PREGAME: The Tigers venture into Jacobs Field looking to continue the success they enjoyed on their last trip. You may remember that the Tigers swept the Indians in a mid May weekend series. That series featured Jeremy Bonderman limiting the Indians to 3 hits and no runs over 8 innings. I bring this up because Bonderman will be taking the hill for the Tigers tonight.

He’ll be opposed by Cliff Lee. Lee has faced the Tigers twice this year. The first time he was a hard luck 1-0 loser to Mike Maroth. The second time the Tigers touched him for 5 runs in 7 innings.

Placido Polanco will get the day off after being hit in the jaw and Craig Monroe will bat in the 2-spot despite being 3 for 21 lifetime against Lee.

This series makes me nervous. Yes the Indians have a lousy record, but they aren’t a lousy team. The offense can put runs on the board (2nd in the AL in runs scored) and they have quite a bit of talent. You wouldn’t know it by the standings, but they have actually outscored their opponents for the season.

Game Time 7:05pm

POSTGAME: Phew!! That game was long and ugly – but a win. Quick observations before heading to bed:

• Glad that the bats continued to stay hot. Dmitri Young hits his first homer, Inge adds a homer, Infante picks up 3 hits, Shelton had mixed results. Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez were the only ones not to really enjoy the hits.
• The Tigers were the beneficiary of a couple calls. Alexis Gomez was picked off, but called safe and Ordonez dropped a ball along the foul line.
• Bonderman couldn’t buy a strike the first 2 innings and yet held the Indians scoreless until he settled down.
• Fernando Rodney just wasn’t right. That was ugly combined with bad luck. Jamie Walker was solid until it looked like he got gassed at the end of his 2nd inning.
• When they’d show the Tigers dugout, I saw something I hadn’t seen all year – tension. That wasn’t a light and jovial bench the last few innings.

PREGAME: The Tigers look to cap their only July homestand on a high note. Today’s match-up is Nate Robertson taking on Esteban Loaiza.

Loaiza, while not pitching horribly, hasn’t had a quality start since June 15th. Let’s hope he doesn’t find his legs today.

Nate was touched up for a couple of homers in his last start against the White Sox. At times he looked fantastic, and at other times there were rockets coming off the White Sox bat in his last start.

Game Time 1:05pm

PREGAME: In their first Fox Saturday tilt in I don’t know how long. I think the last one I remember was done by Josh Lewin and Kirk Gibson if that’s any indication. The announcing crew for today will be Kennny Albert with Detroit’s own Rod Allen. I think the most entertaining part of this event might be Allen restraining his homer-enthusiasm.

The Tigers will send out Zach Miner who has made 2 bad starts this year. Both have come during home afternoon games.

Joe Blanton will be making his 3rd start against the Tigers this year. In the first he was hit hard and lifted in the 5th inning. In the second, the Tigers touched him for 9 hits but they were scattered for only 3 runs in 7 innings.

Game Time: 1:25pm

PREGAME: Dmitri Young’s activation will garner most of the attention tonight. Once we get past that hoopla there is a pretty good pitching matchup between Justin Verlander and Dan Haren.

Haren was knocked around a little in his last 2 starts against the Angels and Red Sox. However, his season numbers are still impressive and he fans almost 4 batters for everyone he walks. That doesn’t bode well for the Tigers style of offense.

Justin Verlander is coming off a carving-up of Kansas City. He’ll look to repeat that performance tonight against all the Athletics, and specifically Jay Payton who was instrumental in Oakland taking the last series against the Tigers.

If you’re there early, Hebrew National will be selecting the best hot dog vendor from 4 finalists in an on field ceremony.

I’m heading to the game tonight, and I’ll have a report later tonight.

POSTGAME: Though the game got a little more interesting than it probably should have, it was nice for the Tigers to win one going away. That’s only happened twice since the break, and Justin Verlander was the starter for both of them. Only this year could a rookie be tied for the league in wins and have a sub 3.00 ERA and not even be considered a favorite to win the rookie of the year.

As for Dmitri Young, I was stunned by the reception he received. Both during pregame introductions and his first at-bat the crowd roared, with about 1/3 even standing up. Young delivered in his 2nd at-bat with a bases loaded single.

And in something that has been missing, the top of the order was clicking. Curtis Granderson had 2 hits, Polanco had 3, and Pudge and Magglio both added key doubles. The effect was enhanced with Brandon Inge picking up a couple hits at the bottom of the lineup.

PREGAME: For the first time in 3 series against the White Sox, the Tigers aren’t looking to avoid a sweep heading into the finale.

Weather permitting it will be Kenny Rogers versus Jose Contreras. As everybody knows, Rogers has been in a slump that dates back to his start against the Cardinals. Since June 24th opponents are slugging .722 against Rogers.

Contreras has also been hittable over that same time period (of course not to the extent that Rogers has) with hitters posting a 301/369/455 line.

Game time 1:05pm

POSTGAME: I’m thrilled the Tigers won today. I’m thrilled the Tigers picked up a victory and a game on the second place team in the division. I’m thrilled that Detroit has taken 3 of 4 from the White Sox and the talk of a mysterious mojo that the Sox hold over the Tigers can go away for the time being.

I know people want to talk about Marcus Thames taking out Tadahito Iguchi and busting up the double play. It was a huge play that of course set up the Chris Shelton double. But don’t lose site of Chris Shelton’s double either.

Both events overshadowed what was a terriffic pitching performance by Kenny Rogers. And I think we all needed to see Rogers put together an outing like that.

Joel Zumaya also seems to have his groove back. The ESPN guys were effusive in their praise and when the crowd came to their feet in the 8th inning Orel Hersheiser commented “I want to stand up with the crowd because this is fun!”

And speaking of the crowd, if anybody was down there please comment. I heard the game on the radio, and watched the last 3 innings I had recorded, and I can’t remember hearing Comerica Park that loud. I can’t wait to go experience it tomorrow night.

PREGAME: That’s it. I’m convinced that the Sox are in the Tigers collective heads. There is no way the Tigers can compete. This whole winning thing was nice while it lasted because even if the Tigers make the playoffs it is impossible for them to get by the Sox.

The preceding paragraph was all sarcasm. I felt the need to clarify because I’ve heard those sentiments all day today and there is a large contingent that is convinced of this. Of course I would feel better if the Tigers reciprocated last night’s pounding, but I’m not concerned – at least not 5:00 today.

Jeremy Bonderman will take the mound tonight. For the last 6 weeks Bonderman has been awesome with out run support – except for last week’s start against the Royals where he wasn’t awesome and got lots of run support. He’ll face a much more formidable task tonight and the key will be Bonderman’s ability to keep the ball in the park. He’s been quite proficient at the task with only 8 long balls allowed – but 2 of those came in his last start.

POSTGAME: Jeremy Bonderman was everything that Tiger fans could have hoped for last night. There were only 2 hard hit balls all night. Unfortunately both found the seats, but because Bondo was so dominant they were both solo shots. Most importantly after the Craig Monroe slam, Bonderman came in and retired the White Sox in order the following inning. Fernando Rodney, Jamie Walker, and Todd Jones kept things from being interesting in the late innings.

As for the offense, in the early going it seemed they were poised to jump all over Vazquez. In the first inning Pudge Rodriguez hit the double which was followed by an Ordonez line drive to right field that again found Jermaine Dye. The Tigers managed to get baserunners in subsequent innings, and unlike the night before against Garland, they worked themselves into hitters counts. Yet they had nothing to show for it until the 6th inning when a couple singles were followed by a seeing eye grounder (redemption for Maggs from the first inning liner) and a bloop shot to no-man’s land. The Tigers were finally on the board and after the force out at home on the Marcus Thames grounder Craig Monroe battled from a 2 strike count to hit the granny.

And a good time was had by all.
Meanwhile Javier Vazquez who was rumored to be dealt to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson and Joel Zumaya this offseason (PHEW) will be starting for the White Sox.

PREGAME: This game has certainly received considerable hype. I vowed earlier in the year not to overdo a game or series, so I’ll stick to that. Each game is important. I’ve heard repeatedly today the debate about which team is under more pressure. The reasoning for the Tigers is that they need to show they can beat the White Sox. While this may be a little true, who do they need to show? If they need to show themselves, I can see it. If they need to do it to make you, me, or Dupree believers then it’s bunk.

As for the matchup, the Tigers send out Nate Robertson. Three of the four starters to go since the All Star break have come out rusty. We’ll see what Nate does.

As for the White Sox, they’re sending out Jon Garland. In his last start against the Tigers, he labored through 7 innings on 124 pitches while being touched for 6 runs. Last hope the Tigers can have the same type of at-bats tonight.

POSTGAME: There wasn’t a lot to like about tonight’s game. Nate looked wonderful at times, but there were a number of hard hit balls off of him. On the other side, Detroit couldn’t muster much offense, and the few hard hit balls they had ended up in Jermaine Dye’s glove.

The key moment was probably Paul Konerko’s first homer. The Tigers had managed to scratch out a run the inning before, only to give it right back on the next batter. And then the Joe Crede homer and so on and so forth.

PREGAME: Coming into this series, I didn’t expect the Tigers to sweep. First of all, it’s tough to sweep in 4 game series. Second, the Tigers will lose to the Royals at some point this season. But now that another sweep is one win away, I’m greedy and I want it.

Zach Miner is making his 8th start and has yet to give up more than 3 runs in any game. Really, the only knock against Miner is that he hasn’t been particularly efficient. He hasn’t made it out of the sixth inning since his complete game against the Brewers as his pitch count has climbed into the 100’s early.

The Royals send out Scott Elarton who hasn’t been good this year, but has a pretty good history against many of the Tigers. Placido Polanco and Pudge Rodriguez are a combined 7 for 43, which is probably part of the reason they’ll get the day off.

Game Time 1:05. Game Time Temperature: eleventy billion degrees.

POSTGAME In only saw 2 innings of this game, the 2nd and the 9th, so I can’t comment too much. The offense didn’t show – literally – as many guys had the day off. Marcus Thames continues to mash. Zach Miner got knocked around, as did Wil Ledezma. For both it was really the first time this year. The Tigers get an off day to enjoy some air conditioning before the recently swept and angry White Sox come to town.

PREGAME: Mark Teahen (4 for 7, 2 HR’s, 2B, 3B, 2 walks) and the Royals offense have done a pretty good job knocking Tiger pitching around the last 2 nights. It will be up to Justin Verlander to try and not spot them a 4 run lead again.

Jimmy Gobble will be making his 4th start this season as he transitions from the bullpen to a starting role. His first start was back in May against the Tigers and he allowed only 3 hits and one run in 4 innings before being lifted because of pitch count.

Game Time 7:05pm

POSTGAME: Now that looked more like a first half pitching performance. It looked like it took Verlander an inning to settle in as he appeared to be overthrowing and couldn’t get the ball down. But then it was all over.

Once again it was a very balanced offensive effort. But why has Granderson sacrifice bunted 3 times in the last 2 games?There are places for it, but not tonight, especially after a pither had walked 2 guys in a row and was about to face the teams most selective hitter. It all worked, but there’s no need to go small ball with a 4 run lead late in the game – especially when the guys on base stood a good chance of being advanced and the batter had only bounced into one double play all year. But I digress.

The Tigers go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon.

PREGAME: The Tigers will try to move to their record to 10-0 against the Royals this year. Tonight’s matchup features a couple of finesse left handed All Stars in Mark Redman and Kenny Rogers.

I don’t have a lot of notes tonight, except judging by the current weather conditions the pitcher that keeps the ball down tonight will win. It’s very breezy, very humid, and quite warm. If a thunderstorm doesn’t break out, I’d expect the ball to carry.

POSTGAME: And yet another interesting game against the Royals. I have to admit that I only saw bits and pieces of this game because I was at a party, and then driving home from a party. What I did see is that Kenny Rogers was getting hit hard, and often. The Tigers meanwhile hit a number of balls very well, and I mean more than their 10 runs courtesty of KC errors probably dictate. Guys were driving the ball to the right field and up the gaps. Many of those ended up in gloves, but I love the approach. Particularly of note is Brandon Inge who I lamented had been swining for the fences just last week. In his last 2 games he’s knocking line drives all over the place.

And of course there’s Carlos Guillen. If one CG doesn’t get it done, the other one surely will.

The win wasn’t pretty, but you have to give the Royals credit. They kept hitting all night, and it wasn’t just off of Rogers. Every Tiger pitcher struggled to get KC out. One of these nights, a 4 run lead will be too much to overcome.

PREGAME: The boys are back in town. After a long road trip and All Star break, the Tigers return for their only homestand of the month. Fans have been anxiously awaiting their return and gobbling up tickets in the meantime. When I was buying ticket for tonights game on Monday, I heard one of the ticket agents say that infield box seats are sold out for the month. It’s crazy.

As for the game itself, the Tigers look to continue their unbeaten streak against the Royals. Jeremy Bonderman takes the hill for Detroit. Tiger fans and Matt Stairs should be excited. Bonderman has a 1.82 ERA since June 1st and is striking out a batter an inning. In fact since May 24th Bonderman has allowed only 2 homers, one to Prince Fielder and the other was to…Matt Stairs. In his career Stairs is 8 for 16 with 3 homers off of Bonderman.

Brandon Duckworth will take the mound for the Royals. Duckworth is making just his 6th start and only once has he made it through the 6th inning while getting into 90-100 pitch territory each time.

Game Time 7:05pm

POSTGAME: That was definitely an unusual performance for Bonderman. At times he looked dominant fanning 8 in 5 2/3 innings. But then there were the 5 walks. And the 2 home runs. It was definitely a departure from the way he had been pitching.

As for the offense, 8 of the 9 starters picking up one hit each and sub Alexis Gomez joined in as well. Fortunately the Tigers picked up the bulk of their hits in the same inning. It’s easy to look at the Tigers inability to score guys in scoring position in the 7th and 8th innings and say they lacked timely hitting. But then you have to look at the 5th inning when they got hit after hit.

In any case, it’s nice to see them pick up where they left off.

PREGAME: The All Star break is here. I can’t believe how fast this season is going, and yet I’m ready for a break. Meanwhile the Tigers and Mariners Pilots are turning back the clock to 1969. The Mariners will be sporting Seattle Pilots garb from the Pilots only year of existence. The Tigers will be wearing throwbacks as well from that same season. The Tigers road grays from the era featured a block Detroit in blue lettering.

As for the game it will be Nate Robertson against Gil Meche.

With a win today, the Tigers will keep pace with both the 1911 and 1984 Tiger teams through the 88 game mark. A loss would tie them with last year’s White Sox.

POSTGAME I dug the throwback uniforms, but not so much the result. Nate Robertson pitched a heck of a game, and really it should have been an unearned run in the 7th because it should have been an error on Brandon Inge. But then again the Mariners should have scored in the 8th inning if Adrian Beltre would have taken 3rd when Magglio Ordonez kicked the ball aroundin the corner. As it was, Alexis Gomez was able to make a fine play gunning Beltre at the plate.

And just when I declare Shelton back on track, he fans 3 times. Baseball is a humbling sport, and blogging about baseball is humbling as well.