Ausmus pulled the right strings last night – resulting in a 2 run HR by the #2 hitter, and a 4 out save by F-Rod. Verlander was great again, and we know he can be even better on some nights.
Maybin still out with a back sprain (is he old enough to get those?).
Baseball-Reference game preview here.
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Jose Iglesias, SS
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, 3B
6. Justin Upton, LF
7. Mike Aviles, RF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Tyler Collins, CF
The Tigers went from a great series to a bad one in the span of about 4 hours. Poor defense and a very hittable bullpen were the culprits, as a series win was ripped from this team in true 2016 fashion.
The Tigers move on to Boston to take on the heavy hitting Red Sox. The Red Sox are dominating the majors, with 547 runs scored, nearly 50 more than the second place Rockies, and 61 more than the 2nd place AL team – the Blue Jays. BoSox team OPS is .835. Yes, team.
JV on the hill tonight. It may be time (not quite safe, but time) to call JV an ace again. Over his last 30 starts he’s striking out more than a batter an inning and has a WHIP of 1.08. This month covering 4 starts he’s allowed 5 ER in 27 2/3, with 32 Ks and a WHIP of .90.
I can’t wait to get JD and Victor Martinez back.
Baseball-Reference game preview here.
1. 2B Ian Kinsler
2. SS Jose Iglesias
3. 1B Miguel Cabrera
4. DH Victor Martinez
5. 3B Nick Castellanos
6. LF Justin Upton
7. RF Mike Aviles
8. C James McCann
9. CF Andrew Romine
The last game of this oh-so-entertaining series gives Anibal Sanchez a chance to convince us that his last outing was not a mirage, against the tough Jose Quintana. Whenever yesterday’s game finishes. The Tigers should definitely have an advantage when it comes bullpen time.
Yesterday’s game featured another big hole in the middle of the batting order (but hey, that one’s not over yet!). Today they get another good chance: Cabrera is hitting over .370 against Quintana, and Victor (who may have been the only guy in the park sad not to see Sale) is hitting .424 against him.
Today’s Let’s Play Two! Lineup:
The Tigers take the first two of four, and now go for the creosote game of the four-game series.
As frustrating as this season has been as a Tiger fan, how would you like to be a White Sox fan? In the offseason the team added a bona fide home run crown threat in Todd Frazier (he is currently 2nd in the majors with 28), and added Mat Latos and James Shields to a rotation that already included Jose Quintana and bona fide Cy Young contender Chris Sale, who takes the mound tonight (currently 14-3 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.01 WHIP). Then in the first 30 or so games they run out to a 6 game lead on the division. Then…it all fell apart. They lost 11 of their last 14 in May, and haven’t recovered.
They seem to be hexed in this series as well: Mike Pelfrey somehow managed to crawl through 5 1/3 with only 1 run, despite giving up 8 hits and a walk. The Tigers had to hit the bullpen early, but the rain bailed them out and gave Pelfrey the W. Then last night, after being the first team to really hit Fulmer and taking a 5-4 lead, Cabrera came out of a month long slump and the Tigers pulled out a 2nd one. Now the word “sell” can be heard murmured in Chicago, even in conjunction with the word “Sale.”
As for the Tigers, If Victor Martinez can break his slump also, the team will have a rather formidable 1-5 in the lineup. Victor and his binoculars are a ridiculous 18-for-36 lifetime with a 1.453 OPS against Sale. If I were a White Sox fan I would have a bad feeling where this is going.
UPDATE: The Sox snakebite continues (or, perhaps, something else is up). Sale scratched for Albers, with “flu-like symptoms.” throwback uniform rage.
Today’s Miggy’s Back Lineup:
Rain, rain, go away. But we like that thing you did yesterday.
Tonight we get Fulmer, the serious Rookie of the Year candidate, and best Tiger rookie pitcher since Mark Fidrych, unless I’m forgetting somebody. The two couldn’t be more different though; Fulmer doesn’t even have a nickname yet. I was trying to find a new picture of Fulmer for the game post, something more exciting, and…there’s not much there. He doesn’t even show up in the top results in Google image search for “Mike Fulmer.” He only has two expressions, and he’s saving the second one for later. Still, where would the Tigers be without him this season?
If you believe in WARcraft, here are the most valuable Tigers this season:
Today’s Glass Half Fulmer Lineup:
Collins is back.
The less said about yesterday’s game, the better.
That’s not true. Verlander was incredible; he has re-established himself as the ace of the staff, with better stuff than we have seen from him in 3 years. The scene on the mound where Brad went out and Justin held his ground was priceless. Verlander said that as soon as Brad walked out to the mound without signaling he knew he was going to be able to hold the mound. This is good stuff we are seeing from JV this season; let’s appreciate it.
Tonight we get Pelfrey.
Tonight’s Not Entirely Serious Lineup:
Looking forward to watching JV dominate this afternoon. Got the game on in the office. Let’s go Tigers.
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Cameron Maybin, CF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, 3B
6. Justin Upton, LF
7. Mike Aviles, RF
8. James McCann, C
9. Andrew Romine, SS
I’ll go ahead and jinx it, the Tigers have yet to lose to the Twins this year.
I could recap Sanchez’s recent starts, but it wouldn’t be pretty. The guy the Twins are throwing out there, Tommy Milone, hasn’t been much better. Maybe Cabrera sprinkles in an XBH tonight?
Baseball-Reference game preview here.
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Cameron Maybin, CF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, 3B
6. Justin Upton, LF
7. Mike Aviles, RF
8. James McCann, C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS
Good series over the weekend, the walk-off was a nice touch.
Bad news is the probables are: Boyd and Sanchez the next two games. Zimmermann and Norris still need a little more time. No timeline on J.D. either.
Good news is that the AL basement dwellers, the Twins, are in town.
Baseball-Reference game preview here.
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Cameron Maybin, CF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, 3B
6. Justin Upton, LF
7. Mike Aviles, RF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS
We got Pelfreyed yesterday; just one of those games.
Ace-in-Waiting Mike Fulmer takes the mound in the rubber game of the series, facing the Human Suspension. Justin Upton returns, which earns Meandering Moya a trip back to Toledo, and is my pick for first player plunked by a Ventura pitch.
Today’s Ventura Highway Lineup:
The home field magic continues, and the Tigers started the second half (which is much less than half, if you must quibble) on a strong note, as Justin Verlander threw 7 strong, with only 4 hits and 2 walks against 10 strikeouts. There was a time a few years ago where there was an ongoing discussion here about whether or not Verlander was an “ace” (whatever that means); 2013-2014 saw him with ERA/WHIP numbers of 3.36 / 1.315 and 4.54 / 1.398 (that 3.36 is pretty lucky with a 1.315 WHIP), and guys like Max Scherzer and even Anibal Sanchez (!) looked better. But here we are now with Justin Verlander looking once again like the ace of the staff.
He could have easily had a shutout, If Moya were an actual, you know, outfielder. He really does look awful out there. JD Martinez can’t return soon enough. And Moya isn’t really making up for it with his bat any more: since June 30 he is 3-for-26 with 15 strikeouts (eat your heart out, Upton). He is starting to look a little Hessman-ish.
Pelfrey again looks like he gets the short end of the run-support straw: the Tigers have career numbers against Danny Duffy ranging from mediocre to sub-Mendoza. Kinsler, 3-for-20? Cabrera 6-for-24? (and slumping).
Today’s Duff Luck Lineup:
Welcome back from the break everyone. Maybe I’m just becoming increasingly curmudgeonly, but every year I become less and less interested in the All Star game. The Home Run Derby is actually more fun to watch than the game. Maybe that’s just me.
The Tigers will be coming back from the break without Justin Upton, who has been placed on the bereavement list (which means he is out for a minimum of 3 and maximum of 7 games). To replace Upton, the Tigers have called up The Finger, Tyler Collins.
One thing the Tigers have to look forward to in the 2nd half (besides, hopefully, the return of JD Martinez): home games. The Tigers had the league’s most imbalanced home/road ratio in the first half, with only 39 games at home and 50 on the road, leaving them with 43 home games after the break.
Home – Road splits:
If the Tigers continue winning home and road games at the same pace as they did before the break, they would finish with an 86-win season.
Today’s Welcome Back from Break Lineup:
Player of the Game prediction: Ian Kinsler, rested and possibly motivated by an All-Star snub, faces Ian Kennedy, who he is 6-for-9 lifetime against.
