Everybody knew this west coast trip was going to be tough, and very telling of what kind of team the Tigers truly have this season, so they definitely didn’t want to start it off by getting swept at the hands of the Mariners (who were on a four game winning streak coming into today).
Max Scherzer, making his third start as a Detroit Tiger, had his blue eye on the prize and put his team in great position to pull off a win this evening. He went six strong, allowing six hits, two earned runs, and walked just one while striking out four (all in 86 pitches). Phil Coke, Ryan Perry, and Jose Valverde (S) finished the final three frames.
His strong outing was almost squandered, though. Literally. Detroit’s offense was an astounding 2-18 with RISP and left 12 runners on base — a line that would make the 2003 Tigers cringe. Luckily, Miguel Cabrera came up big on his 27th birthday and hit his 212th career, towering, home run with a couple runners on base. Austin Jackson also had a clutch, 2-out, RBI single in the 8th inning to add an insurance run. In the end, Detroit leaves Seattle with a 4-2 win — a game they could’ve afforded to lose, but not really. You feel me?
Detroit returns to the diamond tomorrow night at 10:05 PM EST against the Los Angeles-Anaheim Angels.
I SEE YOU RYAN PERRY
Perry has had a lot of good outings in his year or more in the bigs, but this evening’s outing showed me something I haven’t really seen before out of him: elite, veteran composure. For starters, he was called upon in the 7th after Phil Coke gave up a 2-out walk. Perry brought back the focus Coke lost when he recorded the 2nd out of the inning. Then, in the 8th inning, the 2nd year reliever got himself into a little jam, but pitched himself out of it. With runners at 1st and 2nd, with no outs, he proceeded to get three straight outs (sacrifice bunt, strike out, and pop out). I don’t want to put too much stock into an inning of work in the 12th game of a season, but this is the type of inning that gives Perry the confidence to trust his stuff on a regular basis (including the skipper). He has the stuff to be an elite reliever, and one day a closer, but he needs to stay within himself and this was a flash of that potential brilliance.
MINI-MAGGS SLUMP
Magglio was a team-worst 0-4 with RISP and has fallen into a mini-rut. He’s just 3 for his last 18 (two of those hits have been homers). His average dropped 35 points today from .341 to .306. I don’t think there’s any cause for concern, but it’s worth noting that he has cooled since his torrid start.
STARTING PITCHERS
With Scherzer picking up a win today, Justin Verlander remains the only Tiger starter, who has received a decision, to be without a win. Dontrelle Willis has two ND’s, but for what it’s worth, the Tigers have won both of his starts.
LOOKS AT THE ROOKS
Austin Jackson led the game off with a triple, and tacked on two other hits in this one for a final line of 3-5 with an RBI and a run. For the second time in his young career, Jackson came up with a big RBI hit, this time in the 8th inning with 2-outs. Jackson is now hitting .340 with a .389 OBP through 12 games.
Scott Sizemore went hitless today, but he did walk twice. He’s hitting .281 and getting on base at a .400 clip.
AROUND THE CENTRAL:
KC beat up on the Twins’ Carl Pavano today by scoring seven runs off him in 3.1 IP. They went on to win 10-5 to help the Tigers pick up a game in the Central (1.5 GB now).
Gavin Floyd had an even worse outing for the White Sox today, as he only lasted an inning while giving up the same number of earned runs. The White Sox got swept by the Indians behind Shin-Soo Choo’s 5 RBIs. The White Sox are a Central worst 4-9 and the Indians sit just a game behind the Tigers.
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