Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Tigers Jobbed Due to the Rain in a 4-1 Loss

The Detroit Tigers lost in a screwjob to the Boston Red Sox tonight 4-1.

Just like the last time the Tigers played in Boston this season, every call went to the home team, it's the ultimate home field advantage.

The Tigers scored first in the 3rd inning with a 2 out rally that started with an infield single by Omar Infante, hit-by-pitch to Austin Jackson, then a walk to Quintin Berry which loaded the bases for Miguel Cabrera who drew a walk to score Infante and the Tigers took a 1-0 lead.

The Red Sox would go on to score 4 runs in the 4th inning thanks to the umpires deciding the game shouldn't be delayed even though the starting pitcher struggled to hold the ball every time he threw it.

The Tigers came back i nthe 5th with a walk to Prince Fielder, then Ryan Raburn reached base on a fielder's choice. Up next was Alex Avila who hit a single, then Jhonny Peralta drew a walk to load the bases, and in home field fashion, the game was delayed, after it had rained for over 120 minutes atleast, but when Boston is in danger of losing, the tarp HAD to come out and the game was called, so with the go-ahead run at the plate, the Tigers never got a chance to take a lead or tie the game.

Due to the rain, Verlander was done after 5 innings, which meant his streak of 63 straight starts of 6 innings or more was snapped. He gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, walking 4 and striking out 6 batters.

Verlander's streak of 6 innings or more was the 3rd longest streak since 1921.

Oddly enough, due to the ridiculous calling of the game, Verlander pitched a "complete game".

The Tigers finish up their 3 game series with the Red Sox tommorrow as Rick Porcello (7-6 4.56 ERA) pitches against Aaron Cook (2-4 4.50 ERA).


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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Doug Fister Strikes Out 9 Batters in a Tigers 4-1 Victory


The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays today 4-1.

The Blue Jays took an early 1-0 lead, but the Tigers came back in the bottom of the 2nd inning after a walk by Delmon Young (yes, he really drew another walk), then a double by Ryan Raburn to give runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs for Jhonny Peralta who hit a 3-run home run; it's his 7th of the season and gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

Doug Fister pitched well today. He went 8 innings, giving up 1 run on 7 hits, walking 2 and striking out 9 batters; he earned his 5th win of the season.

Jhonny Peralta added another run for the Tigers in the 9th inning with a solo home run; it's his 2nd of the day and 8th of the season to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead.

Jose Valverde came in and pitched 1-2-3 9th inning to earn his 20th save of the season and got the Tigers the win.

The Tigers open up a 3 game road series with the Boston Red Sox tommorrow as Max Scherzer (10-5 4.49 ERA) takes on Clay Buchholz (8-3 4.93 ERA).

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Friday, July 27, 2012

Bad 4th Inning from Rick Porcello is Costly in a 8-3 Tigers Loss


The Detroit Tigers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays tonight 8-3.

Miguel Cabrera got the Tigers on the board in the first inning with a solo home run; it's his 25th of the season. Prince Fielder followed up with a solo home run of his own to give the Tigers back-to-back home runs and an early 2-0 lead; it's his 16th of the season.

Rick Porcello went on to blow the lead and was done after 6 innings. He gave up 5 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 1 batter.

Octavio Dotel came in to pitch the 7th inning and gave up 1 run in the inning. Duane Below pitched the 8th inning and gave up 2 (1 earned) runs.

The Tigers came back in the 8th inning after a leadoff double by Miguel Cabrera followed by a single from Prince Fielder to drive him in and cut the lead to 6-3, but the Tigers weren't able to get anything else going and went on to lose.

Anibal Sanchez (5-7 3.94 ERA) makes his Tigers debut tommorrow against Henderson Alvarez (6-7 4.61 ERA) of the Blue Jays.

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Quintin Berry's 3 Hits & 2 RBI Helps the Tigers to a 5-3 Win


The first place Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians tonight 5-3.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the first inning after singles by Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry, then Miguel Cabrera hit a single to score Jackson and Detroit took an early 1-0 lead.

Detroit came back in the 2nd inning after a double by Alex Avila, then Omar Infante reached base on a fielding error by Asdrubal Cabrera to put runners at 1st and 3rd for Austin Jackson who reached on a fielding error by Asdrubal Cabrera (yes, 2 back-to-back errors) which allowed Avila to score and Jackson reached 2nd base on the error. Quintin Berry was up next and hit a single to score Infante and the Tigers took a 3-0 lead.

After the Indians scored 2 runs to make it a 3-2 game, the Tigers came back in the 5th inning after Austin Jackson, Quintin Berry, and Miguel Cabrera all drew a walk to load the bases with no outs for Prince Fielder who had a sacrifice fly and it gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead.

Alex Avila led the 6th inning off with a single, advanced to 2nd base on a hit-and-run play, advanced to 3rd base on a ground out, then scored on a single from Quintin Berry and the Tigers extended their lead to 5-2.

Max Scherzer's start tonight could be described as "effectively wild". He pitched 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, walking 4 and striking out 8 batters; he earned his 10th win of the season.

Joaquin Benoit came in and pitched a scoreless 8th inning and Jose Valverde gave up 1 run in the 9th inning, but was able to get his 19th save of the season and got the Tigers the win.

The Tigers finish up their 3 game series with the Indians tommorrow as Justin Verlander (11-5 2.42 ERA) takes on Zach McAllister (4-2 3.21 ERA).

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Tigers Struggle to Score Runs in a 3-2 Loss


The first place Detroit Tigers lost to the Cleveland Indians tonight 3-2.

The Tigers offense struggled to do anything through the first 6 innings today, and found themselves down 2-0, but in the 7th inning, after a 2 out walk from Quintin Berry, Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run home run to tie the game 2-2; it's his 24th of the season.

After Travis Hafner somehow hit a triple (yea, that really happened), the Indians scored on a ridiculous squeeze play to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 7th inning.

Doug Fister wasn't at his best tonight, but wasn't terrible. He pitched 7 innings giving up 3 runs on 9 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4 batters.

Phil Coke came in and pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

The Tigers had plenty of base runners tonight, but just didn't get the big hit to score some runs.

The Tigers continue their series with Cleveland tommorrow as Max Scherzer (9-5 4.61 ERA) takes on Derek Lowe (8-8 5.04 ERA).

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Tigers Trade Jacob Turner In a Deal for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante


According to Jon Morosi the Detroit Tigers have traded Jacob Turner, Rob Brantly and Brian Flynn for Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez

Infante this season is hitting .287 with a .312 on-base percentage and has a slugging percentage of .442. He has 8 home run's and 33 RBI as well as 10 stolen bases.

Sanchez this season is 5-7 with a 3.94 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.

Jacob Turner made 3 starts for the Tigers this season, and in the minors this season he was 5-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

Flynn is a lower tier prospect, and Brantly is a solid catching prospect, but was most likely blocked from the major leagues with Alex Avila to be the catcher for a while most likely.

Omar Infante is signed through the 2013 season while Sanchez is set to be a free agent after the 2012 season.

I am not a fan at all of this trade, but hope it works out for the Tigers.

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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Miguel Cabrera Hits His 300th Home Run in a 6-4 Tigers Win


The first place Detroit Tigers swept the Chicago White Sox today with a 6-4 win.

The White Sox took a 1-0 lead to start the game, but the Tigers responded in the bottom of the 1st inning after a leadoff walk by Austin Jackson, who stole 2nd base, then Quintin Berry hit a 2-run home run; it's his 2nd of the season. Miguel Cabrera came up next and hit a solo home run of his own to give the Tigers back-to-back home runs; it's his 22nd of the season.

Miguel Cabrera got the Tigers another run in the 3rd inning with a solo home run; it's his 23rd of the season and 2nd of the game.

The home run by Cabrera in the 3rd inning was also #300 for his career. Cabrera is the 2nd Venezuelan-born player to hit 300 home runs.

Prince Fielder came up next and hit a single, then advanced to 2nd base on a wild pitch and scored on a 2-run home run by Brennan Boesch; it's his 11th of the season.

Jacob Turner while not great, was better than his previous start. He went 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and striking out 3 batters; He got his first career major league win.

Brayan Villarreal came in for relief and got the last 2 outs of the 6th inning.

Phil Coke allowed 1 run, and got the first out of the 7th inning, then Octavio Dotel came in and got the final 2 outs of the inning.

Dotel came back out and pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Joaquin Benoit came in and pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to earn his 2nd save of the season and completed the sweep of the White Sox.

The Tigers have an off day tommorrow, but begin a 3 game road series on Tuesday at Cleveland as Doug Fister (4-6 4.04 ERA) takes on Ubaldo Jimenez (8-9 5.24 ERA).

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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Rick Porcello Leads the Tigers to a 7-1 Victory


The first place Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox today 7-1.

The first 4 innings started off with no offense for either team, but after the White Sox scored a run in the 5th, the Tigers responded in the bottom of the 5th inning with singles from Gerald Laird and Danny Worth, Austin Jackson drove both of them in with a 2 RBI double and it gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

The Tigers responded again in the 6th inning after a single by Miguel Cabrera, who stole 2nd base, then a walk to Jhonny Peralta which set up runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs for Brennan Boesch who hit a 3-run home run to give the Tigers a 5-1 lead; it's his 10th of the season.

Austin Jackson would go on to add 2 more runs with a single, and he tied a career high with 4 RBI today.

Rick Porcello started for the Tigers today and pitched great. He went 8 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits, walking 0 and striking out 4 batters; he earned his 7th win of the season.

Porcello was given the chance to go for a complete game, but after allowing 2 hits to start the 9th, Joaquin Benoit came in and pitched a scoreless 9th inning to get the Tigers a win and put them in first place for the first time since May 1st.

The Tigers go for the sweep tommorrow as Jacob Turner (0-1 10.29 ERA) take on Philip Humber (4-4 5.77 ERA) for the White Sox.

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Friday, July 20, 2012

Justin Verlander Wins His 11th Game of the Season in a 4-2 Tigers Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox tonight 4-2.

The White Sox got out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Tigers came back in the bottom of the 3rd inning with a double by Jhonny Peralta, a single from Ramon Santiago that was wiped out by a double play, then Quintin Berry was hit-by-the-pitch with 2 outs to allow Miguel Cabrera to hit a single to drive in Peralta and Berry advanced to 3rd base on the hit. Prince Fielder came up next and hit a single of his own to drive in Berry and Cabrera advanced to 3rd base on the hit. Delmon Young came up next and hit a double to score Cabrera and the Tigers took a 3-2 lead.

The Tigers came back in the bottom of the 7th inning with a single from Jhonny Peralta, who advanced to 2nd base on a balk, then advanced to 3rd base after Ramon Santiago had a ground out. Austin Jackson came up with 2 outs and hit a single to drive in Peralta and extended the Tigers lead to 4-2.

Justin Verlander pitched very well like usual. He went 8 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out 6 batters; he earned his 11th win of the season.

Jose Valverde came in and pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to earn his 18th save of the season and got the Tigers the win.

Rick Porcello (6-5 4.66 ERA) takes the mound for the Tigers tommorrow against Chris Sale (11-2 2.11 ERA) of the White Sox.

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Max Scherzer Strikes Out 9 Batters in a Tigers 5-1 Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels today 5-1.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the 2nd inning after a double by Prince Fielder who scored on a double from Jhonny Peralta. Alex Avila was up next and hit a 2-run home run to give the Tigers an early 3-0 lead; it's his 6th of the season.

Danny Worth had a RBI double in the 4th inning, then Miguel Cabrera hit a solo home run in the 5th inning; it's his 21st of the season.

5 runs would be plenty for Max Scherzer who pitched well today. He pitched 7 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits, walking 4 and striking out 9 batters; Scherzer earned his 9th win of the season.

Joaquin Benoit pitched a scoreless 8th inning and Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless 9th inning to get the Tigers a series win.

The Tigers open up a 3 game home series with the Chicago White Sox tommorrow as Justin Verlander (10-5 2.43 ERA) goes up against Jake Peavy (7-6 3.12 ERA)

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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Doug Fister Pitches 8 Strong Innings in a 7-2 Tigers Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels tonight 7-2.

The Angels scored a run in the first inning, but the Tigers responded in the bottom of the inning with a walk to Miguel Cabrera, single from Prince Fielder, which allowed Cabrera to advance to 3rd base on the hit, then Delmon Young hit a single to score Cabrera and it tied the game 1-1.

The Tigers came back in the 2nd inning with a double from Brennan Boesch, a walk to Gerald Laird, then a single by Danny Worth to load the bases. With 1 out Ryan Raburn an infield single which scored Boesch. Miguel Cabrera was up next and hit a ground ball to 2nd base to score Laird. Prince Fielder was up next and hit a single to score Worth and Raburn which gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead after 2 innings.

The Tigers came back in the 5th inning after a single by Miguel Cabrera, walk to Jhonny Peralta, then Brennan Boesch hit a double to score Cabrera and Peralta to give the Tigers a 7-1 lead.

Doug Fister pitched great tonight going 8 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits, walking 2 and striking out a season high 10 batters; he earned his 4th win of the season.

Joaquin Benoit came in and gave up 1 run in the 9th inning, but got the Tigers the win.

The Tigers finish up their 4 game series with the Angels tommorrow as Max Scherzer (8-5 4.84 ERA) pitches against Jerome Williams (6-6 4.67 ERA).

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Monday, July 16, 2012

Brennan Boesch's 2 Run Homer Leads the Tigers to a 8-6 Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels tonight 8-6.

Austin Jackson led the bottom of the 1st inning off reaching first base on a fielding error, then stole 2nd base. He got to 3rd base on a ground out by Quintin Berry. Miguel Cabrera drove Jackson in with a ground out to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

The run scored by Jackson is the 13th game in a row he's scored atleast 1 run, and according to Brian Britten, it's the first time that's been done by a Tigers player since 1950.

After the Angels tied the game 1-1, the Tigers came back in the 4th inning with a walk from Prince Fielder, then a single by Delmon Young. Brennan Boesch was up next, and hit a ball that could've been turned into a double play, but the pitcher Ervin Santana threw the ball into center field which allowed Fielder to score and gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

After Rick Porcello imploded and gave up 4 runs in the 5th inning, the Tigers came back in the bottom of the inning with a bunt single by Quintin Berry, a walk to Miguel Cabrera, then Prince Fielder hit a single to drive in Berry, and Cabrera advanced to 3rd base on the hit. Delmon Young came up next and hit a single to score Cabrera and the Tigers cut the Angels lead to 5-4.

Porcello pitched 5 and 2/3 innings tonight giving up 5 runs on 8 hits, walking 3 and striking out 5 batters.

Octavio Dotel came in for relief and got the final out of the 6th inning. Dotel came back out and pitched a scoreless 7th inning. Dotel ended up getting the win tonight.

Quintin Berry led the 7th inning off with a single, then stole 2nd base. After Prince Fielder was intentionally walked, Quintin Berry stole 3rd base. Delmon Young came up and had a sacrifice fly to score Berry and made it a 5-5 game. The inning wasn't over though, Brennan Boesch hit a 2-run home run to give the Tigers a 7-5 lead; it's his 9th of the season.

Joaquin Benoit came in and gave up 1 run in the 8th inning.

The Tigers responded in the bottom of the 8th inning though after a walk to Alex Avila, who advanced to 2nd base on a ground ball from Ramon Santiago. After, Austin Jackson drew a walk, then Quintin Berry hit a single to score Avila and the Tigers took a 8-6 lead.

Jose Valverde came in and pitched a scoreless 9th inning to earn his 17th save of the season and got the Tigers the win.

Jacob Turner (0-0 1.80 ERA) starts for Detroit tommorrow against Garrett Richards (2-1 4.21 ERA) of the Angels.

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Sunday, July 15, 2012

Justin Verlander Throws 8 Shutout Innings in a Tigers 4-0 Win


The Detroit Tigers shutout the Baltimore Orioles today 4-0.

Austin Jackson led the game off with a solo home run on the 2nd pitch of the game to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead; it's his 10th of the season.

Jackson has now scored atleast 1 run in 12 straight games and according to Brian Britten, it's the longest stretch for a Tigers player since 1961.

After a leadoff double by Brennan Boesch in the 2nd inning, he advanced to 3rd base on a wild pitch and scored on a Jhonny Peralta single to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers came back in the 6th inning with a walk to Prince Fielder, then single by Brennan Boesch. Alex Avila came up and hit a single to score Fielder and it gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

Miguel Cabrera added another run in the 9th inning with a solo home run which made it a 4-0 game; it's his 20th of the season.

Justin Verlander pitched great today. He threw 8 shutout innings, giving up only 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8 batters; he earned his 10th win of the season.

Jose Valverde came in and pitched a scoreless 9th inning to get the Tigers a win.

The Tigers open up a 4 game home series with the Angels tommorrow as Rick Porcello (6-5 4.47 ERA) takes on Ervin Santana (4-9 5.75 ERA).

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Saturday, July 14, 2012

Tigers Blow 2 Save Chances in a 8-6 Extra Innings Loss

First off, I would like to tell Fox Sports to NEVER let Bill Ripken do play-by-play again. This is a national TV game, stop being a homer, and try to be professional.

Now onto the game.


The Detroit Tigers lost to the Baltimore Orioles today 8-6 in extra innings.

The Tigers scored in the first inning after a walk by Austin Jackson, then a double by Prince Fielder to drive Jackson in and it was an early 1-0 lead for Detroit.

However, Max Scherzer quickly gave up that lead and allowed 4 runs to score. He didn't pitch very well, and had no help at all from the home plate umpire. Scherzer pitched 5 innings giving up 4 runs on 9 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4 batters.

Duane Below came in and pitched a scoreless 6th and scoreless 7th innings.

Darin Downs came in and pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

After a single by Miguel Cabrera and Delmon Young reaching base on an error in the 9th inning, Jhonny Peralta hit a single to make it a 4-2 game. Brennan Boesch then came up and hit a double to score Young, and Peralta advanced to 3rd base and it became a 4-3 game. The Tigers had a chance with a runner on 3rd and 1 out, but couldn't get the run in and it was down to Quintin Berry with 2 outs. What did Berry do? He hit a single to score Peralta, but Brennan Boesch was thrown out at the plate by about 10 feet, so thanks for that, Lamont.

Luis Marte got the first out of the 9th inning (yes, Leyland used a long reliever to get only 1 out), then Phil Coke got the last 2 outs of the inning to send the game to extra innings.

Phil Coke came back out and pitched a scoreless 10th inning.

The Tigers came back in the 11th inning with singles by Prince Fielder and Delmon Young to lead off the inning. Danny Worth was up next and tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but Fielder was out at 3rd base. After Brennan Boesch hit into a fielder's choice, Alex Avila hit a single to score Young and the Tigers took a 5-4 lead.

Jose Valverde came in and blew the save with 2 outs in 11th inning on a bloop hit to Adam Jones, Valverde would complete the inning though.

Octavio Dotel came in to pitch the 12th inning, and was very wild, but was able to pitch a scoreless inning.

Danny Worth hit a double in the 13th inning, then advanced to 3rd base on a wild pitch. Don Kelly couldn't drive him in though with 1 out. After a walk to Alex Avila, Quintin Berry hit a single to drive in Worth and gave the Tigers a 6-5 lead.

Joaquin Benoit came in for the save, but was the 2nd Tigers pitcher to blow the lead in extra innings and then gave up a 2-run walk off home run to lose the game.

Justin Verlander (9-5 2.58 ERA) starts the series finale for the Tigers against Chris Tillman(1-0 0.00 ERA) of the Orioles.

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Drew Smyly Headed Back to the 15 Day DL


Brian Britten has reported that Drew Smyly is headed back to the 15 day DL, this time with a right intercostal strain. The move is retro active to July 7th.

Luis Marte has been called up from Toledo, but Britten reports Jacob Turner is the probable starter for Tuesday in place of Smyly.

Smyly is 4-3 this season with a 4.42 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 15 starts for the Tigers.

Jacob Turner made a spot start earlier this season for Detroit and pitched 5 innings and gave up 1 run.

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Friday, July 13, 2012

Jhonny Peralta's 3 Run Homer Helps the Tigers to a 7-2 Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles tonight 7-2.

Austin Jackson led off the the game with a single, then Miguel Cabrera & Prince Fielder each hit a single to load the bases and with 2 outs, Brennan Boesch hit a single to score Jackson and Cabrera and the Tigers took an early 2-0 lead.

After the Orioles scored a run in the 3rd inning, the Tigers responded in the 4th with a double by Alex Avila, then a double by Ryan Raburn to score Avila and made it a 3-1 Tigers lead.

Miguel Cabrera got the Tigers another run in the 5th inning with a solo home run; it's his 19th of the season. After singles by Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch, Jhonny Peralta came up and hit a 3-run home run to put the Tigers up 7-1; it's his 6th of the season.

Doug Fister pitched very well tonight, he looked as good as he did in 2011. He pitched 7 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits and had 8 strikeouts; Fister earned his 3rd win of the season.

Phil Coke came in and got the first 2 outs of the 8th inning, and then Joaquin Benoit got the final out of the inning.

Octavio Dotel came in to pitch the 9th inning and gave up a run and only got 1 out before Jose Valverde came in to get the final 2 outs and helped the Tigers win their 6th straight game.

Max Scherzer (8-5 4.72 ERA) starts the 2nd game of a 3 game series for the Tigers against Wei-Yin Chen (7-5 3.93 ERA) of the Orioles.

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Monday, July 9, 2012

Justin Verlander Named the AL All-Star Game Starter


Jon Morosi broke the news last night that Justin Verlander will be named the AL All-Star game starting pitcher today.

Verlander is 9-5 this season with a 2.58 ERA, and 0.95 WHIP. He also leads the league in strikeouts, and innings pitched. Verlander may of been named the AL All-Star starter last season, but a rule in the old CBA didn't allow him to pitch because he had pitched on the sunday before the All-Star game.

Chris Sale, Jered Weaver, and David Price were also considered to start for the AL.

It was also reported Matt Cain will start for the NL.

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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Nick Castellanos Named MLB Futures Game MVP


The Detroit Tigers had 3 prospects selected to participate in the 2012 MLB Futures Game. Those players were catcher Rob Brantly, relief pitcher Bruce Rondon, and top prospect, 3rd basemen Nick Castellanos.

Brantly and Castellanos were members for Team USA, and Rondon was a member of Team World.

Bruce Rondon pitched and got the last 2 outs of the inning; the first pitch he threw was at 102 MPH according to Keith Law.

Rob Brantly went 1-3 with a RBI double; he also threw out a base runner trying to steal 2nd base.

Nick Castellanos went 3-4 with a walk, 2 singles, and a 3-run home run; he also scored 3 runs.

Castellanos was named the Futures Game MVP.

Not that you can take much from the Futures Game, but one thing is for sure, the Tigers have a bright future with these 3 players.

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Max Scherzer Pitches 7 Strong Innings in a Tigers 7-1 Win


The Detroit Tigers completed a sweep of the Kansas City Royals today with a 7-1 Win.

The Tigers scored first today in the 2nd inning after a single by Brennan Boesch, then a 2-run home run from Jhonny Peralta; it's his 5th of the season and gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

After the Royals made it a 2-1 game, Delmon Young responded in the 4th inning with a solo home run, which was his 4th day in a row with a home run; it's his 10th of the season and gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

The Tigers came back in the 5th inning with a single by Austin Jackson, then a single from Quintin Berry which advanced Jackson to 3rd base, then Prince Fielder came up and hit a 3-run home run; it's his 15th of the season.

Max Scherzer pitched great today going 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits, walking 1 and striking out 7 batters; he earned his 8th win of the season.

Phil Coke came in and pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

The Tigers offense went back to work in the 8th inning with singles from Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch, then Jhonny Peralta hit a double that scored Young and the Tigers took a 7-1 lead.

Octavio Dotel came in and pitched a scoreless 9th inning to finish off the game for a Tigers win.

The Tigers don't play again till friday because of the All-Star break, but when they get back to playing, they'll open up a 3 game road series with the Baltimore Orioles as Doug Fister (2-6 4.75 ERA) takes on Jason Hammel (8-5 3.47 ERA).

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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Delmon Young's Late Home Run is Key in a Tigers 8-7 Victory


The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals today 8-7.

After allowing 2 runs in the first inning, the Tigers responded in the bottom of the inning with a single from Austin Jackson, then a 2-run home run from Prince Fielder; it's his 14th of the season.

The Tigers went on to build a 6-4 lead, then added on 2 more runs after a 2-run home run by Delmon Young; it's his 9th of the season and made it a 8-4 game, and the Tigers would need all 8 of those runs.

Doug Fister pitched 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits, walking 3 and striking out 2 batters; he won his 2nd game of the season.

It's Fister's 3rd straight rough outing.

Darin Downs, Brayan Villarreal, and Phil Coke each got 1 out in the 7th inning, then Joaquin Benoit pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Jose Valverde came in for a non-save situation in the 9th inning and made it very, very interesting. He almost blew the game, but after giving up 3 runs, he shut the door and the Tigers held on for a win.

Max Scherzer (7-5 4.98 ERA) starts for the Tigers tommorrow in their last game before the All-Star break as he pitches against Everett Teaford (1-1 4.70 ERA) of the Royals.

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Friday, July 6, 2012

Drew Smyly Strikes Out a Career High 10 Batters in a 4-2 Tigers Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals tonight 4-2.

The Tigers got going in the 3rd inning after singles by Ramon Santiago and Austin Jackson, then Quintin Berry hit a triple to drive in both runners and it gave the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.

Drew Smyly gave up 2 runs in the 5th to make it a 2-2 game after 5 innings.

Ryan Raburn and Delmon Young had a couple of awful defensive plays in the 6th inning, but lucky for them, it didn't cost the Tigers a run. Nice job to let them play at positions they're terrible at, Jim.

Smyly was done after 6 innings tonight. He gave up 2 runs on 6 hits, and had a career high 10 strikeouts; he earned his 4th win of the season.

Delmon Young did make up for it though in the bottom of the 6th inning when he hit a 2-run home run after Prince Fielder had reached base with a single; it's Young's 8th home run of the season.

Brayan Villarreal got the first 2 outs of the 7th inning, and Phil Coke got the final out of the inning.

Joaquin Benoit came in and pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Jose Valverde pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning and earned his 16th save of the season.

Doug Fister (1-6 4.61 ERA) starts for the Tigers tommorrow and takes on Bruce Chen (7-7 4.83 ERA) of the Royals.

Picture credit: zimbio.com
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Thursday, July 5, 2012

Prince Fielder's 3 Run Homer Leads the Tigers to a 7-3 Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins today 7-3

Rick Porcello left after he was hit on a line drive in the 4th inning, but his stat line doesn't show poor defense and several infield hits and bloop hits. While he gave up many hits, not many were hit hard. He went 3 and 2/3 innings, gave up 3 runs on 12 hits and walked 1 batter.

Darin Downs came in for relief and got the last out of the 4th inning.

After a lead off double in the 4th by Austin Jackson, he advanced to 3rd base on a fly ball by Ryan Raburn, then scored on a single from Miguel Cabrera and made it a 3-1 game.

Darin Downs came back out and pitched a scoreless 5th inning.

The Tigers offense got going again in the bottom of the 5th after an infield single by Jhonny Peralta, which advanced him to 2nd base after a fielding error, then Brennan Boesch hit a double to drive in Peralta and made it a 3-2 game.

Downs threw a scoreless 6th inning and then got the first 2 outs of the 7th inning. If you haven't heard of Downs' story, please read this link.

Octavio Dotel got the last out of the 7th inning and pitched a scoreless 8th inning; he ended up getting the win.

Austin Jackson hit a one out triple in the 8th inning with some great hustle, then Quintin Berry had a pinch-hit walk, and Miguel Cabrera hit a single to score Jackson, and the hit advanced Berry to 3rd base, then Prince Fielder broke a 3-3 tie with a 3-run home run; it's his 13th of the season.

Delmon Young was up next and hit a solo home run to give the Tigers back-to-back home runs; it's his 7th of the season and gave the Tigers a 7-3 lead.

Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless 9th inning and got the Tigers the win.

The Tigers open up a 3 game home series tommorrow against the Kansas City Royals as Drew Smyly (3-3 4.54 ERA) takes on Jonathan Sanchez (1-4 6.80 ERA).

Picture credit: nbcsports.msnbc.com
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Cabrera Hits 2 Home Runs, Verlander Throws a Complete Game in a Tigers 5-1 Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins tonight 5-1.

Austin Jackson led the game off with a single, and Ryan Raburn reached base on a fielder's choice, then Miguel Cabrera hit a double, but Raburn was stopped at 3rd base. Prince Fielder was up next and hit a 2 run single to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.

After Justin Verlander gave up a run early on, Miguel Cabrera responded in the 6th inning with a solo home run to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead; it's his 17th of the season.

Austin Jackson hit a single in the 7th inning (which probably should've been ruled an error), and advanced to 2nd base on a throwing error, then Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run home run; it's his 2nd of the night and 18th of the season.

Justin Verlander threw his 5th complete game of the season; the most complete games he's thrown in a single season. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits, walked 1 and struck out 7 batters; he earned his 9th win of the season.

Rick Porcello (6-5 4.35 ERA) starts in the series finale for the Tigers tommorrow as he pitches against Scott Diamond (7-3 2.63 ERA).

Picture credit: mlive.com
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Monday, July 2, 2012

Doug Fister Struggles in a Tigers 6-4 Loss

The Detroit Tigers lost to the Minnesota Twins tonight 6-4.

The Tigers scored first tonight after a single by Alex Avila who advanced to 2nd base on a hit-and-run play, then Austin Jackson was walked, and Quintin Berry hit a single to load the bases for Miguel Cabrera who hit a deep fly ball, but was only good for a sacrifice fly and put the Tigers up 1-0.

After cruising through the first 3 innings, Doug Fister struggled in the 4th and 5th innings and was done after 4+ innings giving up 6 runs on 8 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4 batters.

Luis Marte entered in relief and pitched a scoreless 5th inning.

The Tigers came back in the bottom of the 5th inning after a single by Austin Jackson, walk to Quintin Berry, then Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run double. Prince Fielder was up next and drew a walk, then with Delmon Young at the plate, Miguel Cabrera advanced to 3rd base on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Young, but trailed 6-4 after 5 innings.

Marte came back out to pitch the 6th inning, and got the first 2 outs, then Phil Coke came in to get the last out of the inning. Coke came back out for the 7th and had a scoreless inning, then got the first 2 outs of the 8th. Octavio Dotel came in and got the last out of the 8th inning. Dotel came back out for the 9th and threw a scoreless inning.

The Tigers had their chances late in the game, but couldn't come through with a win.

Max Scherzer (7-5 4.98 ERA) makes the start for Detroit tommorrow against Nick Blackburn (4-5 7.74 ERA) of the Twins.

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Sunday, July 1, 2012

Tigers Bullpen Throws 4 Shutout Innings in a 5-3 Win


The Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays today 5-3.

After the Tigers trailed 1-0 early, they responded in the 4th inning with a single by Prince Fielder, then Delmon Young reached base on a fielding error, then Alex Avila hit a single to load the bases with no outs for Ryan Raburn who hit a single to score Fielder and tied the game 1-1.

The Tigers came back in the 5th inning with a single by Quintin Berry and single by Miguel Cabrera that advanced Berry to 3rd base, then Prince Fielder was hit-by-the-pitch to load the bases with no outs for Delmon Young who hit a sacrifice fly to score Berry and Miguel Cabrera advanced to 3rd base. Alex Avila came up next and hit a sacrifice fly of his own to score Cabrera and the Tigers took a 3-1 lead.

Drew Smyly quickly gave up 2 runs to tie the game at 3-3, but the Tigers offense came right back as well in the 6th inning after a leadoff double by Don Kelly, then he advanced to 3rd base on a sacrifice bunt by Ramon Santiago, and Austin Jackson drove Kelly in with a single. After Jackson advanced to 2nd base on a wild pitch, Miguel Cabrera was intentionally walked, then Prince Fielder hit a single to drive in Jackson and the Tigers took a 5-3 lead.

Drew Smyly was done after 5 innings. He gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4 batters; he won his 3rd game of the season.

Brayan Villarreal struck out all 3 batters he faced in a scoreless 6th inning

Phil Coke came in and pitched a scoreless 7th inning, then Joaquin Benoit pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Jose Valverde came in and pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to earn his 15th save of the season and got the Tigers the win, and a series victory

The Tigers open up a 4 game home series tommorrow with the Minnesota Twins as Doug Fister (1-5 3.91 ERA) pitches against Liam Hendriks (0-5 6.82 ERA).

Picture credit: mlive.com
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Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, & Justin Verlander Named to the All-Star Team


Today the 2012 MLB All-Stars were announced, and the Detroit Tigers will be sending 3 players to the All-Star game in Kansas City this year. Those players will be Prince Fielder, Justin Verlander, and Miguel Cabrera.

Prince Fielder will be the starting first basemen for the AL. In 78 games Fielder is hitting .294 with 12 home runs, 52 RBI, 42 runs scored and has a .371 on-base percentage. This is the 4th all-star selection for Fielder and his first selection as a Tiger.

Justin Verlander has a great chance to be the starting pitcher for the AL. In 17 games started Verlander is 8-5 with a 2.69 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. Verlander leads the AL in innings pitched, strikeouts, and complete games. This is 5th all-star selection for Verlander.

Miguel Cabrera was selected as a reserve at 3rd base. In 78 games Cabrera is hitting .315 with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, 45 runs scored and has a .376 on-base percentage. This is Cabrera's 7th all-star selection and 3rd selection as a Tiger. It's also his first selection at 3rd base since 2007.


The All-Star game takes place July 10th at 8PM EST on Fox.

Picture credit: mlb.com
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