Always A Tiger

[Vinsane]

Tough loss to have, nice that D-Train answers to speculation with a win!

[mfbmike]

Cabrera Kicks Off 5 Run 8th Inning Rally With Solo Shot; Tigers Win Series 2-1

(3-3) vs (1-4)


Miguel Cabrera led off the 8th with a bang, drilling a solo shot down the right field line against Josh Rupe.

The Tigers prevailed at home today to win the rubberband match of their series against the Texas Rangers. They took care of the Rangers 6-2 before 20,354 fans at Comerica. Going 3 for 5 and driving in 2 runs on a single in the home half of the 8th, Curtis Granderson was a catalyst for the Tigers offense. Josh Anderson also impressed, batting 3 for 4, with 2 of his hits actually coming off of well placed bunts. Although his first 2 innings of work were a bit shaky, Armando Galarraga managed to pick up his 1st win of the season, allowing only 2 runs on 6 hits over 8 innings of total work.

The Tigers will begin a series against the visiting division rival White Sox tomorrow afternoon in Detroit, with Jeremy Bonderman (0-0 , 3.60 ERA) set to oppose John Danks (0-0 , 8.31 ERA).



Tigers Pitching:
Armando Galarraga (W, 1-0) 8IP | 6H | 2ER | 0BB | 1SO | 2.57 ERA
Fernando Rodney 1IP | 3H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 0.00 ERA

Rangers Pitching:
Kevin Millwood 6.1IP | 9H | 0ER | 0BB | 5SO | 0.68 ERA
Josh Rupe (L, 0-1) 0,2IP | 4H | 4ER | 0BB | 0SO | 30.86 ERA
Kris Benson 1IP | 3H | 1ER | 0BB | 1SO | 7.71 ERA

WP: MIllwood 2 (2) , Benson (1)

Tigers Lineup:
CF Curtis Granderson 3-5 | K
2B Placido Polanco 1-5
RF Magglio Ordonez 2-5
1B Miguel Cabrera 1-5
3B Carlos Guillen 2-4 | K
DH Marcus Thames 3-4 | K
LF Josh Anderson 3-4
C Gerald Laird 1-4 | K
SS Adam Everett 0-4 | 2K

HR: Cabrera (2)
RBI: Ordonez (3) , Cabrera (4) , Granderson 2 (7)
R: Granderson , Cabrera , Guillen , Anderson , Thames 2
GIDP: Polanco

E: Polanco (1)

Rangers Lineup:
2B Ian Kinsler 0-4 | K
3B Michael Young 0-4 | K
CF Josh Hamilton 1-4
DH Hank Blalock 0-4 | K
1B Chris Davis 2-4
LF David Murphy 2-4
RF Marlon Byrd 0-4
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia 2-3
SS Omar Vizquel 0-3

2B: Davis (3)
HR: Hamilton (1)
RBI: Hamilton (2) , Saltalamacchia (1)
R: Hamilton , Davis
GIDP: Vizquel , Byrd 2

E: Vizquel (1)

Player Of The Game:

Miguel Cabrera

Despite only having 1 hit in today's game, Miggy's solo shot to lead off the 8th was the start of a late Tigers rally.

[Justo]

nice 8th inning, i had a 4 run 8th inning in my last game

[mfbmike]

Series Review:



Things We Did Well:

- Our starters looked dominant this series. Dontrelle Willis looked dominant in his 1st start of the season, while Verlander and Galarraga both had solid outings. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.

- Josh Anderson was a huge spark off the bench in this series with Brandon Inge out with injury. He batted 4 for 8 and came in for 2 runs in the series. He didn't manage to steal any bases but was still able to show off his speed, managing to outrun the throw to 1st and get on base after getting bunts down.

- We are being aggressive on the basepaths, averaging at least 1 steal per game. 2 of our runs in the last game of the series also came off of wild pitches. Our guys are being alert and ready to advance in situations where the ball gets away from their catcher.

Things We Didn't Do Well:

- Verlander got no run support in game 2 of the series. We can't let solid efforts out on the mound like that go to waste. There's no telling if our pitching staff will be able to pitch like that consistently enough for our hitters to take a game off.

- Despite getting his first 3 hits of the season in this series, Carlos Guillen is still hitting just over .100 on the season. Let's hope he can get into a groove here soon.

- Miguel Cabrera hitting just over .200. While not a huge cause for concern, Miguel is being a little bit too aggressive out there. He needs to take a few pitches and wait for one he can do something with as opposed to coming out of the dugout hacking.

[mfbmike]

League Roundup:





- Placed LF Pat Burrell On The 60-day disabled list (Torn Finger Ligament)
- Recalled RF Matt Joyce from AAA Durham





- Placed CF Brett Gardner on the 60-day disabled list (Broken Foot)
- Recalled RP Anthony Claggett from AAA Scranton





- Placed RP Mark Difelice on the 15-day disabled list (Shoulder Strain)
- Recalled RP Wes Littleton from AAA Nashville





- Placed RP Julian Tavarez on the 15-day disabled list (Shoulder Separation)
- Recalled RP Jason Bergmann from AAA Syracuse





- Placed SS Jack Wilson on the 60-day disabled list (Fractured Hand)
- Recalled SP Phil Dumatrait from AAA Indianapolis

[mfbmike]

Division Rival Series Preview:

(4-3 , 3rd in AL Central) vs (3-3 , 4th in AL Central)


Comerica Park in Detroit

Projected Matchups:

Game 1:


Jeremy Bonderman 0-0 , 3.60 ERA | John Danks 0-0 , 8.31 ERA

Game 2:


Rick Porcello 0-0 , 6.00 ERA | Gavin Floyd 0-0 , 3.00 ERA

Game 3:


Dontrelle Willis 1-0 , 1.50 ERA | Jose Contreras 0-1 , 3.60 ERA

White Sox Lineup:

CF Dewayne Wise
2B Chris Getz
LF Carlos Quentin
1B Jim Thome
RF Jermaine Dye
DH Paul Konerko
C A.J. Pierzynski
SS Alexei Ramirez
3B Josh Fields

Division Standings/Wild Card Race:

[goDawgs1433]

Nice updates mike.

[Rylo]

OHhh shit this is back.

Hell yess.

[mfbmike]

Heh, yeah. It's been back for a while now.

Gotta earn my followers back.

[mfbmike]

Tigers Take Game 1 Against Division Rival White Sox

(4-3) vs (3-3)


Miguel Cabrera gets his wind knocked out after being hit by a pitch in the 8th inning. Cabrera would end up coming in for the game winning run in the same inning.

The Tigers came out on top in a close one with the White Sox tonight, winning a tough 3-2 decision and sending the home crowd away with a few more smiles on their faces. Jeremy Bonderman pitched a solid 6 innings, allowing only 1 run. However, the White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski struck back with a solo shot in the 7th against Bobby Seay to knot the game up at 2 a piece and ruining Bonderman's shots at earning his 1st win of the season. Offensively the club was led by Miguel Cabrera, who went 3-3 and brought in 2 runs. Fast forward to the bottom of the 8th. Cabrera would get hit by an Octavio Dotel fastball and advance to 1st. Matt Thornton would come into the game. Carlos Guillen would follow up with another single. Marcus Thames would ground into a double play but Cabrera would advance to 3rd. With 2 outs, Josh Anderson would ground the ball to Alexei Ramirez, and what appeared to be a routine ground ball was anything but. Ramirez's throw would overshoot Jim Thome at 1st and end up in the stands allowing Cabrera to come in for the run, putting the Tigers out in front 3-2 and allowing Zach Miner to earn his 1st win of the season. Joel Zumaya would seal the deal in the 9th and earn his 1st save of the season.

The Tigers and White Sox face off again tomorrow afternoon with Rick Porcello (0-0 , 6.00 ERA) and Gavin Floyd (0-0 , 3.00 ERA) the probable starters.

Placido Polanco was injured after stealing a base in the 3rd inning and was forced to leave the game.



Tigers Pitching:
Jeremy Bonderman 6IP | 5H | 1ER | 0BB | 6SO | 2.45 ERA
Bobby Seay (BS, 1) 1IP | 2H | 1ER | 0BB | 1SO | 7.71 ERA
Zach Miner (W, 1-0) 1IP | 0H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 0.00 ERA
Joel Zumaya (S, 1) 1IP | 0H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 0.00 ERA

WP: Seay (1)

White Sox Pitching:
John Danks 6IP | 9H | 1ER | 0BB | 3SO | 4.35 ERA
Octavio Dotel 1IP | 0H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 1.59 ERA
Matt Thornton (L, 2-1) 1IP | 1H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 0.00 ERA

Tigers Lineup:
CF Curtis Granderson 1-4 | K
2B Placido Polanco 0-1
RF Magglio Ordonez 0-4
1B Miguel Cabrera 3-3
3B Carlos Guillen 2-4
DH Marcus Thames 1-4 | K
LF Josh Anderson 1-4
C Gerald Laird 0-4 | K
SS Adam Everett 2-3

2B Ryan Raburn 0-2 | K

RBI: Cabrera 2 (6)
R: Granderson , Raburn , Cabrera
HBP: Cabrera
SAC: Polanco
GIDP: Laird

SB: Everett (1) , Polanco (4)

White Sox Lineup:
CF Dewayne Wise 0-4 | K
2B Chris Getz 1-4 | K
LF Carlos Quentin 2-4 | K
1B Jim Thome 0-4 | K
RF Jermaine Dye 1-4 | K
DH Paul Konerko 0-3 | K
C A.J. Pierzynski 2-3 | K
SS Alexei Ramirez 0-3
3B Josh Fields 1-3 | 2K

2B: Quentin (2)
HR: Pierzynski (2)
RBI: Pierzynski 2 (4)
R: Dye, Pierzynski
GIDP: Thome

E: Ramirez 2 (3)

CS: Pierzynski (1)

Player Of The Game:

Miguel Cabrera

Cabrera not only batted 3-3 and drove in 2 runs, but also came in for the game winning run in the 8th.

[goDawgs1433]

Lol, Alexei "Cuban Missile" Ramirez helping you out big-time with the two errors.

I'm interested to see how Porcello does for ya.

[mfbmike]

I wanted to get a replay vid of that last play where he threw it into the stands but left the game too quickly. haha. Definitely helped me out.

Bobby Seay's a douche. He ruined Bonderman's win.

[mfbmike]

League Leader In Stolen Bases Goes Down



It's no secret that the Tigers wanted to be more aggressive on the basepaths this year. Placido Polanco has certainly embraced the new "get out and run" attitude in Motown and was leading the league in stolen bases at 4 on the season.

That was until he suffered a broken forearm after sliding into second base on a successful stolen base attempt. Polanco beat out A.J. Pierzynski's throw but came up clinching his arm in obvious pain.

Tigers trainers have told reporters that Polanco is likely to miss anywhere between 1 to 2 months nursing the forearm back to 100%. Ryan Raburn is expected to start in place of Polanco.

The Tigers are now without 2 of their starting infielders as Brandon Inge is also out with a strained calf.

Changes in the batting order are bound to happen as the Tigers will attempt to fill the void that will be left with the injuries plaguing their infield.

Tigers Projected Lineup:

1. LF Josh Anderson
2. CF Curtis Granderson
3. RF Magglio Ordonez
4. 1B Miguel Cabrera
5. 3B Carlos Guillen
6. DH Marcus Thames
7. C Gerald Laird
8. SS Adam Everett
9. 2B Ryan Raburn



The Tigers also recalled Mike Hessman and Clete Thomas from Triple A Toledo.

[mfbmike]

Figured out how to bring up some guys to help carry the weight because of the injuries plaguing me right now. Sweet. Back to playing some games!

[Nash]

can't wait mike