Category Archives: 2011 Season

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.8.2011

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Toledo 5, Gwinnett 10 (Braves)

Andy Oliver got knocked around in 3 2/3 innings as the starter. He allowed 7 ER on 10 hits including 2 homers. The only pitcher that had a nice outing was Fu Te Ni who pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out 2.

Toledo made a run at a comeback with 4 in the bottom of the 8th. Ryan Strieby (1B) lead the charge: 2-4 1 HR, 1 RBI. Will Rhymes went 2-5 with 2 RBI and a triple. Perez and St.Pierre added an RBI apiece to complete the Mud Hens scoring.

Erie 7, Altoona 6 (Pirates)

Casey Crosby (LHP) was the winning pitcher of record after 5 innings of work. He gave up 4 ER on 5 hits and 5 BB while striking out 6. After 2 unearned runs allowed by Gayhart, Waite and Ruffin combined to hold Altoona scoreless. Ruffin got his 6th save of the year.

Audy Ciriaco (SS) and Brandon Douglas (2B) each went 2-4 and Ciriaco drove in 3. Martinez (3B) also had a solid night as he drove in 2 and went 1-2 from the plate with a walk.

Lakeland 4, Daytona 0 (Cubs)

Drew Smyly (LHP) had a terrific night as the Lakeland starter: 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K. His ERA for the year is now 3.03. Tyler Stohr allowed the only Daytona hit of the night and gave up a walk in 2 innings of work.

Jordan Lennerton (1B) was 2-4 with 2 2B and 2 RBI. Brent Wyatt (LF) was 1-3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.

West Michigan 10, Peoria 9 (Cubs)

Brennan Smith (RHP) got knocked out after 3 2/3 innings as the starter. He gave up 5 ER on 8 hits and 2 walks. Ramon Lebron was the least bad pitcher in this game and got the win after allowing an ER in 2 1/3 innings of work. Antonio Cruz was credited with the save after he K’ed 2 in an inning of relief.

Billy Nowlin had an epic night with the bat. He homered twice and went 4-5 from the dish we 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. Rob Brantly (C) also hit a home run and drove in 3. Hernan Perez (2B) went 2-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.61: Tigers at Rangers

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More hits than Lady Gaga.  More hits than, um, some fighter in some fight [look this up later].  More hits than…oh, nevermind.

The Tigers had 20 hits yesterday.  That is more hits than Magglio Ordonez has this season. They have 38 hits already in the first 2 games of the series.  That is more hits than Brandon Inge has this season.

And this isn’t against just anybody:  Texas had only given up 40 hits in their last two series combined (7 games);  Harrison, who gave up the bulk of the 20 hits, hadn’t given up a run in 16 innings.  This is not to say the Tigers are hitting good of course; they are hitting well.

So the Tigers head into tonight with a chance to convincingly sweep a first-place team on the road (on the other hand:  see today’s pitching matchup).

Even Raburn is hitting.  And, dare I say, Raburn is a big part of the recent Tiger surge.  Here is the thing:  as much as Raburn’s slump has been driving us crazy, how do you think it feels to the rest of the team, not to mention Raburn himself?  How do you think it must feel feeling like you have a lineup of 8 hitters and 1 black K? So when Raburn hit his grand slam against the White Sox, the smiles all around were mostly about the 4 runs, but also, I think, a huge weight was lifted from Raburn and the rest of the team.

In fact, Raburn has a 7-game hitting streak going.  The Tigers are 6-1 in that time.  Even a minimally contributing Raburn is going to make a huge difference to the team; at any rate, at least for the moment, he has rekindled the idea that when he is at bat maybe, just maybe, he will do something.

Phil Coke returns to the lineup and the mound tonight.  He faces the 6-0 Alexi Ogando (2.20), so he has his work cut out for him.  Or, in the charming words of Ol’ Smokey, “he is pitching in the heat against a guy who is 6-0…so, good luck, Coke.”

With Freakyfoot Phil back, Omir Santos goes back to the mud (thanks for the visit, hope you didn’t unpack).  I had assumed the move would be to send Wilk back now, and Santos back when Ordonez returns (latest intelligence says Monday at the earliest).  But Scherzer’s troubles meant Furbish was used up Monday, and Purcey was used Tuesday, so there is a lefty deficit in the bullpen.  I’m guessing this is plan B, and Wilk is the lefty-du-jour for tonight’s game, and will be swapped for Ordonez.

There is still the question of who goes when Inge returns, but it seems unlikely he will really be back anytime soon.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Brennan Boesch

Keep the Boesch baesching going!

Today’s Lucky Lefty Lineup:

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

 

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.60: Tigers at Rangers

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14:  Home runs by Detroit so far in June (leads the majors)

13:  Number of runs scored by Detroit yesterday against the Rangers

10:  Number of runs given up by the Rangers over their previous 6 games

0:  Number of games won by Cleveland, at home, against the Rangers

1: Number of games won so far by Detroit, on the road, against the Rangers.

1.5:  Number of games Detroit needs to make up to take over the Central Division lead

Sure, only so much can be made of one game, so let’s see what happens the next two.  But just maybe this series could be a good indicator of how we stack up right now against Cleveland.

Tonight Rick Porcello will have the task of keeping the Rangers to a manageable run total.  Unlike Scherzer, Porcello is coming off a good start, a 4-2 win over Minnesota.  Matt Harrison has been doing even better for the Rangers–it has been over 14 innings since he has allowed a run at all.  Time to find out if all the offense last night was a fluke.

Oh, and in the draft the Tigers have taken Colin Kaline, grandson of Al.

And Magglio is still with Toledo.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Miguel Cabrera

After watching Boesch baesch the ball yesterday, Miguel says today it’s the right-handers’ turn.

Today’s Ghost’s-Last-Stand? Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Casper Wells LF
  3. Brennan Boesch RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Jhonny Peralta SS
  7. Alex Avila C
  8. Ryan Raburn 2B
  9. Danny Worth 3B
2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.6.2011

Toledo 4, Scranton 1 (Yankees)

Thad Weber (RHP) became the winning pitcher after holding Scranton to 1 ER, on 5 hits, over 7 innings. Weber K’ed 6 without giving up a walk. Matt Hoffman and Ryan Perry held the opposition scoreless in 2 innings of relief.

Thorman, Pounds, Iorg, Perez, and Rhymes all had multiple hits. Rhymes lead the way with a 3-5 night. Deik Scram (OF) was the Hens RBI leader after he drove in 2 on a 1-3 night.

Lakeland 1, Tampa 3 (Yankees)

Jared Wesson (LHP) started and went 6 innings. He allowed 3 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6 in a losing effort. Kenny Faulk continued to look good in relief: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Wade Gaynor had the only Lakeland RBI on 1-4 from the plate. Jordan Lennerton (DH) went 2-4 from the plate.

Erie and West Michigan had a scheduled day off   

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.59: Tigers at Rangers

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92.5%

That’s the current number for the Rangers on the ESPN poll of who will win tonight’s game.

The Rangers are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, having won 11 of their last 14.  They just completed a 4-game sweep of Cleveland (thank you very much).  We all know the Rangers can score runs, but what was really impressive against Cleveland was the pitching:  Texas held the Indians to 6 runs total over the 4 games.

Max Scherzer will have his work cut out for him against the Rangers in hitter-friendly Arlington, especially coming off two consecutive shaky starts.  Colby Lewis looks to continue the Ranger streak of good pitching, himself coming back from 8 innings of 4-hit shutout pitching against the Rays.

So the Tigers have their work cut out for them tonight.  But 92.5%? C’mon.

In other news, Purcey returns from paternitizing, and Andy Oliver has been sent back to the mud.  Scott Sizemore has been called up to the Oakland A’s, as a 3rd-baseman.  And still no Magglio.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Andy Dirks

Texas hitters will keep Andy busy in the outfield;  Dirks had 2 2-strike hits in yesterday’s game, which should be a confidence-builder.

Today’s Return-of-the-H-Factor Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Don Kelly 3B
  3. Brennan Boesch RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Andy Dirks LF
  7. Jhonny Peralta SS
  8. Alex Avila C
  9. Ryan Raburn 2B
2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.58: Tigers at White Sox

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Today is the rubber game of the 3-game series with the White Sox, after which Detroit bounces off to Texas to take on the Indian-destroying Rangers, who will be already underway in Cleveland by game time.  If all goes well Detroit could be 2 1/2 games out of first when today’s game ends.

So, yes, the losing streak was only one game this time.  Because:  Justin Verlander. And: Miguel Cabrera.

After the game, the Tigers took advantage of a little-known change in MLB rules and called up Adam Wilk to replace David Purcey, who was placed on paternity leave (twins!).  Normally, a player has to spend at least 10 days in the minors once he has been sent down, which means Wilk would have been unavailable (which means the lefty would likely have been…Brad Thomas.  Eek!).  But last season in a fit of family-friendliness, MLB added a specific exception to the 10-day rule for players called up to replace a player on paternity leave. Who knew?

And Phil Coke is back, and scheduled to pitch Wednesday, which means that Oliver is to be a hen-in-the-mud, although it is not official yet.

And Magglio may join the team in Texas, so hopefully Omir Santos didn’t unpack all of his bags.

Today Bad Brad Penny aims to revert back to Good Penny, or at least Brutus.  The Tigers draw the always tough Jake Peavy.  Especially against Miguel Cabrera, who does worse against Peavy than against any other starting pitcher he has faced on a regular basis, 2-for-22 (.091). Brad Penny has as many hits against Peavy.

This will be the first time that 2 pitchers with 5-letter names starting with P faced each other since April 11, 2008.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game: Brennan Boesch

One of the lefties will need to step up today for the Tigers.  A Boesch baesch would be just the thing.

Today’s No-H Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Don Kelly 3B
  3. Brennan Boesch RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez C
  6. Andy Dirks LF
  7. Alex Avila DH
  8. Ryan Raburn 2B
  9. Ramon Santiago SS
2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.4.2011

Toledo 7, Scranton 3 (Yankees)

Duane “lookout” Below (LHP) struck out 9 batters in 6 innings of work en route to a win. He allowed just 2 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks. On the year, Below has a 3.52 average with 57 K’s in 69 IP. Ryan Perry threw two innings of 1-run ball with 3 K’s to earn his first save at AAA.

Magglio went 3-5 with a run scored, a double, and a run batted in. Ryan Strieby (1B) also went 3-5 with a double, but Strieby drove in 3 to lead the Mud Hens. Timo had 2 hits and 2 runs scored. Will Rhymes went 3-5.

Erie 3, Harrisburg 1 (Nationals)

Luke Putkonen (RHP) earned his first win in 11 starts after he threw 7 innings of scoreless, 4 hit baseball. Putkonen did not walk a batter and struck out 4. Austin Wood (LHP) got the save after he recorded the final 2 outs.

Rawley Bishop (1B) had 2 hits and 2 runs scored in 4 ABs. He drove in 1. Audy Ciriaco (SS) went 2-3 with a 2B and 2 RBI.

Lakeland 2, Tampa 5 (Yankees)

Trevor “Mr.” Feeney (RHP) pitched a heck of a game: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Unfortunately, his offense didn’t back him up and he took the loss. Tyler Stohr (RHP) gave up 3 ER in the top half of the 9th.

Tony Plagman (1B) had the only night to speak of offensively as he went 2-3 with a RBI and a BB. Wade Gaynor (3B) went 0-4 with 3 K’s.

West Michigan 6, Cedar Rapids 1 (Angels)

Feeney wasn’t the only minor leaguer to pitch a brilliant game Saturday night, Jose Carreno (RHP) gave up just 1 unearned run over 8 innings. He allowed only 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8. Deservedly, Carreno was the winning pitcher of record. Michael Torrealba (RHP) gave up a hit and a walk in an inning of relief.

Dixon Machado lead the Whitecaps with 3 RBI after a bases-clearing, two out,  triple in the 4th. Nick Castellanos went 1-3 with 2 RBI and a walk. Jeff Rowland had the other RBI after he went 1-2 with 2 walks.

Hernan Perez (2B) went 1-4 with a run scored. Through nearly 200 ABs, Perez is hitting .325 with 12 steals. He’s only 20 and will undoubtedly develop some additional power as he matures. Please promote this man.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.57: Tigers at White Sox

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Well, so a bunch of streaks ended yesterday:  the Tiger winning streak, the Tiger winning streak against the White Sox, Charlie Furbush’s career scoreless streak, and Adam Dunn’s 0-for-40 against LHP.

The way the Tigers’ season has gone, one could expect a losing streak to follow.  Not so fast!  Tonight we get Justin Verlander, who not only is Justin Verlander, but has been particularly tough against the White Sox, going 6-0, 2.03 in his last 6 outings against them.  The only White Sox hitter who has hit Verlander consistenly has been AJ Pierzynski (.327).

Verlander will be matched by his former teammate and no-hit buddy, Edwin Jackson, who has struggled since his no-hitter last season (a combined 9-11, 4.44).

Also on the bright side:  Cleveland has to play Texas again tonight.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Jhonny Peralta

Peralta’s .920 OPS leads all MLB Shortstops.  In the All-Star balloting he trails Derek Jeter (.654) by about a million votes, which is inevitable.  He also trails Asdrubal Cabrera (.898), Elvis Andrus (.668), Yunel Escobar (.831) and Erick Aybar (.793), among others (they only have the top 5 vote-getters listed).  We need some love for the H-Factor.

Today’s He-Bats-9th-Because-There’s-No-10th Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Don Kelly 3B
  3. Brennan Boesch RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Andy Dirks LF
  7. Jhonny Peralta SS
  8. Alex Avila C
  9. Ryan Raburn 2B
2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.3.2011

Toledo 3, Scranton 4 (Yankees)

Scranton won on a soft fly walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. Lester Oliveros gave up the run, and became the losing pitcher, after allowing 3 hits and 2 walks in one inning. Phil Coke made his rehab start and threw 5 1/3 innings. He gave up 8 hits, 2 walks and 3 ER while striking out 6. He threw 89 pitches, 58 for strikes.

Magglio also made a rehab appearance and went 0-3 with a strike out. Bryan Pounds (3B) went 2-4 with a run scored, a homer, and an RBI. Clete Thomas (CF) went 1-3 with a double, 2 RBI, and a walk.

Erie 6, Harrisburg 5 (Senators)

With the game tied at 5, Michael Bertram (DH) lead off the bottom of the 10th. He then belted a homer into straightaway center field for the walk-off win. That was the 2nd hit in a 2-5 night in which he scored two runs. Justin Henry (OF) went 0-1 but drew an unbelievable 4 walks. Audy Ciriaco (SS) also had a nice night: 3-4, 2 R, 1 2B.

Jacob Turner started for the Wolves. He gave up 6 hits and walks in 7 1/3. Of those base runners, 3 turned into earned runs. Turner struck out 5. His ERA for the season is now at 2.79. Last night’s start marked his tenth of the year. He has allowed more than 3 ER only once, when he gave up 4 over 7 innings back on April 28th.

Chance Ruffin (RHP) looked like a stud in a magnificent relief effort. He was the pitcher of record after two innings of work while striking out 4 without allowing a hit or walk.

Lakeland 8, Fort Myers 6 (Twins)

Drew Smyly was the winning pitcher. He gave up2 ER on  5 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings. Kenny Faulk recorded save number 15 after pitching an inning and allowing a hit while striking out 1.

Jordan Lennerton (1B) signed a new endorsement deal with the number 2. He then showed up to the ball park and went 2-4 with 2 runs scored, 2 2B, and 2 RBI. Gustavo Nunez (SS) had a great night as well. He recorded 3 hits and drove in 2 in 5 ABs.

West Michigan 5, Cedar Rapids 4 (Angels)

Jeff Rowland (LF) drew a walk-off walk in the bottom of the tenth which scored Nick Castellanos and gave the ‘Caps the win.  Antonio Cruz got no decision after 5 innings as the starter in which he allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and 4 BB. Nate Newman (RHP) became the winner after striking out the side in the top half of the 10th.

Steven Moya (RF) had the best night offensively as he hit two solo homers and drew two walks in 5 ABs.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.56: Tigers at White Sox

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Well, they did it:  the Tigers finished off the 3-game home series against the Twins with a sweep, which makes them 5-0 against the Twins this season.  Hopefully the home series was good for cash flow–the Tigers appear to be one of 9 MLB teams that have unacceptable debt loads.

The last time the Tigers and White Sox met, the Tigers swept the 3-game series, and held Chicago to a total of 3 runs for the entire series.  So, yes, the Tigers are a combined 8-0 vs the Twins and White Sox so far in 2011.  Add to that the last 6 games between the teams in 2010 that Detroit won, and Detroit tonight has a chance to win their 10th straight vs the White Sox, something they last accomplished in 1923.

The White Sox come into this game though with a lot of momentum, fresh from a 3-game sweep of the previously hot Red Sox, scoring 24 runs over 3 games.  So which White Sox will we see this series, the 3-run version or the 24-run version?

Attempting to make it the former will be Andy Oliver, making his 2nd start in place of Phil Coke. Chicago counters with lefty Mark Buehrle, who struggled in his Apr 22 start vs Detroit, and gave up 6 runs in 5 2/3 innings, including a 2-run HR to Ryan Raburn.

Rain is in the forecast, so stay tuned.

Oh, and the Free Press has officially jinxed Al Alburquerque, comparing him to Joel Zumaya.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Danny Worth

With Brandon Inge on the 15-day DL with mono, Danny has a chance to prove his worth at 3B. (Curiously, the Tigers called up C Omir Santos to take Inge’s spot).

Today’s Everyday Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Casper Wells RF
  3. Brennan Boesch LF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Jhonny Peralta SS
  7. Ryan Raburn 2B
  8. Alex Avila C
  9. Danny Worth 3B
2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.2.2011

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Toledo 0, Rochester 8 (Twins)

Villarreal gave up 4 runs, 2 earned, in 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.  Ryan Perry pitched a scoreless 9th inning, but allowed a walk.

It was a miserable night offensively.  Although, Will Rhymes had a decent night as he went 1-3 with a  walk.

Erie 8, Binghamton  2 (Mets)

Casey Crosby (LHP) started and was the winning pitcher after 6 2/3 innings. He managed to convert 11 base runners (6 BB, 5 H) into just 2 runs (1 ER).  Both Wood and Ruffin looked good in relief as neither man allowed a run. Ruffin K’ed 2 batters in 1 inning of relief.

Rawley Bishop (1B) had a big game: 3-5, 2 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI. Michael Bertram also drove in 3 runs and went 2-5 from the plate.

Lakeland 4, Fort Myers 0 (Twins)

Victor Larez (RHP) pitched 7 innings. Over those innings, he allowed just 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Deservedly, he earned the win. In his last 17 innings of work, Larez has allowed just two runs.

Daniel Fields went 2-4 with 2 RBI. Lennerton and Garcia picked up an RBI each.

West Michigan 3, Quad Cities 5 (Cardinals)

This one was tied at 3 headed into the 8th inning. Then, Dan Gentzler (RHP) allowed the final 2 runs and took the loss. Ramon Lebron held the “DJ’s” scoreless after relieving Gentzler. Lebron allowed only 1 hit in 2 2/3 while K’ing 3. He’s got a .86 ERA thus far.

Nick Castellanos (3B) went 1-4 and drove in 2. Robert Brantly (C) had the other RBI after a 1-4 performance.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.55: Twins at Tigers

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Tonight is the closet game of the Twins series, as the Tigers look to break out the brooms.  Last night’s game was filled with glove-clownery on both sides, and a phantom tag at home, but the Tigers again came out with the one-run victory.

After the game, Leyland had this to say of Ryan Raburn:  “he’s played good left field this year.”  He then went on to say that Raburn will “probably” be back at 2nd for tonight’s game.  Then today he submitted the lineup:  Ramon Santiago 2B.

He only made the briefest of appearances, retiring the pesky Jim Thome, but the third of an inning by Charlie Furbush gave him the cumulative equivalent of a 9-inning complete game shutout for his young career.  His 9 scoreless innings to start off his career is the most by a Tiger since Chris Mears in 2003.  Nonetheless, he is still stuck carrying the bullpen backpack, a new larger one apparently.  But is it still pink?  Still Hello Kitty?  Or some other horror?  We demand to know.

About the bullpen:  they came through last night.  But, say your closer isn’t available, and your 8th-inning guy blows through his 3 hitters in devastating fashion–well, is there some reason you couldn’t bring him back out for the 9th?  I’m just saying.

Rick Porcello tries to dust himself off tonight from the roughing up he took from the Red Sox last out.  Scott Baker was roughed up by his own bullpen last outing–they blew a 5-0 lead over the last 2 innings.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Andy Dirks

The Dirks has impressed with his play in left field;  now he gets to take a crack at the vast Comerica centerfield.

Today’s I Bet You Didn’t Expect This Lineup:

  1. Don Kelly LF
  2. Ramon Santiago 2B
  3. Brennan Boesch RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Jhonny Peralta SS
  7. Andy Dirks CF
  8. Alex Avila C
  9. Brandon Inge 3B