Gear up Night Owls, the Tigers are off on a 7-day Western jaunt, starting with three in Arizona tonight.
Scheduled times/starting pitchers for the road trip:
Detroit at Arizona:
Mon Jul 21 9:40 Verlander vs Nuno (L)
Tue Jul 22 9:40 Porcello vs Anderson
Wed Jul 23 3:40 Sanchez vs Cahill
Detroit at LA Angels
Thu Jul 24 10:05 Scherzer vs Richards
Fri Jul 25 10:05 Smyly vs Skaggs (L)
Sat Jul 26 9:05 Verlander vs Shoemaker
Sun Jul 27 3:35 Porcello vs Santiago (L)
The Tigers have never fared well on the West Coast, but of course Arizona is not the coast, so hopefully this trip gets off to a good start. The Tigers do still have the best road record in the American League, which Scherzer and Cabrera should have thought about more before contributing to the AL All-Star game victory.
The big topic for the first leg of this road trip of course, will be the who-plays-where involved with the lack of a DH, and Ausmus opts to go with Cabrera at 3rd for the opener. A little more surprising is Holaday at catcher; yes, they are facing a lefty, but that usually doesn’t make so much of a difference. Even more surprising is Suarez being bumped up to the 6th spot. Hmm.
Bullpen help? The Nats just released Ryan Perry (kidding, I hope).
Hopefully at some point in this series we will see the Diamondbacks’ backup up catcher, because you can’t beat a name like Tuffy Gosewisch.
Today’s No-DH Lineup:
- Jackson, CF
- Kinsler 2B
- Cabrera, 3B
- Martinez, 1B
- Hunter, RF
- Suarez, SS
- Holaday, C
- Davis, LF
- Verlander, P
Austin Jackson has never really seemed a fit in the leadoff spot, which was never more apparent than in last postseason, where he couldn’t even put a ball in play until he was finally bumped down to the 2nd half of the order. So I didn’t expect much when Ausmus tried moving Austin back into the leadoff spot, especially after he earned a sombrero on July 4. But since taking over the leadoff spot, he is hitting .354 with a .928 OPS.
That should help Verlander in the 9th spot, having Jackson to protect him in the lineup.
Torri on fire.
Dressed for success.
JV owns the NL..this might be just what the doctor ordered…..
Or not.
Ooh, I guess I didn’t Jinx Jackson after all!
That AB was a microcosm for JV’s season. Gets a guy to 1-2, and can’t put him away. Six pitches later, the guy gets a broken bat blooper that the OF boots. I fully expect to see a 2 run line drive single here.
He may still be confused by that play that he made.
Snakes had JV on the ropes, I would have PH for Nuno there. They aren’t going anywhere this year, so nothing to lose by calling it a day for their starter early.
And then they pull him the next inning anyway. Gibson -1.
And then Gibby had to pull him in the 5th anyway. I guess AZ isn’t aware of JV’s propensity for the big inning. A great opportunity missed there.
The other thing that happens is he can’t throw his breaking ball or off speed for a strike so everyone sits on his fastball and they either hit it hard or get a piece and fouls them off…..
Hey JV this is getting old!!!
Did I read that correctly? Jackson has 4 HRs now? 4?
Yup.
He has a shot to be a 10-10 guy this season.
Cabrera has a shot at 20-2.
Oh No! Don’t tell me the Sluggos will be expected to score more than 3 runs against a crappy pitching staff”!!! That’s asking a lot!
And the Sluggos come thru with 1…yea!
In a 425 foot single!
Can JV hold the lead?
Kinsler is amazing on D every single day!!!
That pickoff throw to 1st by Holaday is a big out.
Let the real game begin….the 7-8-9 guys…oh my!!!
“Good” start for JV. *sigh*
Going to bed so I do not have to restart drinking from earlier. Let’s have a 1-2-3 8th and 9th for once.
It seems nothing is ever easy these days….
7Th inning guy….√
8Th inning guy….√
now the real real game begins!!!
That’s two in a row for Joe Blow. How long can he keep this up?
Was that Heckle or was that Jeckle?…I never know which is which….
we will take it though!!
7Th inning guy..√
8Th inning guy..√
9th inning guy……√
I am speechless!
The Tigers went into the AS break 6.5 up on CLE. A week later and those three devastating losses to CLE over the weekend and the Tigers are now only….. 6.5 games up.
I think there is only a tiny chance they don’t win the division, but I’m also not sanguine about their abilty to make it through the playoffs given the Jeckyl and Hyde character of the offense, the worst bullpen in the majors and the resultant inconsistency of play. I am sure we all agree that they need some upgrades in both areas, primarily BP of course. Can DD get it done? I’m not convinced of his infallibility like some, especially in the quick fix department. Iglesias was a good short-term fix last year, but turned into a bust for this season (and maybe longer), and when I think back to other DD “tweaks” at the trade deadline and beyond, the first names that come to my mind are Aubrey Huff and Jarrod Washburn. I’m sure the wheels are turning right now, but rather than taking it for granted that he will “do the right thing”, I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that he gets lucky this time.