Edwin Jackson pitched 6 innings of scoreless ball against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, but he still came away with a no decision as the Tigers lost 11-0. 10 of those runs came in the top of the 7th inning, when a combination of Tigers relief pitchers entered and then exited the game as the Yankees circled the bases. The kicker was a grand slam home run surrendered to Yankees backup catcher Jose Molina, subbing for Jorge Posada on the night because Posada runs like my disabled grandmother… after she’s been hit by a bus.
Placido Polanco had the highlight night for Tigers hitters, going 1 for 4 with a double. Yeah, that was really the best performance we had last night. Brandon Inge was 0 for 2 with a walk, which I guess means he did better than the average Tiger hitter. He’s carried the team thus far this season, I think the least we can do is name part of the stadium after him. Comerica Inge just has such a nice ring to it.
Justin Verlander finally got his first win of the season, outdueling Yankees ace CC Sabathia for a 4-2 Tigers victory. Verlander gave up 7 hits over 7 innings, but walked none and only gave up one extra base hit. He was really in command of the Yankees lineup all day, and even some of the hits he gave up were just little bloops over the infield.
Magglio Ordonez had the big hit for the Tigers, a 2-run homer in the 6th inning that proved to be the difference in the ballgame.
The one poor performance for the Tigers on the day was Fernando Rodney, who gave up 2 earned runs in a 9th inning relief appearance.
The Tigers now hold a 1 game lead over the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central.
It’s no fluke that Brandon Inge is suddenly a dangerous power hitter in the Tigers lineup. He finally got around to making the adjustments in his swing that hitting instructors have been telling him about for years. His hands are higher up and away from his back shoulder — a suggestion he received from hitting coach Lloyd McClendon at the end of last season.
Not only should we expect Inge’s power numbers to go up, but his batting average should get much higher as well. In the past few years, he’s flirted with the Mendoza line, a batting average no major league player wants anywhere near his name. His batting average on balls hit into play was atrocious last year, a sign that he’s not hitting the ball hard enough.
Tigers starter Armando Galarraga pitched 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball as his team leads the division rival White Sox by a score of 9-0 in the 8th inning. Miguel Cabrera has continued his hot start by hitting another home run today, his 4th of the season. He also has a stolen base in the game. Placido Polanco has also helped out with a double and 3 RBIs. White Sox starter Jose Contreras lasted just 5 1/3 innings and gave up the first 4 earned runs in the game and 5 runs overall.
Curtis Granderson’s solo homer in a 6-2 loss provided one of the only bright spots today for the Tigers as they fell to the Blue Jays for the third time in four days. The Tigers are hoping to contend for the AL Central crown this year, and the Blue Jays looked like a team that was coming into the season having already given up hope in the AL East, so it’s a little disturbing to see the Tigers playing like this. On the other hand, it is the first week of the season and the Tigers haven’t had a chance to play at home yet.
The Tigers come home to Detroit tomorrow to start a weekend series against the Texas Rangers. They’ll have Rick Porcello going against Ricky Romero in a battle to decide which nickname of “Richard” should be considered proper.
Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs and collected his first four RBIs of the season at the Sky Dome (what’s that, it’s called the Rogers Centre now? Hmmm, it seems I don’t care) as the Tigers got their first win of the season over the Blue Jays, 5 – 1. Zach Miner struggled at times but only gave up one earned run over 5 2/3 innings to get the win. The Tiger bullpen looked great in relief, giving up no hits over 3 1/3 innings.
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