When we last met, I was ranting and raving about how great the Tigers looked against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Tigers continued to make Detroit proud against the Chicago Cubs and then looked like a bunch of bushers in Houston.
In the Astros series, youngster Alfredo Figaro seemed to have lost his luck and Justin Verlander seemed to have lost the strike zone. If it wasn’t for a Brandon Inge two-run bomb in the ninth inning of game three, the mighty Motowners would have been swept by a team of retched rocketeers.
There was nothing about the Houston series that left Tigers fans optimistic. If you really dig though, you can still find a couple bright spots on our front-running felines.
Baby Bear Beatdown
The Chicago Cubs walked in to Detroit with a history of losing to the Tigers. Since interleague competition began in 1997, the Motor City has sped away with wins over Chicago 11 times in 14 games.
This year, both teams have struggled with the consistency of their offense but have found hope for the future in their young stars. In this series some of those youngsters decided to shine.
Game 1
The bats were still alive. Two, two-run homers (Inge, Raburn) and an RBI triple (Polanco) made up the scoring for the Tigers. Four of the six Detroit hits were for extra bases.
With a man on in the eighth inning Joel Zumaya had Micah Hoffpauir sweating bullets and wishing he was facing Jamie Moyer. Cubs staff had their own radar guns clocking pitches and relayed their findings to announcers Bob Brenley and Len Casper in the booth. In the Hoffpauir at-bat Zumaya reached 104 MPH on one pitch and at least 102 on two others. However, with two strikes Zumaya decided shake off the sign by Gerald Laird and throw and 85 MPH change-up.
Hoffpauir hadn’t been close to putting anything Zumaya had previously thrown into play. However, with a slow-poke oke-doke floating over the middle of the plate, the young lefty definitely wasn’t going to miss this chance. Then 29 year-old rookie’s sixth homer of the season gave the Chicago Unfortunates a one-run lead.
Ryan Raburn came up in a pinch hitting role in the bottom half of the ninth with Don Kelly on base and game one was walk-off history. Two-run homers in each of the last three innings turned game one into a memorable one (Brandon Inge in the seventh, Cubs’ Hoffpauir in eight, then Raburn’s walk-off winner).
Game 2
Two long-balls led the Motowners to victory yet again. Miguel Cabrera and Gerald Laird both hit solo shots to support rookie starter Rick Porcello.
Porcello went just over five innings allowing two earned runs. After coming out for the sixth, the twenty-year-old failed to retire a hitter before getting the ax. He walked four and fanned three in the no-decision.
After taking it with a two-run sixth inning the Tigers didn’t relinquish their lead. Cubs’ pitcher Rich Harden, known as being a strikeout wizard, was pulled with only three Ks and four walks- the same as Porcello. Harden had also allowed four earned runs and took the loss.
Game 3
It took two, two-run homers just to make up for the whole Armando Galarraga got the Tigers into in the first inning.
In the third inning Ramon Santiago, one half of the sleeper story of the year for the Tigers, went deep for his fifth home run of the season. This noodle to left brought Detroit back into a game that would likely have been out of hand a couple weeks ago.
Magglio Ordonez, whose benching was made public by manager Jimmy Leyland and the Tigers, returned in game two and had two hits in four at bats.
In game three however, Ordonez hit his third homer of the season in the fifth inning, his first in 149 at bats (April 27). Hopefully this will signify that the benching worked and Ordonez is ready to be productive again.
Ordonez’s drive to left put Detroit ahead for good. Fernando Rodney, still perfect in save situations, surrendered the second homer in three days by Micah Hoffpauir. The homer got the Cubs back within one in the ninth, but Rodney was able to get through the rest of the ninth without anymore issues.
Game 3 Side-note: Just in case you are trying to keep tabs on young players from other teams – Jake Fox is going to be good. The Cubs’ utility man is strong, patient and operates like a right-handed “Mini-Me” Travis Hafner (when he was healthy).
If he ever makes his way over to the AL, Fox is going to make a great DH. For now, he is with the Cubs and has no defined defensive position. He can play just about anywhere, including catcher, but isn’t the greatest option at any position – other than in the batting order.
In 49 at bats this season, Fox is batting .375 with seven of his 17 hits accounting for extra bases.
… anyway, he homered in this game as well… the first of many in the 26 year-old’s budding career.
“Houston, You Are A Problem”
While the Cubs have historically been thrown around like the carcass of lame zebra, the Astros have actually brought the fierce felines some frustration. In the 15 confrontations since the dawn of interleague play, Houston has won nine.
In game one, Justin Verlander didn’t make it out of the sixth inning. He struck out six and only allowed three earned runs, but he walked four Houston hitters. When all was said and done, Verlander had thrown 118 pitches in 5.1 innings.
Home runs by Miguel Cabrera and Placido Polanco early in the game got the Tigers off on the wrong foot, but Verlander eventually lost the four to nothing lead and the Detroit bats were virtually silent after the second.
In game two, a floppy solo noodle to right by Ramon Santiago was all the scoring the kitties could put together to support Alfredo Figaro. Figaro was making his second career start. After a seven strikeout, two earned-run, five inning victory in his ML debut, Figaro looked outmatched and outclassed in this start. Figaro was touched up for seven earned runs and ten hits in six innings. He walked only two and fanned five.
The Tigers offense was never in this game and Jimmy Leyland was well aware of this. This game quickly became car show for the Tigers front office. In this format, the Detroit suits could see what Figaro and 26 year-old reliever Freddy Dolsi were bringing to the party in 2009. With the trade deadline coming at the end of July, this game may prove rather important.
Dolsi went two innings allowing three hits and walk but no runs.
In game three the Tigers won. Edwin Jackson threw his twelfth quality start in 16 trops to the bump but left after the seventh down by a run. A two run homer by Brandon Inge in the top half of the ninth was thankfully enough for the Tiger victory.
Exit interleague play. Detroit Interleague record: 10-8
Wrap: The Bright Spots
The Tigers had at least one home run in 12 straight games going into Monday night in Oakland.
Miguel Cabrera’s health is possibly the biggest Bright spot. In the 12 game home run streak, Cabrera has hit five homers and could have had six if the Tigers had chosen to challenge a double hit in game three against the Cubs.
Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge hit four homers during the streak as well. Placido Polanco and Ramon Santiago hit three and two, respectively, during the streak. Santiago now has a career high of six on the season.
Detroit pitchers are still within the top five in the AL in wins (third), hits allowed (third), runs (third) and earned runs (fourth).
The Tigers have maintained in first place despite their offensive inconsistency.
