Yearly Archives: 2011

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 8.26.2011

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Toledo 1, Buffalo 0 (Mets)

Jacob Turner looked impressive but did not factor in the decision. Turner threw 6 shutout innings and held Buffalo to 4 hits and a walk while striking out 6. Brayan Villareal (LHP) earned his third win of the year and Enrique Gonzalez picked up his 12th save after three combined innings of shutout relief.

Timo Perez (LF) drove in the only run of the game on an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. In his first game after being promoted from AA Erie, Justin Henry (3B) was 2-4 from the plate. In 363 ABs with Erie, Henry hit .311, with an OBP of .414.

Erie 7, Bowie 5 (Orioles)

Jay Voss (LHP) received a no decision following a mediocre start: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 k. Jared Gayhart (RHP) improved to 5-0 on the year after 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.

Bryan Pounds (3B) was 2-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. Brent Wyatt (OF) also drove in 2 runs.

Lakeland 6, Clearwater 8 (Phillies)

Reliever Kenny Faulk (LHP) allowed 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the 8th and got stuck with the loss. Victor Larez (RHP) started the game and got the hook after 5 innings and 5 ER. Zach Samuels (RHP) replaced him and coughed up another ER in 2 innings of work.

Avisail Garcia (RF) homered twice and drove in 3 in 4 ABs. Jordan Lennerton (1B) went 3-5 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored.

West Michigan 4, Lake County 2 (Indians)

Josue Carreno (RHP) and Ryan Woolley (RHP) combined to throw a tremendous game. Carreno started, earned the win, and went 5 and Woolley made it 4 to pick up the save. Each man gave up an ER.

Hernan Perez has struggled over his last 10, but responded well with a  2-4, 1 RBI night. Castellanos went 2-4 with a double and a RBI. The final 2 WM runs were driven in by Jones and Krizan.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.131: Tigers at Twins

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Tonight the Tigers arrive at Target Field in Minneapolis faced with the daunting prospect of 10,000 Jim Thomes.

Fortunately, none of them will be in a Twins uniform.

(Unfortunately, Jim Thome is back in a Cleveland Indian uniform).

On Jim Thome Wind Up Walker Giveaway Night, the first 10,000 fans will receive a replica of the player the Twins just traded to Cleveland for Player-To-Be-Named-Later.  Thome will rejoin the team on which he began his career,  and began killing the Tigers.  The Indians are hoping he will be able to continue the Tiger-killing, or if not at least give the fans something to talk about other than the team’s August downslide.

If the Tigers continue winning, they won’t have to worry about Thome or anyone else:   Detroit now has a solid lead of 6 1/2 over Cleveland, and 7 over Chicago,  with a week of baseball against the struggling Twins and Royals on tap.

And the Tigers have been winning without even scoring–Detroit only scored a total of 11 runs in the 4-game series with Tampa Bay, but managed to win 3-of-4 anyway.

That approach may not work tonight, unless Rick Porcello has a much better showing than he did when he faced the Twins on Aug 16.  He gave up 6 runs in 6 innings, and followed that up with a 5-run, 3 2/3 inning appearance against Cleveland.  With a season ERA now at 5.17–and 9.15 in August–he has been doing a good impersonation of a 5th starter.

The Tigers will be facing dreaded Rookie Pitcher Guy, this one a lefty named Scott Diamond (0-1, 4.26), making his 2nd major league appearance.

Player of the Pre-Game: Alex Avila

I might as well just leave this name up here for a while.  He is now hitting .418 (1.336 OPS) for the month of August, with 6 HR and 16 RBI.  His 2010 season totals:  7 HR and 32 RBI.

Today’s Wind-Up Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson, CF
  2. Magglio Ordonez, RF
  3. Delmon Young, LF
  4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
  5. Victor Martinez, DH
  6. Alex Avila, C
  7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
  8. Ryan Raburn, 2B
  9. Brandon Inge, 3B

 

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 8.24.2011

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Toledo 7, Buffalo 6 (Mets)

Fu Te Ni gave up 3 quick runs in the first, but settled in somewhat and finished the night after 5 2/3 innings and 5 ER charged against him. Ni allowed 8 hits but just 2 walks with 6 strikeouts. Brendan Wise (RHP) was the beneficiary of timely ‘Hens hitting and improved to 5-2 with the win.  David Purcey (LHP) threw an inning and a third in relief allowing one walk, but no more. Enrique Gonzalez closed this one down, earning his 11th save of the season, while striking out 2 of 3 in a perfect 9th.

Danny Worth had a huge night, going 2-3 from the plate with a grand slam in the 6th. Max St. Pierre (C) had 2 RBIs on a homer and Argenis Diaz (3B) went 3-4 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.

Erie 5, Binghamton 10 (Mets)

Casey Crosby (LHP)was beat handily and fell to 8-6 on the year: 5 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Rob Waite (RHP) gave up 2 more ER over 2 innings.

John Murrian (C) drove in 3 on a HR in four ABs. Rawley Bishop (1B) went 3-4 with a double and a RBI. Brandon Douglas (2B) drove in the final Erie run.

Lakeland, Dunedin: PPD

West Michigan 2, Lake County 1 (Indians)

James McCann hit a sacrifice fly to score Steven Moya in the bottom of the 13th for a walk-off giving reliever Jade Todd (LHP) his second win of the season.  While he didn’t factor in the decision, Kevin Eichhorn (RHP) pitched very well: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K. In his last 10 starts Eichhorn has gone 4-2 with a 4.19 ERA; however, he’s struck out 38 while walking just 13 over 62 1/3 innings of work.

Josh Ashenbrenner (3B) went 2-4 from the plate. McCann and Steven Moya (DH) had one RBI each.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.130: Tigers at Rays

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Before we complain too much more about “The Throw” last night, let’s remember that even had that play been made, we would have still had to score a run somehow (which requires hits), and then likely asked another reliever not names Benoit or Valverde to pitch a scoreless inning.

Today’s task doesn’t get any easier, as the Tigers run out Omir Santos and not Miguel Cabrera (congrats on the new kid big guy) against Jeremy Hellickson.  Oh, and Boesch re-injured his thumb last night (2nd degree sprain), so we’ll need the bench guys to step up.  No word on his return.

Today’s Series Winning Lineup:

1. A Jax – CF
2. Santiago – 2B
3. Young – LF
4. V-Mart – DH
5. Betemit – 3B (yeah, that’s 5th)
6. Kelly – 1B
7. Peralta – SS (I don’t get this)
8. Raburn – RF
9. Santos – C

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.129: Tigers at Rays

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Let’s give credit where credit is due…Ol’ Jimmy managed us to a win last night, and he’s been conducting the bullpen like a maestro over the last week.  Coke’s effort last night was tremendous, and may be the type of performance that defines a division championship (may).  He went 0-2 or1-2 on 6 batters, struck out the first 5 that he faced, and performed brilliantly in the face of extreme pressure after the IBB to put the winning run on.  The 10 pitch at bat to Zobrist had my stomach in knots.  And it’s not (get it?) even September yet.  WPs only bounce into the stands to save a run when a team is on a 5 game winning streak.  Overall, the bullpen has a microscopic 1.55 ERA and 58 Ks over their last 58 IPs dating back to August 4.

Brad Penny ate up 6 1/3 allowing only one run, and Ryan Perry maintained composure and got Longoria to fly out with the bases loaded in the 7th.

Avila’s Awesome August sees him leading the AL with a 1.338 OPS in 19 games.  His August slugging percentage alone would put him about 1/2 up the team leader board in OPS.  Oh yeah, and that was his 17th straight start.

Max Scherzer goes for the Tigers tonight against Wade Davis, perhaps the most hittable Tampa pitcher in the series.  Davis had one of his best starts of the season last time out (against the Mariners) but has carried a 4+ ERA for most of the season, and has a 1.41 WHIP.  Lefties hit .290 against him, and righties are batting .265 for the year.

Before you start checking your October calendars, remember that the Rangers were 7.5 games up on the Angels less than a week ago…that lead is now 3.5.

Lineups coming later.

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 8.23.2011

Toledo 3, Louisville 10 (Reds)

Thad Weber dropped to 5-10 after giving up 4 ER on 8 hits and a walk over 6 innings. Jose Ortega (RHP) imploded over just one inning of relief as he allowed 6 ER on 6 hits, including 2 HR. Robbie Weinhardt pitched a perfect 8th.

Argenis Diaz (SS) was 1-4 with 2 RBI. Omir Santos (C) drove in the other run and was also 1-4. Ben Guez (RF) was 3-5 with a double and 2 runs scored.

Erie 4, Binghamton 6 (Mets)

Brooks Brown (RHP) had a mediocre outing as the SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 K. Ryan Robowski (LHP), who has pitched at Toledo, Lakeland and Erie this year, took the loss after giving up 3 ER over 2 innings.

Bryan Pounds (3B) drove in 2 RBI on 3-4 from the dish, including 2 doubles. Henry and Holaday drove in a run each.

Lakeland 1, Dunedin 6 (Blue Jays)

Shawn Teufel (LHP) found a way to allow 9 hits in 5 innings. Predictably, he took the loss and dropped to 4-4 on the season. Tyler White (RHP) gave up 3 unearned runs over 3 innings in relief.

Jordan Lennerton (1B) had the only night worth noting: 3-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI. The 25-year-old is hitting .274 on the year, but has been on a tear over his last ten games: he’s hit .526 with an OBP of .561 and .921 SLG with 3 HR and 7 RBIs.

West Michigan 3, South Bend 2 (Diamondbacks)

Brian Stroud (RHP) pitched well and put together a near-quality start (statistically speaking): 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. However, Ryan Woolley (RHP) wound up as the winning pitcher after throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

Nick Castellanos went 2-4 with 2 RBI and is hitting .312 on the season. The other WM run was unearned.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.128: Tigers at Rays

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First place by 5.5 games.  High fives all the way around.

– AJax DP to end the game on Sunday?  Been there, seen that, says Ol’ Smokey.
– Freep had a nice compilation of national articles on JV’s 19th win.

Tigers look for their 5th in a row, to go 12 games over .500, and hopefully to increase their lead tonight against David Price.  The Tampa lefty has only shut down the Yanks and Red Sox over his last two starts, allowing just 1 run in 16 innings.  Bad Brad Penny looks to eat up some innings as the Tigers run out 8 righties against Price.

Tonight’s Lineup

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Magglio Ordonez, RF
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Ryan Raburn, 2B
9. Brandon Inge, 3B

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.127: Tigers at Rays

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Hello all – work is not really cooperating with the essay I’d like to write on the Catch & Throw alone, so I’m hoping that an early post will lead to some good pre-game chatter.  That link is great b/c you can hear the TV and radio calls.  Did anyone else notice that Inge was one of the first to congratulate Jackson?  (when he’s hitting) I love that guy.

– AJax has not registered a strike out in his last 8 games.  The longest such streak of his career (by 4 games).

Tonight’s lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Brennan Boesch, RF
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Wilson Betemit, 3B
9. Ramon Santiago, 2B

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 8.20.2011

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Toledo 1, Louisville 12 (Reds)

Starter Trevor Feeney (RHP) got knocked out before he recorded 9 outs. Feeney gave up 11 hits and a walk which turned into 8 runs, all earned. Last night was Feeney’s first start at AAA after being called up from Lakeland. While at Lakeland, Feeney had an 8-11 record with a 4.39 ERA, 96 K’s, and 30 walks. David Purcey  threw a perfect inning of relief. Robbie Weinhardt gave up one more run and Jose Ortega (RHP) allowed 3 ER in 1 inning of work.

Argenis Diaz (SS) drove in the only Toledo run with an RBI double. Max St. Pierre (C) was 2-3 with a double and a walk.

Erie 7, Harrisburg 0 (Nationals)

Luis Marte (RHP) improved to 2-0 after he held Harrisburg scoreless through 5 innings and gave up just 3 hits and a walk. Marte also struck out 6. In 21 games with Erie, Marte has a 1.99 ERA 56 strikeouts and 16 walks over 45 1/3 innings. Jared Gayhart (RHP) threw 2 innings in relief and held Harrisburg off the base paths while striking out 3.

Bryan Pounds (3B) was 2-5 with 3 RBI and a run scored. Deik Scram (DH) was 2-5 with a  2-run HR. Justin Henry (OF) was 2-5. In 105 games and 346 ABs, Henry is hitting .309 with an OBP of .412. He’s stolen 20 bases in 28 attempts.

Lakeland 7, Clearwater 3 (Phillies)

Victor Larez (RHP) made his first start since July 13th and looked terrific: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W.

Wade Gaynor was dominant from the plate. He went 3-4 with a double, triple, and three RBI. Rob Brantly (C) went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI.

West Michigan 3, South Bend 5 (Diamondbacks)

Alex Burgos (LHP) dropped to 6-4 after he gave up 5 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings. He was relieved by Ryan Woolley (RHP) and Daniel Bennett (RHP) who combined to throw 5 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts each. Despite his near-.500 record, Burgos has an impressive 2.44 ERA with 76 K’s and 28 BB’s over 73.2 innings with WM.

Nick Castellanos (3B) went 1-2 with 2 walks. Jason Krizan (OF) went 1-4 from the plate and drove in 2. Jeff Rowland (LF) went 2-5 with a solo home run and 2 runs scored.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.126: Indians at Tigers

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2-for-2, and a series sweep is looking good with Justin Verlander taking the mound–wait, what?  An extra day’s rest?  Oh, nevermind…

Well, the Inge call-up is looking like a bit of genius, isn’t it?  I would have predicted that (although he was Player of the Pre-Game).  And sure it was all in a blowout victory, but it was only 2-0 when he hit his HR, and 4-1 when he hit his double.   If Inge can do this even a handful of times the rest of the season, it could make the Tigers pretty tough to take down in the Central.

Rick Porcello will man the broom and try to pretend it’s July, or even September.  After a 5-0, 3.06 July, Porcello has gone 0-2, 8.44 for August.

Ubaldo Jimenez looks to win the re-match with Porcello (he gave up no earned runs in 8 innings for the victory), and to keep Cleveland from dropping to 4 1/2 games back.

In unrelated news, ESPN has a nice article about Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammell in Arizona.

Player of the Pre-game:  Alex Avila

He has caught 14 straight games, and is hitting .429 with a 1.269 OPS over the last 2 weeks, and .442 for the month of August.  Last year Tiger catchers combined for a .223 BA and .624 OPS.  Avila is making a huge difference this season.

Today’s New Standard RHP Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Brennan Boesch RF
  3. Delmon Young LF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Alex Avila C
  7. Jhonny Peralta SS
  8. Betemit 3B
  9. Ramon Santiago 2B

 

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.125: Indians at Tigers

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Tigers beat Indians, then call up Brandon Inge.

That sentence itself is enough to generate enough commentary to last all night.  We’ll push it a step further, with this tidbit:  “Brandon Inge will be back in Detroit tonight and will start at third base against Cleveland left-handed pitcher David Huff and all left-handers thereafter.”

In the ESPN game preview they referred to Inge as “former Tigers All-Star Brandon Inge,”  which is sort of cute, isn’t it?

To make room for Inge, the Tigers sent Andy Dirks to the land of muddy hens.  So, in the outfield right now we have Boesch, Jackson, and Young, with Ordonez as a backup (Raburn is now the starting 2nd Baseman, and Kelly is 3rd string 3B, 3rd string 2B, backup catcher, and 5th outfielder).

So there you go.  Discuss amongst yourselves.

But the Tigers are up by 2 1/2 now, after a stellar performance by Max Scherzer.  Tonight Doug Fister tries to un-Washburn himself against David Huff, who has a season ERA of .051–but not to worry, he has had 2 starts against Detroit, and come away with a 6.00 ERA.

Player of the Pre-game:  Brandon Inge

Yes, the call of Avila as player of the pre-game yesterday was pretty spot on, as they say.  But I will resist the temptation to repeat, and instead play the Ingetangibles angle.

Today’s Ingeteresting Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Magglio Ordonez RF
  3. Delmon Young LF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Alex Avila C
  7. Jhonny Peralta SS
  8. Brandon Inge 3B
  9. Ramon Santiago 2B

 

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 8.19.2011

Toledo 2, Buffalo 4 (Mets)

Fu Te Ni had a tremendous start but did not factor in the decision: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. In 91 innings of work with Toledo, Ni has a 3.16 ERA, 32 BB, and 77 K with a 5-2 record. He’s started 9 games and appeared in 31. Enrique Gonzalez ruined the night for Ni as he allowed the deciding 3 runs in 2 innings on 5 hits and a walk.

Timo Perez and Ryan Strieby (1B) had 1 RBI each. Scott Thorman (DH) went 2-4 with a double.

Erie 2, Harrisburg 1 (Nationals)

Casey Crosby (LHP) went 8 innings and held Harrisburg scoreless. He allowed only 6 hits with no walks and 7 strikeouts. Crosby’s win improved his record to 8-5 with a 3.57 ERA. My primary criticism of Crosby has been his lack of control (70 walks in 118 innings). In his last 4 starts, covering 26 innings, he’s walked just 7 batters while striking out 25. If this trend continues, Crosby will be on his way to a successful career as a big league starter.

Audy Ciriaco (DH) and Shawn Roof (LF) had an RBI each. Rawley Bishop (1B) was 1-3 with a run scored and a walk.

Lakeland 0, Clearwater 1 (Phillies)

There’s something frustrating about writing a game recap in which you have to explain how your team’s minor league club managed to go 11 innings without scoring a run; unfortunately, that’s the situation. On the bright side, Lakeland pitching held Clearwater scoreless through 10.

Luke Putkonen (RHP), Zach Samuels (RHP), and Michael Morrison (RHP) combined to throw 9 scoreless innings with 3 walks and 14 strikeouts.  Kenny Faulk (LHP) continued that dominance over the final two innings as he struck out 3, walked no one, and gave up just one hit. Unfortunately, that hit was a solo homer which was the difference in the game and Faulk dropped to 2-4.

Jordan Lennerton (1B) went 2-5 from the plate. Fields and Rockett each went 2-4. Other than Plagman being HBP, no Lakeland batter drew a walk.

West Michigan 2, Fort Wayne 10 (Padres)

Kevin Eichhorn (RHP) ruined his streak of quality of 4 quality starts (and 7 out of his last 9) with a terrible outing: 3.1 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Tyler Clark (RHP) gave up one more run and then Jade Todd (LHP) shut down Fort Wayne through 3 and a third.

Jeff Rowland (LF) and Dixon Machado (SS) produced an RBI apiece (Rowland’s coming off a solo homer). Nick Castellanos went 1-4 and is hitting .307 on the year.