Always A Tiger

[T.Dot]

Great article, I love it when a young player performs for me

[mfbmike]

No doubt. I remember when VikesFan was trying to get him from me in our short lived MLB sim league.

[Mit]

No doubt. I remember when VikesFan was trying to get him from me in our short lived MLB sim league.

[Mit]

That was a nice read. Too bad Porcello has nothing on Bumgarner.

[Miggy]

I havent been here in a while but it still looks sick mike!

[mfbmike]

Tigers Sweep Division Rival White Sox

(6-3) vs (3-5)


Dontrelle Willis picked up where the previous Tigers pitchers left off, neutralizing Carlos Quentin's bat.

A crowd of 31,006 fans watched the hometown Tigers earn their first sweep of this young 2009 season with a 6-1 decision that went the Tigers way. Clete Thomas and Mike Hessman, who were recently recalled from Triple A Toledo were both a pleasant surprise in this one, each of them bringing in a run a piece. Allowing 5 hits in 6 and a third innings, Dontrelle Willis was able to pick up his 2nd win of the season with some, ok, a lot, of help from his 'pen.

The Tigers begin a 9-game road journey in Seattle after a day off, facing Mariners' ace Felix Hernandez (1-0 , 4.38 ERA) in the series opener, while Justin Verlander (0-1, 2.51 ERA) will get the nod for the visiting Tigers.



Tigers Pitching:
Dontrelle Willis (W, 2-0) 6.1IP | 5H | 1ER | 0BB | 8SO | 1.45 ERA
Juan Rincon 2.2IP | 1H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 0.00 ERA

White Sox Pitching:
Jose Contreras (L, 0-2) 5.2IP | 10H | 5ER | 0BB | 3SO | 5.90 ERA
Matt Thornton 0.1IP | 2H | 1ER | 0BB | 0SO | 1.74 ERA
Octavio Dotel 2.0IP | 1H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 1.17 ERA

Tigers Lineup:
LF Josh Anderson 1-4 | K
CF Curtis Granderson 1-4
3B Carlos Guillen 2-4 | K
1B Miguel Cabrera 2-4
DH Mike Hessman 1-4
C Gerald Laird 1-4 | K
RF Clete Thomas 2-4
SS Adam Everett 1-4
2B Ryan Raburn 2-4

RBI: Anderson 2 (2), Granderson (8) , Hessman (1) , Laird (2) , Thomas (1)
R: Guillen 2 , Cabrera , Thomas, Everett , Raburn
SAC: Granderson

CS: Granderson (2)

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

2B: Wise (5) , Getz (2) , Pierzynski (3) , Ramirez (2)
RBI: Getz (6)
R: Wise

Player Of The Game:

Dontrelle Willis

Willis allowed only 1 run in 6 innings of work against a potent White Sox offense, helping the Tigers to a sweep of their division rivals.

[mfbmike]

Series Review:



Things We Did Well:

- Kept the Sox bats from getting hot. They hit a very low average in the series, particularly Jim Thome and Carlos Quentin, their #3 and 4 hitters.

- Very pleased with Mike Hessman and Clete Thomas. They both got starts in the Tigers last game of the series to give some other guys days off and brought in a run a piece. Can't complain with that.

- We hit the ball very well. We didn't exactly swing for the fences but did hit for a solid average.

- Dealing with injuries. With Inge and Polanco out, we were still able to get a sweep over a division rival. Injuries are going to happen. It's matter of continuing to find ways to win.

Things We Didn't Do Well:

- Nothing. SWEEP BABY!

[mfbmike]

League Roundup:





- Placed SP Joba Chamberlain on the 60-day disabled list (Head Fracture)
- Recalled SP Afredo Aveces from Triple-A Scranton





- Placed 3B Geoff Blum on the 15-day disabled list (MCL Strain)
- Purchased the contract of and recalled 2B Matt Kata from Triple-A Round Rock

[mfbmike]

Division Rival Series Preview:

(7-3 , 2rd in AL Central) @ (6-4, 1st in AL West)


Safeco Field In Seattle

Projected Matchups:

Game 1:


Justin Verlander 0-1 , 2.51 ERA | Felix Hernandez 1-0 , 4.38 ERA

Game 2:


Justin Verlander 1-0 , 2.57 ERA | Erik Bedard 1-1 , 2.45 ERA

Game 3:


Jeremy Bonderman 0-0 , 2.45 ERA | Ryan Rowland-Smith 0-1 , 3.27 ERA

Mariners Lineup:

RF Ichiro
1B Mike Sweeney
3B Adrian Beltre
DH Ken Griffey JR.
2B Jose Lopez
CF Franklin Gutierrez
LF Endy Chavez
C Kenji Johjima
SS Yuniesky Betancourt

Division Standings/Wild Card Race:

[Yawkey Way]

a head fracture...

how the hell do fracture your head.

[mfbmike]

Team Stats/MLB Rankings Comparison:

[mfbmike]

Tigers Get Held To 2 Hits By King Felix In Series Opener

(7-3) @ (6-4)


The Tigers just coulldn't figure out Felix Hernandez tonight as he snapped a 4 game Tigers win streak.

The Tigers suffered a 5-0 loss to the Mariners tonight, with 25,017 fans on hand at Safeco Field. Justin Verlander worked 7 and a third innings in defeat, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits, as his record fell to 0-2. Curtis Granderson was the "star" for the Tigers offense tonight, hitting 1-4. Hey, nobody said he was a bright star!

The Tigers will hope to get some runs on the board tomorrow night with Armando Galarraga (1-0 , 2.57 ERA) set to go up against Erik Bedard (1-1 , 2.45 ERA) in game 2 of the series.



Tigers Pitching:
Justin Verlander (L, 0-2) 7.1IP | 7H | 4ER | 1BB | 4SO | 3.32 ERA
Aquilino Lopez 0.2IP | 2H | 1ER | 1BB | 0SO | 16.87 ERA

Mariners Pitching:
Felix Hernandez (W, 2-0) 9IP | 2H | 0ER | 0BB | 6SO | 2.53 ERA

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

E: Everett (1)

SB: Granderson (3)

Mariners Lineup:
RF Ichiro 2-4
1B Mike Sweeney 1-3 | BB | K
2B Jose Lopez 3-4
DH Ken Griffey JR. 2-4
CF Franklin Gutierrez 1-4 | K
LF Endy Chavez 0-2 | BB
C Kenji Johjima 0-3 | 2K
SS Yuniesky Betancourt 0-3
3B Matt Tuiasosopo 0-3

HR: Lopez (2) , Griffey Jr. (1)
RBI: Griffey Jr 2 (7) , Lopez 3 (10)
R: Suzuki , Lopez , Griffey Jr , Sweeney
GIDP: Sweeney , Griffey Jr , Chavez , Betancourt

E: Johjima (1) , Tuiasosopo (1)

Player Of The Game:

Felix Hernandez

Hernandez showed why they call him the King, pitching a complete game 2 hit shutout against the Tigers.

[T.Dot]

Tough loss man, you know there's something wrong when your losing to the M's through I guess it's fair since Felix was on the hill.
Stillll,,,, two hits?

[mfbmike]

I got robbed on a couple of occasions. Jose Lopez made some gold glove caliber stops. Most of my shit was hit right at infielders. :|

[mfbmike]

Tigers Drop Second Straight To Mariners

(7-4) @ (7-4)


Adam Everett's 2RBI triple ended up being the Tigers only extra-base hit in this matchup.

Detroit ended up on the losing side of a hard-fought contest today, as Seattle won 4-3 before 26,408 of their hometown fans at Safeco Field. Adam Everett picked up 2 RBI's while batting 2 for 4 with a triple to provide the offensive spark for the Tigers. Armando Galarraga got the call, but he wasn't sharp in his 6 innings of work, yielding 4 runs on 9 hits, as the loss dropped his record to 1-1.

The two teams wrap up the series tomorrow afternoon, with Jeremy Bonderman (0-0 , 2.45 ERA) and the Tigers looking to avoid the sweep when they take on Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-0 , 3.27 ERA) and the Mariners.



Tigers Pitching:
Armando Galarraga (L, 1-1) 6IP | 9H | 3ER | 3BB | 2SO | 3.15 ERA
Bobby Seay 2IP | 2H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 4.15 ERA

Mariners Pitching:
Erik Bedard 6IP | 9H | 3ER | 0BB | 2SO | 3.04 ERA
Mark Lowe (W, 1-1) 1IP | 1H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 19.79 ERA
David Aardsma (H, 1) 1IP | 0H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 1.58 ERA
Brandon Morrow (S, 6) 1IP | 0H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 0.00 ERA

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

3B: Everett (1)
RBI: Granderson (9), Everett 2 (5)
R: Anderson , Thames , Laird
HBP: Ordonez
GIDP: Ordonez

E: Everett (2)

SB: Anderson (1)

Mariners Lineup:
RF Ichiro 3-5
2B Jose Lopez 0-4 | K
3B Adrian Beltre 1-3 | BB
DH Ken Griffey JR. 3-4
1B Bryan Lahair 2-3
CF Franklin Gutierrez 1-3 | BB
LF Endy Chavez 0-4 | K
C Kenji Johjima 1-4
SS Yuniesky Betancourt 0-3 | BB

HR: Griffey Jr. (2)
RBI: Griffey Jr 2 (9) , Gutierrez (5) , Johjima (4)
R: Ichiro , Beltre , Griffey Jr. , Gutierrez
SAC: Lahair

E: Beltre 2 (2)

SB: Ichiro (4)
CS: Ichiro (3)

Player Of The Game:

Ken Griffey Jr.

Griffey batted 3-4, including a home run and 2 RBI's.