It took them almost 3/4 of the game to wake up, but the Tigers scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to win 6-5 against the Kansas City Royals this afternoon. Once again, the Tigers offense feasted on the Twinkie-soft (not to be confused with these Twinkies) KC bullpen after getting shut down by the starter. Joel Zumaya got his second win of the season and Big Spud got his second save. Needless to say, he was pretty stoked about it.
Dontrelle Willis was less than impressive in his second start of the season. Still, a 9 hit, 4 ER, 3 K and 3 BB line in 5 innings isn’t the worst thing in the world from your 5th starter. D-Train got up to 95 mph on the radar gun with his fastball at times too, a healthy sign from a guy who has been sitting in the high 80s so far this year. Joel Zumaya pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run thanks to another Miguel Cabrera error, his second in two days. Ryan Perry pitched a scoreless 8th inning before Jose Valverde locked it up in the 9th.
If crabcakes and football are what Maryland does, then beating up on relievers is the Tigers’ calling card this season. KC starter Brian Bannister once again locked down the Tigers’ offense, giving up 2 earned runs (one of which was an inherited runner that Roman Colon allowed to score) on 4 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Colon, Dusty Hughes, and Juan Cruz combined to give up the rest of the Tigers’ runs in the 7th. Gerald Laird got the Tags started with a double that plated Brandon Inge, while Carlos Guillen finished the job with a bases loaded 2-run double with 2 outs to put the Tigers ahead.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Miguel Cabrera was named the American League Player of the Week for last week after hitting… hell, just read it yourself. Miggy Smalls had another RBI today when he drew a walk with the bases loaded. He went 0-for-3 otherwise, bringing his average down to .433.
LOOK AT THE ROOKS
Austin Jackson went 1-for-4 today, but that hit was a big one. Ajax drove a 3-1 pitch into the gap for the Tigers’ third double of the 7th inning, bringing home fellow n00b Scott Sizemore. Jackson also had a walk and a strikeout. Sizemore went 2-for-3, including his own 7th-inning RBI double that brought home Gerald Laird. Unfortunately I cannot find video of Laird running, because it’s way funnier than any of my jokes. Sizemore is now hitting .316, bouncing back nicely from that .091 average I pointed out early on.
AROUND THE CENTRAL
The White Sox currently trail Toronto 2-0, while both Minnesota and Cleveland are off today. Updated standings later. The Tigers only need to pack a sack lunch one more day this week; tomorrow’s 1:05 start is the last day game for a couple weeks.
UPDATE: Ricky Romero took a no-hitter into the 8th, but gave up a 2-run homer to Alex Rios. Regardless, the Jays beat the Sox 4-2, putting them 3 games back of the Twins and Tigers. (Click for larger image)
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