53-37, 1st place, season high 16 games over, season high 7 1/2 games up.
Baseball-Reference preview here.
Justin Verlander v. Bruce Chen this afternoon, 2:10PM EST start.
1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Torii Hunter, RF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Alex Avila, C
8. Eugenio Suarez, SS
9. Rajai Davis, LF
52-37, 1st place, 6.5 games up.
Jayson Stark posted his first half award winners today over on ESPN (you need Insider) and I thought there were several interesting items from a Tigers perspective.
1) VMart and Ian Kinsler were both mentioned in the AL MVP after-Trout-thoughts. Kinsler having a good year, but the more I thought about it, he’s having a great year. He’s projecting to a .792 OPS, 104 runs, 41 2B and 19 SB on top of solid defense. He legitimately is a top 10 MVP candidate.
2) Chris Davis is a candidate for AL Least Valuable Player. Success is a cruel mistress.
3) The pitching in the AL has been dynamite this year. Scherzer isn’t even a top 5 consideration, behind the likes of Tanaka, Sale, Price, Kazmir…Scott Kazmir? Mistresses can reappear, I guess.
4) Sergio Romo is a candidate for Cy Yuk. Just the thought of him during the ’12 WS makes me want to crawl into the fetal position.
5) The AL is loaded with “rookies” this year as Abreu will likely run away with the ROY award, despite stiff competition from Masashiro Tanaka and George Springer. But get one level past them and I think that Suarez and Castellanos would both merit consideration. After Iglesias went down and we raided the basement of other teams for SS, I feared a revolving door at the position all season. But Suarez become a dependable everyday player. What more could we ask for.
*******
Tonight’s game won’t be easy as Porcello takes on James Shields. Game preview here.
1. Jackson, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Hunter, RF
6. Casetellanos, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Romine, SS
9. Davis, LF
Last night was fun. But it’s just one win. Back to work today.
The most interesting news today is a direct result of the injury tarantula which has stung the Texas Rangers over and over, and likely makes them big sellers over the rest of the month. Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi is reporting that the Tigers have express interest in Joakim Soria.
Soria was injured all of 2012 and most of 2013, but he’s been in great form in 2014, posting a 2.76 ERA and .818 whip in 29 1/3 this year. H’s striking out a career high 12.3/9 and has only walked 4 this year against 40 Ks, for a ridiculous 10/1 SO/W ratio.
The Tigers’ pen ranks 27th in the bigs. I have no idea what you do with Joe Nathan if we get Soria, but that’s for Ausmus to work out. Note, I haven’t seen anything on Hanrahan in weeks.
*****
Clayton Kershaw’s scoreless innings streak ended at 41 innings last night. He still managed a CG 3 hitter, where he threw 85 strikes against 30 balls. There was a period in time when JV was the unquestioned #1 in all of MLB. I don’t think anyone would argue who owns that title now.
Sanchez v. lefty Danny Duffy tonight.
1. Jackson, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Hunter, RF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Suarez, SS
8. Holaday, C
9. Davis, LF
Standings Update
Det 50-37 —
KC 47-43 4.5
Cle 44-46 7.5
CWS 44-48 8.5
Min 41-49 10.5
AL Standings
Oak 57-34 —
Det 50-37 5
Bal 49-41 7.5 (yes, Baltimore. Is anyone paying attention to this?)
The Tigers are off to Kansas City for the final 4 before the All Star break. BRef preview here.
Remember last time we played and KC and they left Detroit in first place? Royals Review fondly reminisces to prelude a wonderful weekend preview. Highlights: The Tigers are 13-5 since then while the Royals have gone 8-10. Alex Gordon is out for the weekend, and Jason Vargas is going to have to miss a start which means that we get Bruce Chen! Chen has a 50% chance of throwing a CGSO and a 50% chance of getting pulled by the 2nd inning.
If I recall correctly, the high water mark this year was 17 over. A sweep gets us there. A sweep the wrong way puts us at 9 over at the AS game, but still up .5 games. I expect 2-2 on our way to a 93 win season finishing 6 games ahead of every other team in the Central. (update – it was 15 over on May 18)
Did you vote for #PickRick for the Final Vote (aka “one more sponsorship haul” around MLB headquarters). I did, and it was remarkably easy to do so. Kudos to MLB. I even felt good about myself for a minute. Then one of my kids started screaming b/c the spoon I gave her wasn’t the “right one.” But my vote, and all the rest for Porcello, weren’t enough as Chris Sale won the Final Vote. There is still a chance that Ricky gets added due to injury, which would be a nice reward for a heck of a first half. Ausmus said today that no decision has been made yet regarding VMart’s participation.
Here’s your daily fun with JD: J.D. Martinez has started in 21 straight games. Over those 21 games, Martinez is hitting .393 (33-for-84) with eight homers, 18 RBIs and a modest 1.255 OPS. For the season, he’s hitting .329 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs — and a team-best .642 slugging percentage — in just 173 at-bats since getting called up from Toledo in late April. It’s a very small sample size, and this happens all the time around MLB. Enjoy it while it lasts. I’ll be thrilled if he can settle into a Chet Lemon like .270/20 HR/80 RBI guy year after year. Read the whole write-up on JD at DetroitNews.com today.
**********
Injury updates for the weekend contestants:
Tigers outfielder Andy Dirks continued his injury-rehab assignment with Class A Lakeland on Wednesday night, going 1-for-2 and playing leftfield. In two games with Lakeland, Dirks is hitting .400 with two runs scored. He has been sidelined since March 29 because of lower back surgery. … Kansas City Royals left-hander Jason Vargas was taken to the hospital Wednesday and had an appendectomy. There was no timetable given for how long Vargas will be out. Bruce Chen could replace Vargas for Sunday’s game against the Tigers. Royals All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup due to a sprained right wrist. He will have an MRI and see a hand specialist today.
Cabrera is back, Kelly for Davis in right, and VMart is still not in the lineup…though I couldn’t find any news other than day to day.
1. Jackson, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez (JD), LF
5. Hunter, DH
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Suarez, SS
9. Kelly, RF
It’s always relaxing to watch one of those never-in-doubt games, but it’s even more fun to watch a game that starts out doomed, becomes a game again, and ends a never-in-doubt romp.
I was the last person who thought that there would be any coming back from the 5-run Justin “Don’t Call Me Bonderman” Verlander first inning, especially after struggling to score runs against Tampa Bay, but they got the 5 right back in the 2nd, and Verlander kept them off the board for 5 innings. Yes, the first inning was troublesome, but the recovery was comforting (he only gave up one hit over his last 5 innings). Focus on whichever aspect suits you best.
Everybody seemed to get into the act, except for the enigmatic Austin Jackson. Cabrera, Castellanos, Hunter, and JD Martinez each had 3 hits.
Martinez continues to amaze. He has raised his batting average to a team-leading .331, leap-frogging the resting Victor Martinez, and taken a team OPS lead at 1.017, which would be best in the American League if he had enough at bats to qualify. He went on a June tear: .345 / 1.069, with 7 home runs and 21 RBI. The hot streak will stop eventually, right? Well you may have to keep on waiting: so far his July is making his June look downright weak: .429 / 1.341 and 3 home runs in only 28 at bats. You almost hate to see the All-Star break interrupt that stuff.
Today the Tigers have the quick afternoon turnaround (which is always more pleasant after a good night game), and a chance to sweep the two-game mini-series. Ausmus is going with the “maybe we can even score with this lineup” route, and resting Miguel Cabrera, in favor of the fierce bat of the Donkey. Hey, it’s only Greinke, right? Kelly is 3-for-8 off of Greinke lifetime.
Then it’s Kansas City here we come, for four.
Don’t miss this pointless bit the Night Shift of the Research Department dug up from TMZ. DO miss this bit of ex-Tiger news.
Today’s Let’s See How Many THESE Guys Can Score Lineup:
Better late than never, right? As Justin Verlander said. Sometimes real life can annoy.
I can count on one hand the number of times I saw a team go into the bottom of the 1st with a 5-0 deficit, and have the question come up a few innings later: are they violating unwritten rules by stealing bases? (Anybody but Smilin’ Torii Hunter, and somebody is getting plunked).
Two quick observations: 1). The American League is just a lot better than the National League, especially the pitching. Really? Yes, really. Not just because of the inter league record (96-85 the last time I checked), but because of…je ne sais quois. As far as the pitching, well, I’m sure Moneybeane took this into account with the trade for Samardizija, but NL pitchers get one free out (often a K) every 9 batters, which has an effect greater than one ninth. I can actually quantify it, but that is expressly prohibited by my non-disclosure agreement. The second is 2). The better the team, the better the Tigers seem to play, which is frustrating, but encouraging for the postseason, right?
OK, 3rd thing: you know that thing the Tigers never do, where they bury a team when they have them down: they done did it!
This would seem to be an enjoyable game to do a post-game post on, but I have to wait. Apparently in the Pacific time zone, the Tigers are still batting.
Seriously though, it was an enjoyable game to watch considering it was a blowout, because Verlander didn’t quit pitching once the Tigers got down 5-0, and and the Tigers didn’t stop scoring runs once they got ahead (which was probably wise: see 1st inning). And we even got to see what I really really hope is Cabrera’s last triple of the season. He slid like a mountain bike that lost a tire. Playing hard and having fun though, that’s the way to go.
David Price vs. Rick Porcello tonight. This is your typical pitcher’s duel setup, meaning that the final score will be 9-8 or something.
Detroit Tigers on BBREF or MLB
Tampa Bay Rays on BBREF or MLB
Let’s be fair. In spite of a couple eggs laid just lately (and not goose eggs), the starting rotation has carried (and dropped, and carried again) the Tigers to the good record they have. That’s how baseball works. It’s harder than it used to be to slug your way out of a bad pitching staff. But with a couple bad starts, or at least failed ones, fresh in our minds, let’s wallow in…
It’s no surprise that you’d have a losing record in failed starts, but 2-17? Wow. Gotta pick ’em up a little better than that, eh? The flip side is that Detroit is 46-19 (.708) in games where the starter gave the team a fair to excellent chance of winning. Let’s put that in our pipes and smoke it.
J.D. MARTINEZ, 2014 EXTRAPOLATED TO 162 GAMES
J.D. MARTINEZ, CAREER 162 GAME EXTRAPOLATION
TONIGHT’S LINEUPS: Victor against Price could be will be was sorely missed.
NOTABLE (PREGAME): Yesterday, if you happened to take a (long) nap during the 5th and 6th innings, you saw a pretty good game, aside from a rather persistent defensive clown show. So forget it – I guess there was no good game any way you slice it. Sanchez ruled through 4, and then the wheels came off. And would someone tell me why he had such a hard time putting away Ryan Hanigan (!) with 2 strikes?? That was the first sign of trouble. Let’s make a note of this. Chris Archer. Look at his face – dude’s 10 years old, man. (In truth, I knew going in as many of you did that Archer is no unknown and made a splash in 2013, though I wouldn’t have been able to tell you that he’d made 44 MLB starts, is 25, and had a career 3.38 ERA.) I don’t know whether Archer was that good or Tigers hitters were that bad, but since he was at about 30 pitches through 8 innings and made a great play on Jackson’s line drive, I’ll tip my cap. Were there any scoring chances of the runners on variety? (OK, yes – see yesterday’s postgame box link.) This is that rare game where I could rant and rave about a quicker hook for Sanchez and how the Tigers seemed to be phoning it in and how ashamed they should be. I feel kind of ashamed for having watched all of it. Well, no, not really. What I should feel ashamed of is holding out hope for that one big inning, I suppose. More fool me… Ian Krol threw 11 pitches with one strikeout in a scoreless inning for West Michigan on Friday… LHP Pat McCoy has looked pretty good so far, and even if he was up for a look and not much more, it’s unfortunate that he did something to his hamstring yesterday under those circumstances, 9th inning of a dismal game. McCoy was slow to the bag, sure, but couldn’t Miggy have at least tried to take that one himself?
POSTGAME OK, maybe it wasn’t such a terrible game. A lot of hard-hit balls off a true Cy, a lot of bad breaks, 3.1 innings of shutout ball from the pen, a HR each from Hunter and J.D. (his 7th this year in the 9th inning!), and a wee bit of drama along with the lightning, thunder, and rain at game’s end. When your starter gives up 7 runs, it’s pretty much out of reach, and Porcello’s scoreless streak came to a sad end.
SERIES WRAP: Taking 1 of 4 from the Rays at home was disappointing, to say the least. Call it a team effort. Now 48-37, the Tigers have a day to lick their wounds and regroup for the tall task ahead – Dodgers and Royals.
SERIES ALL-STAR TEAM
SP Scherzer
RP Boxberger
C Avila
1B Cabrera
2B Forsythe
SS Zobrist
3B Longoria
LF J. Martinez
CF Jennings
RF Hunter
DH V. Martinez
Chris Archer vs. Anibal Sanchez today.
Detroit Tigers on BBREF or MLB
Tampa Bay Rays on BBREF or MLB
TODAY’S LINEUPS: Sorry, Ray. This is a Tigers blog. Victor is out, yup and (long-term) uh-oh. The Lettuce is in and AJax is back at leadoff, cue fan outrage. But Davis is in LF today and may distract us, positively speaking.
NOTABLE (PREGAME): Last night can be summed up in the phrase “not good enough.” Not terrible, except for Mr. Gilded Mexican Headwear at the plate, but not good enough. Smyly, apparently, either has it or doesn’t, no gutting it out or battling back for him. He didn’t have it, and was in one batter too long when Sean Rodriguez put the nail in the coffin. Not good enough. Alex Cobb bested the Tigers for 5, and when the base-loaded, no outs situation came to be, getting one run out of it was clearly not good enough. Lost in the shuffle was great defense from Kinsler to get one out on a run-scoring play and some nice defense at 3B by Kelly in the 9th… As we contemplate the deals Detroit (or the Olde English DD) might make before the trade deadline, one thing to remember is that any meaningful suggestion starts with giving up someone you’d rather not. Cabrera, Victor, Kinsler, Verlander, and Sanchez are all off the table, of course. Scherzer might not be off the table, but when you consider where the Tigers are (1st place) and a big reason why (Scherzer), well then, I guess Scherzer is off the table. What do the Tigers need so badly that they would give up the young talent of Porcello, Smyly, Castellanos, or Suarez to get? Or current hot ticket J.D.? (Nothing.) What’s left of the good to pretty good, and what of that is – more or less – surplus? Hunter? Davis? Surely not Alburquerque or Chamberlain? What’s to gain, what’s the need? Bullpen, you say. Well, they can probably get Joaquin Benoit at a reasonable price in trade, but is even that really worth it? Does Benoit put this team over the top? So why’d they let him go? Counting on Rondon? Anyway, some of us would love to unload Jackson or Avila, but the return would not be flashy or likely to solve anything immediately. Unlike last season, Detroit doesn’t have to make any deals at all. No Garcia situation, no Peralta situation. But Mr. Dombrowski may have something shrewd and more subtle up his sleeve just the same, planning for September/October even now… I guess it’s safe to say that J.D. Martinez is for real… Unfortunately, the recent aches and pains of the other Martinez are also for real. Victor (back soreness, right side) might be “back” for the Dodgers. Or he might not. Chronic isn’t what we want to hear, but it’s the word I’m starting to see in my crystal ball. Uh-oh.
POSTGAME Look away, it’s hideous.
Hurray for all the good citizens and inhabitants of this fine country, past and present. Hurray for all the champions and defenders of American liberty, now and ever. Hurray for freedom and civil society. Hurray for making the most of it and making it better. For everyone. Except for assorted criminals and saboteurs, such as the Tampa Bay Rays.
Alex Cobb vs. Drew Smyly tonight.
Detroit Tigers on BBREF or MLB
Tampa Bay Rays on BBREF or MLB
TONIGHT’S LINEUPS: Where’s Nick? Oh, right. Watch out, Don. Could be going around.
NOTABLE (PREGAME): Last night, fine D in the 3rd from Castellanos and Suarez took two Tampa Bay hits off the board and helped Scherzer cruise the rest of the way. The only Tigers batter not to reach was Suarez. How good was that offense? Cabrera reached 4 times and scored 4 times, and yet was surpassed in statistical big game by both V. Martinez and Hunter. That’s how good. Chad Smith got that elusive third out in the 9th without intervening hits. There is so much to praise about Scherzer’s performance that I’ll settle for one thing: He pitched the last 7 innings like he didn’t have the lead. Still not a bad idea to lift him. Save that next CG for an adrenaline game… We all know why Cabrera’s doubles were way down last year, don’t we? They are back with a vengeance this season. Miggy is on pace for 90 XBH in 2014, which would eclipse anything previous from him – and that’s saying a lot.
POSTGAME Sombrero Man deserves some heat, but see play of the game. 16% is big. Boxberger 1, Hunter 0.
Erik Bedard vs. Max Scherzer tonight.
Detroit Tigers on BBREF or MLB
Tampa Bay Rays on BBREF or MLB
Team comparison: The Rays are stronger in the OF, at 3B, and in the bullpen, but are otherwise overmatched.
DETROIT HITTING RE24/WPA – PITCHING RE24/WPA
DETROIT RECENT HITTING – RECENT PITCHING
TAMPA BAY HITTING RE24/WPA – PITCHING RE24/WPA
TAMPA BAY RECENT HITTING – RECENT PITCHING
TONIGHT’S LINEUPS: Victor is back.
NOTABLE (PREGAME): The Tigers just swept the best team in the AL to finish the first half on one of the season’s highest notes… The emergence of one and the decline of two have combined to yield a fluid situation in the outfield that may yet turn a weakness into a strength… Detroit is rumored to have trade interest in Joaquin Benoit. Given his contract, I find this hard to believe… Ian Krol has been cleared for rehab assignment and is expected to rejoin the team within a week or so.
So much to talk about.
We could start with Rick Porcello, who finds himself in serious All-Star starter contention after posting his second consecutive complete game shutout. His four hit gem yesterday saw first pitch strikes to 24 of 31 batters, and extended his scoreless streak to 25 innings. Porcello had 0 Ks and 0 walks last night, the first time that has happened in a CG shutout in 25 years.
His success is coming despite a K rate of 5.2 /9. His success can be attributed to a number of things, but defense has got to be a big part of it. Porcello is inducing groundballs like pro-am day at the driving range. More agile, and well placed, fielders are making a huge difference.
And how about JD Martinez? In June he slugged at a .702 clip and posted a 1.069 OPS, and he’s on pace for a 2.000 OPS for July!
Continuing, starting pitching has returned to form as of late, and if JV wins today, he’ll be at .500 for the season. I still don’t get how the 1st inning run in his last start out was earned. WP gets Altuve the 3rd, wild throw, an error on Avila, gets the run home. Are pitchers at fault b/c of the wild pitch?
Anyway, a chance to sweep the AL leading and monster hitting A’s doesn’t come about every day. It would be a great way to hammer the final nail in the 10-20 coffin (though I think that thing is pretty well sealed).
1. Jackson, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Hunter, DH
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Romine, SS
9. Davis, LF
Last night’s ultimate slam was epic. I felt fortunate to be listening. But it only counts as one win. We gotta win this series.
For whatever reason the Tigers have had the A’s number over the past few years, and David Schoenfiled postulates that the Tigers may be in Oakland’s head. I wouldn’t take it that far, but it has been wonderful theater.
*****
Last night the ’84 team was honored (again). It’s still cool. Check out the fans roaring “Louuuuuuuuuu” one more time. Man I used to love that.
We should have a Trammell/Whitaker HoF discussion on here one day. I called into a local radio show when I was 14 and asked about them. They hosts said they were on the fence.
VMart is out again, hopefully this doesn’t last much longer.
1. Jackson, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Hunter, RF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Holaday, C
8. Suarez, SS
9. Davis, LF
