hope. Miner and Seay are likely out, and I’d guess that Jim Leyland would like to give Zumaya and Lyon an extra day after their marathon night on Wednesday.
Lefty Dallas Braden takes the hill for Oakland. He has a sub 6 K/9 rate, but he walks less than half of that and keeps the ball in the park. Lefties only have 33 at-bats against him this year and they’ve only put together 7 singles and a walk. Most of the damage against Braden has been done in the later innings with a sub .700 OPS in the first 4 innings. But the third time through the lineup hitters post a 953 OPS against.
POSTGAME: It’s nice not to be in the Metrodome anymore. The Tigers hit 2 grandslams and took advantage of 4 Oakland errors, and got another great start from Edwin Jackson.
I never thought that at any point I would look at a list of most recent Tigers grand slams and see Brandon Inge/Ryan Raburn/Adam Everett topping that list.
Inge killed his grandslam to centerfield. You know he’s hit it well if he adjust his cup before he leaves the batters box.
Venezuela got going with 6 hits between Ordonez and Cabrera. Stud 3 hole hitter Clete Thomas also had 3 hits making a potent middle of the lineup, and enabling Inge and Raburn to combine for 10 RBI
Jackson once again pounded the zone and walked nobody with 69 of his 97 pitches going for strikes
About those 97 pitches though. Clearly it isn’t a heavy workload, but there was the rain delay. Plus he threw in the tunnel during the rain delay. Plus he had to warm up after the rain delay. That is way too much work in a game where the only doubt was when the tarp would come off.
The good news is that the entire bullpen should now be available. French and Perry only worked one inning each. Lyon and Zumaya got 2 days off. Miner and Seay should both be good to go as well.
On another note, sorry about misleading you about tonight’s A’s starter. I went off of the info on MLB.com’s site. Braden will be tomorrow night’s starter so at least I have a head start.
Pretty much everyone has beat me to this, but I still feel I should offer up something about Dontrelle Willis’s first start of the year. There are a couple ways to approach the assessment.
You can look at a final line that included 10 hits and 2 walks in just under 5 innings and come away unimpressed or even discouraged. Especially when you look at the fact he only notched one swing and a miss.
Or you can look at the start in the context of last year when the strike zone proved to be a foreign land to Willis. That he only walked 2 in his time on the mound could be a step forward. And even when he missed the zone, he missed by reasonable amounts, like you’d see in a regular start.
Figure 1 Pitch Location
I’m encouraged in that I don’t see him pitching scared. He came inside to both lefties and righties. I don’t know if that is by design or a lack of control in the strike zone, but the absence of unintentional pitch-outs is encouraging.
Pawtucket 0 Toledo 8
Mike Hessman homered and drove in 2. Dusty Ryan was a triple short of the cycle and now has a 253/398/418 line. Ron Chiavacci made the start in place of Lucas French today and fanned 7 in 4 innings of shut out ball. Freddy Dolsi struck out 2 in 1.2 innings with no hits or walks allowed.
Erie 1 Bowie 6
Ryan Strieby had 2 hits and a walk. Scott Sizemore doubled and walked. Luis Marte allowed 13 hits in 7.1 innings. That’s a lot of hits, but only 5 runs scored with 3 K’s and no walks.
Lakeland PPD
West Michigan 7 Dayton 4
Ronnie Bourqin had 4 hits including 2 doubles. Gustavo Nunez went 3 for 4. Luke Putkonen had no strikeouts and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 5 innings.
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