Baseball Reference Game Preview
Josh Tomlin vs. Drew Smyly for the Sunday day game.
Exactly two months ago, The Bad Times began with three losses in a row to the Indians. Astonishing losses, really. Just like the last three.
Offenses sputter. It happens. Big name, big money closers fail. This also happens. One situation is more dire than the other. What to do with Joe Nathan has become the question of the day.
Baseball Reference Game Preview
Makeup doubleheader today, Corey Kluber vs. Drew VerHagen in the 1 o’clock game and Zach McAllister vs. Max Scherzer in the 7 o’clock reprise.
The outlook for seeing Joel Hanrahan as a Tiger some time in 2014 has not improved. The rumors surrounding the acquisitions of Joakim Soria or Joaquin Benoit are heating up.
Baseball Reference Game Preview
Trevor Bauer vs. Anibal Sanchez tonight.
Victor is back in the lineup. Andy Dirks won’t be back for a while longer than a while. The Tigers went back to the Draw-ing board and ended up with two Drews: VerHagen will make his MLB debut in the Saturday doubleheader.
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
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Solid win all the way around. The game followed suit for a lot of Det/KC games this year until the Tigers’ outburst in the 9th. That’s 6-0 in KC this season, as the Royals are this year’s 2013 Indians.
Baseball-Reference postgame here.
Three stars:
1) Rick Porcello – he was dealing again. Only 6 hits in 7 IPs, but he did walk 3. Two of the baserunners were erased on double plays.
2) JD Martinez – leading off the 9th with a cushion run was huge. Have we lost since VMart sat?
3) Joe Nathan – they should all be that easy.
I’m going to update everyone on the web site in the morning.
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
These last two wins have been impressive. The night after the Tigers put up a season high in runs scored, they beat the Royals 2-1 behind a masterful performance from Sanchez and a good enough one from the bullpen.
Though Sanchez gave up 8 hits, he didn’t walk a single batter, and twice stranded runners at 2nd with less than 1 out. Joba and Nathan did a good job of emptying the liquor cabinets and Tums around the homes of the DTW faithful, but they each escaped 2 on, 1 out jams, to shut the door. A batter interference call in the 8th likely preserved the lead, but those sort of things go your way when you are playing well.
It’s interesting to note that Sanchez was only at 90 pitches after 7, and still pulled for JobaJoe, which reinforces the 8th inning 9th inning guy MO. I don’t agree with it, but it worked last night.
The Tigers managed only 5 hits off of Danny Duffy, which sounds ridiculous for a team who saw most of its lineup put up 5 hits the previous night. But there is nothing to be ashamed of – Duffy can pitch. He’s having a career year across the board, and at 26 he may have figured out this whole “art of pitching” thing. The curve down and in on Cabrera to K him in the 1st was nasty. I’m not really sure why Duffy was pulled (I didn’t watch the end of the game, maybe he had a minor injury), though the Royals bullpen held the Tigers hit-less over the final three innings.
Ausmus left in the 2nd with flu-like symptoms. Ausmus didn’t leave the park, which leads me to believe that this is akin to going to the “nurse’s office” in high school when you forgot to study for an exam. I think Danny Duffy was confusing Ausmus so much that he just wanted out of there. Also, please help me understand – when it’s not the flu, what is it? Why don’t we just say he has the flu? What is the mysterious flu-like disease that is so prevalent?
How great was that Holaday sacrifice bunt? I love that guy.
Anyway, the Tigers have now matched their season best 15 games over .500 (thank you SL), and have nearly matched their 7 game lead from mid-May. Man would it be great to go into the AS break on a sweep, and knowing that the Tigers have fought all the way back from the 9-20 valley to get to two games better. Regardless, this is the team we thought we had. Or at least they are playing like it for now.
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Kinsler to replace VMart on the All-Star roster. Hopefully VMart will be ready after the break.
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.
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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.
