Poor Pitching by the Bullpen Leads to a 8-6 Tigers Loss

After a 150 minute rain delay, the Detroit Tigers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 8-6.

The Tigers scored first today in the bottom of the 1st inning after singles from Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera to put runners on 1st and 3rd for Prince Fielder who hit into a fielders choice, but Jackson scored on the play to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers added to their lead in the 2nd inning after a fielding error allowed Matt Tuiasosopo to reach base, Jhonny Peralta then hit a single, Alex Avila (with some bad luck) hit into a double play, then Omar Infante hit a single to drive in Tuiasosopo and the Tigers had a 2-0 lead.

After the Blue Jays scored a run to make it 2-1, the Tigers came back in the 5th inning with a single by Omar Infante, who reached 2nd base on a ground out, then Torii Hunter hit a single to score Infante. Miguel Cabrera then hit a double, and Prince Fielder was intentionally walked to load the bases with 1 out for Victor Martinez who drew a walk to score Hunter. Andy Dirks came up next as a pinch-hitter and drew a walk to score Cabrera, then Jhonny Peralta hit a bloop single to drive in Fielder and the Tigers had a 6-1 lead.

Rick Porcello struggled in the 6th inning, but was very good before the inning. He pitched 5 innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits, not walking a batter and striking out 1.

Darin Downs came in for relief and allowed 2 inherited runners to score, but got the Tigers out of the 6th inning with a 6-4 lead. Downs came back out and got the first out of the 7th inning, then Brayan Villarreal came in, walked the first 3 batters he faced to let a run score. Jim Leyland then finally realized he should probably pull Villarreal, so Octavio Dotel came in next and promptly gave up a bases clearing double before getting the final 2 outs and the Tigers now trailed the Blue Jays 8-6.

Dotel came back out and pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Phil Coke then came out and pitched a scoreless 9th inning.

The Tigers couldn't put a rally together, they hit the ball hard the last few innings, and if the weather was warmer, the game may have ended differently, but the Tigers lost.

The Tigers finish their series with the Blue Jays tomorrow as Doug Fister (1-0 5.40 ERA) takes on Josh Johnson (0-0 4.50 ERA).

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