Toledo 7, Syracuse 3
Ryan Ludwick was 2 for 4 with a homer. Josh Phelps and Brian Peterson each added two hits as well. Jordan Tata scattered 10 hits over 8 innings for only 3 runs. He fanned 7 and walked 1.
Erie 5, Reading 4
Brent Clevlen was 2 for 3 with a double. Virgil Vasquez pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits with 6 K’s.
Lakeland 10, Tampa 2
Clete Thomas had two hits and Jeff Larish drew 3 walks. Chris Robinson was 3 for 4 and is now hitting 263. Jon Connolly, who you may remember was part of the Tigers organization and traded for Felix Sanchez, returned and made the start. He pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 walks and 3 hits without any strike outs.
Fort Wayne 8, West Michigan 0
West Michigan was 3 hits so there isn’t any offense to report. Sendy Vasquez was knocked around for 6 runs in 3 1/3 innings.
West Michigan 5, Fort Wayne 5 (in progress 8th inning)
Michael Hollimon singled and walked. Cameron Maybin was 0 for 2 with 2 walks. Erik Averill allowed 5 runs (4 earned) in 4 innings.
Category Archives: 2006 Season
Tiger Link Round-up
There have been a lot of interesting Tiger articles over the last week or so, both National and local. Continue reading Tiger Link Round-up
Game 67: Devil Rays at Tigers
PREGAME The Tigers will try and recover from last night’s extra-inning loss to take the series. Zach Miner will make his 3rd start and we’d all be happy if he could repeat his performance from Toronto. Casey Fossum will pitch for the Devil Rays.
And in case anyone noticed, the Tigers no longer have the best record in baseball. The Tigers and Mets are both 18 games over .500, but the Mets edge the Tig’s by .005 in winning percentage.
POSTGAME: So if I were to say one Tiger would go 0 for 5 with 3 stikeouts, you might guess it was Chris Shelton. And if I told you one Tiger doubled and walked twice, you might guess Curtis Granderson. Well, it was role reversal day. I’m not at all worried about Granderson, but I am hopeful about Shelton. Last night he only K’d once and was at least putting the ball in play. Today he drew a couple walks and had a bloop drop in. Maybe he’s turning it around?
I don’t think we could ask anymore from Zach Miner in his first 3 starts. Today he didn’t allow an earned run. Early on he was far from efficient, but managed to get through 7 innings on 100 pitches. Wil Ledezma also got his first action and had a walk and 2 strikeouts.
And in an oddity, the Tigers didn’t homer in the 4 game series.
Bullpen shake-up, Ledezma gets the call
Bobby Seay was designated for assignment and Wil Ledezma will get his spot in the bulllpen. Ledezma has been outstanding for Toledo with a 2.52 ERA and 66 strikeouts against 23 walks in 71 innings. It appears that this was less of a case of Seay earning a demotion, and more a case of Ledezma earning a promtion.
The other part of this move is that the Tigers are in a long stretch of games without a day off. Jim Leyland has hinted about using a 6th starter on occasion to spell the rotation. Ledezma could easily be that guy, where Seay never could.
As for Todd Jones, Leyland addressed it in his comments as reported by Danny Knobler:
“(Jones) didn’t really have much to do with the game, in my opinion (because the Tigers scored only 1 run in 12 innings). … If you just pitch Todd Jones in save situations, it’s different. I think if he’d have had a one run lead in the ninth, he’d have saved the game. … I think we’re talking too much about Todd Jones and not enough about one run in 12 innings.”
I would have been frustrated had Jones given up a run in extra innings, but I could have at least tolerated it. Somebody on one of the teams was going to give up a run at some point. It was the fact that he allowed the D-Rays to put the game out of reach with 4 runs. It isn’t the little blown save, it is the huge innings he’s allowing that are most troublesome.
Tigers Minor League Wrap – June 14th
Syracuse 4, Toledo 2
Tike Redman was 2 for 4 with a double and Josh Phelps hit his 7th homer. Mike Hessman chipped in with his 13th homer. Colby Lewis went 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 8 hits while fanning 4.
Reading 4, Erie 3 (10 innings)
Nate Bumstead started and allowed 3 runs on 3 walks and 7 hits in 6 innings. Eulogio De La Cruz pitched two scoreless innings of relief. Kody Kirkland had two doubles and Brent Clevlen was 2 for 4.
Lakeland 4, Tampa 1
Jeff Larish homered (12) and singled while Jeff Frazier also picked up 2 hits. Jeremy Johnson went 7 2/3 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits with a BB/K ratio of 2/3. Kevin Whelan allowed a walk but fanned two in a scoreless 9th inning.
West Michigan – DNP
Game 66: Devil Rays at Tigers
PREGAME: After a strong outing by Kenny Rogers, the Tigers bullpen is back at full strength. Hopefully they won’t be needed as Jeremy Bonderman will take the mound for the Tigers. Lifetime against the D-Rays Bonderman is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.
He’ll be opposed by lefty Mark Hendrickson who sports a better ERA than Bonderman at 4.11, but has mustered only a 3-7 record.
I’m off to the game!
POSTGAME: It’s not just Todd Jones giving up runs in crucial situations. It’s the fact that for the 3rd time in 2 weeks he’s turned a close game into a blowout. Ergh! Awesome outing by both starting pitchers. Bonderman of course deserved better. Ergh!
Tigers Minor League Wrap – June 13th
Toledo 1, Syracuse 0
Humberto Sanchez was the story with 7 innings of 3 hit ball, one walk, and 7 K’s. Not bad for his second start at AAA and has continued the success he saw in the Arizona Fall League. Chris Spurling pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Nook Logan singled and walked and Ryan Ludwick added two singles and a walk.
Reading 15, Erie 3 (9th inning in progress)
Mike Rabelo was 3 for 3 with a walk and Kurt Airoso homered. Erie’s lineup tonight had one hitter, Rabelo, who was hitting over .250. Brian Jones was tagged for 7 runs, but only one was earned, in 4 2/3 innings. He walked 4 and fanned 2. Brent Clevlen made and error (his 3rd) and Kody Kirkland added two (his 13th and 14th).
Dunedin 3, Lakeland 0
Clete Thomas doubled twice to collect half of Lakeland’s hits. Andrew Kown pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 5 K’s.
Dunedin 6, Lakeland 0
Yes, the Lakeland Tigers were shut out in both ends of a double header. Jeff Larish managed a double for one of the 4 hits. Kevin Ardoin was chased after 3 innings and 6 runs on 6 hits.
Dayton 5, West Michigan 2
Justin Justice had two hits and Cameron Maybin was 1 for 3 with a walk. Maybin also picked up his 8th steal. Michael Hollimon fanned 3 times and walked once. Ramon Garcia went six innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits.
Not Pretending
Jacob Luft has written a column at SI.com in which he states that the Tigers are pretenders . The article has already gotten a lot of play on blogs (including commentors here) and sports talk radio. One of his main points, that the Tigers performance against good teams is lacking, is a topic I’ve been meaning to address. So here is the rebuttal. Continue reading Not Pretending
Game 65: Devil Rays at Tigers
PREGAME: The Tigers look to extend their winning streak to 4 tonight against the Devil Rays. The Tigers are back at the top of the rotation with Kenny Rogers who goes for win 199. He’ll be opposed by Seth McClung.
McClung has given up 4 or more runs in each of his last 4 starts and has walked 13 and only fanned 4 over that span.
Pudge will be in the lineup tonight despite last night’s overtime duty. Carlos Guillen will man first for the slumping Shelton. I guess the good news is that Shelton’s slump corresponds with Carlos Guillen’s various aches so that both get a break.
POSTGAME: We (the fans) really needed a game like that. The Tigers jump on top early, and then blow it open. After weeks of nail biters and coming from behind it was nice to have an “easy one.”
It’s stating the obvious, but Kenny Rogers was brilliant. Some 0’s turned into 1’s in the 8th inning, but 9 K’s and 8 innings of work on a night when the bullpen was depleted are spectacular. Oh yeah, and he made the defensive play of the night laying out and flipping a ball with his glove after deflecting it in the first place.
Offensively everyone chipped in. Curtis Granderson continued to set the table by reaching base 3 times and adding a sacrifice fly and a diving catch in the outfield.
And on bark-in-the-park night the Tigers drew almost 21,000. I’ll be doing my part tomorrow and taking in the game.
Tigers sign 18 from 2006 draft
The Tigers announced today that they have signed 18 of the players the team drafted this year. The highest picked Tiger draftee to sign is 8th round pick Chris Cody.
The complete list is available below:
Rd Player Position Age School Hometown 8 Chris Cody LHP 22 Manhattan College Brewster, NY 11 Hayden Parrott 2B 18 Desert Mountain HS West Bloomfield, MI 12 Joe Bowen C 18 Vanguard HS Ocala, FL 13 Angel Castro RHP 23 Western Oklahoma St. Dominican Republic 14 Brett Jensen RHP 22 U. of Nebraska Eagle Grove, IA 16 Jeff Gerbe RHP 21 Michigan State U. Detroit, MI 18 Deik Scram CF 20 Oklahoma State U. Arkansas City, KS 19 Duane Below LHP 20 Lake Michigan College Tecumseh, MI 22 Chris Krawczyk RHP 22 Missouri State U. Independence, MO 24 Joe Tucker CF 22 Kent State U. Canton, OH 28 Derek Witt RHP 22 Ohio U. Davenport, IA 29 Christopher Carlson 22 U. of New Mexico Topeka, KS 31 Michael Sullivan 22 Ball State U. Munster, IN 32 Rudy Darrow RHP 22 Nicholls State U. Stillwater, OK 35 Paul Hammond LHP 23 U. of Michigan Shelby, OH 38 Dana Arrowood RHP 23 Old Dominion U. Woodbridge, VA 39 Michael Bertram 3B 22 U. of Kentucky Lexington, KY 47 Alec Shepherd RHP 20 South Mountain CC Wilmar, MN
Tigers Minor League Wrap – June 12th
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.
Game 64: Devil Rays at Tigers
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.