DeTrOiT TiGeRs BaSeBaLL

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gametracker/recap/MLB_20140823_DET@MIN_2

Verlander, Tigers split doubleheader with Twins

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Justin Verlander labored into the sixth inning, Nick Castellanos had two hits and two RBIs, and the Detroit Tigers salvaged a doubleheader split by beating the Minnesota Twins 8-6 Saturday night.

Torii Hunter and J.D. Martinez each had three of Detroit's 17 hits, and Joe Nathan notched his 27th save in 32 attempts. Verlander (11-11) improved to 5-0 in seven career starts at Target Field.

Still, with their 12-4 loss in the afternoon, the Tigers dropped a season-worst three games behind first-place Kansas City in the AL Central. They also fell a game behind Seattle for the second wild-card spot.

In the opener, Twins rookie Kennys Vargas drove in five runs and starter Yohan Pino (2-5) struck out six in five innings.

Nathan gave up an RBI double to Brian Dozier but recovered to get the last two outs against his former team.

Verlander has been uncharacteristically hittable this season, and a sore right shoulder kept the 2011 winner of the AL MVP and Cy Young Awards out of the last turn through the rotation.

After the Tigers gave up a total of 32 runs and 34 hits while throwing a whopping 398 pitches in losing the first two games of the series, they badly needed the old Verlander to come through in this one.

He wasn't sharp, and most of the contact made by the Twins against him was. But the lineup sprang to life against Minnesota rookie Trevor May (0-3), who didn't hold his 4-2 lead, and kept on hitting against the bullpen.

Joe Mauer, who drove in three runs in the first game, hit an RBI double in the third inning before a two-run double by Trevor Plouffe. Verlander escaped trouble in the fourth, though, and walked stone-faced off the field when Blaine Hardy replaced him.

Hardy got the last out of the sixth inning with runners at first and second.

May completed five innings for the first time in four career starts, but after a strikeout to start the sixth the right-hander's first major league victory quickly sailed out of reach. Eugenio Suarez's broken-bat, two-run single pushed the Tigers in front 5-4, and Jared Burton was summoned from the bullpen.

Castellanos hit a two-out, two-strike, two-run single in the seventh off Burton to add to the lead.

Vargas finished the day with six RBIs and has driven in 23 runs in his first 22 major league games, all this month.

The Twins scored seven runs in the opener off Tigers starter Buck Farmer (0-1), who managed only four outs. He gave up six runs in the second, while the Twins batted around for the third time in a span of nine innings.

The Tigers scored three unearned runs off Pino in the fifth after a bad throw by Dozier at second base allowed Castellanos to reach second. Ian Kinsler, Ezequiel Carrera and Miguel Cabrera all singled to pull the Tigers to 9-4, but the rest of their production didn't come until the evening.
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Verlander struggles but gets the win to even his record at 11-11. The Tigers remain 3 back of the Royals.

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

Detroit Tigers2014 Facts (as of 8/24/14 early morning):

The Tigers have 34 games remaining.
The Royals have 34 games remaining.

The Tigers and Royals square off 6 more times.
KC @ Det 9/8, 9/9, 9/10
Det @ KC 9/19, 9/20. 9/21

The number of Tigers home games remaining is 19.

The number of Royals home games remaining is 20.

Royals lead reamins at 3.0 games and 3 games in the loss column.

Team W L Pct GB
Kansas City 72 56 .563 -
Detroit 69 59 .539 3.0

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

http://mudncleats.com/forumlist/viewtopic.php?pid=213894

Lack of pitching depth getting exposed during Tigers' recent slide

Robbie Ray and others are not helping the Tigers as fill-in starters.

The weekend did not get off to a good start for the Tigers. They opened their series with the Twins with an ugly 20-6 loss on Friday night (box score), which is no fun. But this is baseball and blowouts happen every once in a while. Take the beating and move on.

Unfortunately for Detroit, they moved right on to another blowout. They lost the first game of Saturday's doubleheader to the Twins by the score of 12-4 (box score), so the Tigers allowed 32 runs to a Minnesota club with a 99 OPS+ in the spand of 20 hours or so. It wasn't pretty.

What stands out from these two games are the starters for the Tigers. They're in the middle of two heated races for postseason spots -- both the AL Central and second wild-card spot are up for grabs -- and these are the pitchers they ran out there:

Friday: LHP Robbie Ray -- six runs in 1 1/3 innings
Saturday: RHP Buck Farmer -- seven runs in 1 1/3 innings

There have been nine instances of a starter allowing at least six runs in no more than 1 1/3 innings this season, and only the Tigers have two of them. The club has now allowed at least six runs seven times in their last 14 games, pitching to a 5.11 ERA and going 6-8 during that time. That includes their 8-6 win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader (box score).

Detroit had to turn to Ray and Farmer because Anibal Sanchez (pectoral) and Justin Verlander (shoulder) are both hurt. Verlander returned to the mound in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader -- he took a 4.76 ERA with him, the 88th highest among 96 qualified starters -- and allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

The Tigers have had a powerhouse rotation over the years, with Sanchez and Max Scherzer joining Verlander while others like David Price and Doug Fister came and went. Rick Porcello was a nice complementary piece who has taken a big step forward this season. Every day they were running a quality starter out there.

That is no longer the case. Scherzer and Price are outstanding and Porcello has indeed broken out. Verlander is no longer the Justin Verlander of old, however, and Sanchez is currently on the disabled list for the second time this year. (He missed time with a finger injury back in May.) Fister is now with the Nationals following a questionable offseason trade that only looks more confusing at this point.

The duo of Scherzer and Porcello -- Detroit's rotation mainstays this year -- have combined for a 3.08 ERA in 341 1/3 innings this year. The rest of the rotation has a 4.42 ERA in 448 innings. That includes Sanchez (3.46 ERA in 145 innings) and Price (2.35 ERA in 30 2/3 innings). Ray (7.09 ERA) has made six starts while Farmer (15.54 ERA) has made two and Drew VerHagen (5.40 ERA) has made one.

The subtraction of the ultra-reliable Fister and the sudden demise of Verlander has left the Tigers with two big holes in their rotation, one they filled by acquiring Price. That trade was not a luxury, it was a necessity. Sanchez's pectoral injury created another rotation hole, one GM Dave Dombrowski has been unable to adequately fill internally.

If they make it to the postseason, the Tigers are set up better than any AL team thanks to Scherzer, Price, Porcello and a healthy Sanchez. If not Sanchez, then Verlander in the fourth spot. That's a formidable rotation for a short postseason series. Power arms who miss bats. It's a great recipe for success against fatigue-slowed bats in October.

Getting to the postseason is another matter. Sanchez is hurt and Verlander has not pitched well basically all season. Ray and others have not helped either. The Tigers are three games back in the AL Central and one game back of the second wild-card spot, and right now there are too many cracks in the pitching dam for them to keep pace during the day in, day out grind of regular season baseball.
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To those of use who have followed the Tigers from the beginning of the season, this is not a surprise. Tigers starting pitchers need to go deep into each game to help minimize an inferior bull pen.

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_08_23_detmlb_minmlb_2&mode=recap_away&c_id=det

Verlander battles to help Tigers gain DH split
Righty allows four runs over 5 2/3 innings; Detroit three back in Central

MINNEAPOLIS -- Justin Verlander is back.

OK, he's not back, but he has returned. Even in rusty form, he makes a difference.

"He's been around. He has that experience. No matter if he had that velo or not," Torii Hunter said after Saturday's 8-6 Tigers win salvaged a doubleheader split with the Twins.

In a game that was as close to must-win as the Tigers have had in August in a while, Verlander didn't have to dominate in his first start back from shoulder inflammation. He didn't even have to get through the sixth, as much as he wanted to.

After back-to-back fill-in starters exited after four outs, Verlander just needed to pitch. It wasn't classic Verlander, but with 5 2/3 innings, it was enough for the Tigers to get to rookie Twins starter Trevor May, add on against Minnesota's bullpen, and then hold on in the ninth.

On a long day when the Tigers ran out of ideal scenarios, it was fitting. They lost a half-game to the Royals, now three games up in the American League Central, and the Mariners, now a game ahead for the final AL Wild Card spot. Losing a game and a half in both cases, however, would have changed the shape of the race -- especially to the Royals, who would have been four up.

"We needed this one," Verlander said. "We definitely needed to win this one, especially the way we lost our last couple, pretty demoralizing losses. And me coming into this game, I knew that [the Twins] were going to be locked in."

After 32 runs allowed over the previous two games -- the fourth-highest two-game total off Tigers pitching in franchise history -- the Twins were rolling. Even with the win, the 38 runs allowed this series are the most they've allowed over any three-game stretch since the 1996 team that finished with a 6.38 ERA.

Verlander gave up four of the six runs Saturday night. Even by his standards, that was good enough.

"I made some pitches when I had to against a lineup that's really swinging the bat well," he said. "Hopefully today cooled them down a little bit."

For his teammates, it was a godsend. For a team that Hunter felt needed energy, having Verlander on the mound was a boost before he threw a pitch.

"The first two games, we had some young guys on the mound," Hunter said. "Of course, they're going to get better and they're going to learn from some of the mistakes they probably made. But I promise you, having Verlander on the mound, a guy that's been around, that knows how to pitch, I think that he contained the situation and gave us a chance to win."

Part of the situation arose from a Twins lineup that hit pitches that Verlander executed. Part arose from his own command, which showed in his struggles to hit his spots with his secondary pitches.

"I could tell there was some rust," Verlander said. "I think I probably threw one or two pitches where I wanted my whole bullpen [session pregame]. But you turn the page, go into the game and you just gotta flip the switch and go out there and execute."

Verlander also tired, an inconceivable notion for him under healthy circumstances, even during his early-season struggles. His fastball hit 94 mph in the first inning, topped out at 95, then fell as low as 87-88 in the middle innings before rebounding again.

"His arm action looked much freer than it did, much easier than it did in Pittsburgh [10 days earlier]," manager Brad Ausmus said. "I think his fastball had more life."

Even so, Verlander was in damage control after Trevor Plouffe's two-run double fueled a three-run third inning for a 4-2 Twins lead. Verlander gave up six hits in the second and third innings combined, then changed speeds and elevation more often. He retired seven in an eight-batter stretch while stranding Danny Santana after a fourth-inning triple.

The Tigers' offense responded. May entered Saturday with nine earned runs on 10 hits and 13 walks over nine innings on the season, but defied the small sample size for a while. Once the Twins decided to give May the sixth inning, however, the Tigers pounced with three straight one-out hits from the bottom half of the order, capped by Eugenio Suarez's go-ahead two-run double.

Nick Castellano's two-out, two-run single in the seventh added on.

"It was a no-brainer. We had to go out there and come with a little more fight," Hunter said. "We lost the last two, and we lost big."
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Verlander has been "off" all season. However, there is no "realistic" alternative (other than Anibal Sanchez) for Tigers starting pitching.

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

Before one of the 2 games yesterday, Sanchez and Soria were both throwing off the mound. Sanchez said he felt good. Sure would be nice if just the pitchers the Tigers have would get healthy.

Ray and Farmer scared me right from the beginning. They both need more time in Toledo. You dont come up from AA ball or Erie and think your going to slide through a major league line up. I think it was a shot in the dark out of desperation that back-fired. Throw Lobstein in the group too. The make shift rotation plus a limp bullpen = trouble in a big way as was demonstrated this weekend.

Pitching and defense have both left a ton to be desired.

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

Sunday 8/24 2:10pm
Max Scherzer (R)
@ Twins - Kyle Gibson (R)
1. Rajai Davis (R) CF
2. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B
3. Torii Hunter (R) RF
4. Victor Martinez (S) DH
5. J.D. Martinez (R) LF
6. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B
7. Alex Avila (L) C
8. Eugenio Suarez (R) SS
9. Don Kelly (L) 1B

1. Danny Santana (S) CF
2. Brian Dozier (R) 2B
3. Joe Mauer (L) 1B
4. Kennys Vargas (S) DH
5. Oswaldo Arcia (L) RF
6. Trevor Plouffe (R) 3B
7. Kurt Suzuki (R) C
8. Eduardo Escobar (S) SS
9. Jordan Schafer (L) LF

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

RBI base hit for Kinsler, 1-0 Tigers.

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

Go outside to drag a hose around and water my trees and flowers, because I'm grounds keeper Willie, thanks to Mother Nature and the Tigers are tied at 3. Gotsta win this game!

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

...and by the way. Texas up on the Royals in the 2nd, 1-0.

FortheLulz · Aug 24, 2014

donnie baseball, pickin and grinnin.

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

wOOt! 4-3 on a 2 and a half mile long single!

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

Still need about 10 more runs to start feeling comfortable with the bullpen coming in next.

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

3-1 Texas over KC in the 5th.

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

Still 3-1 Texas, bottom of 7th now.

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

A golden opportunity as the Royals lose KC 1 - Tex 3

The Tigers are up 13 - 4 over the Twins. As long as the Twins don't come back, the Tigers will come to within 2 of the Royals.

P.S. I'm not sure why Max Scherzer gets the runs but I am sure glad he gets them.

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

Detroit Tigers2014 Facts (as of 8/24/14 late afternoon):

The Tigers have 33 games remaining.
The Royals have 33 games remaining.

The Tigers and Royals square off 6 more times.
KC @ Det 9/8, 9/9, 9/10
Det @ KC 9/19, 9/20. 9/21

The number of Tigers home games remaining is 19.

The number of Royals home games remaining is 20.

Royals lead is cut to 2.0 games and 2 games in the loss column.

Team W L Pct GB
Kansas City 72 57 .558 -
Detroit 70 59 .543 2.0

Willie · Aug 24, 2014

I didnt think todays game was ever going to end for just a 9 inning game. I dozed off twice did 2 loads of laundry, worked outside for a bit and the game out-lasted me.

Glad to see them win tho. Nice to see coke and the crew didnt blow a big lead.

Tigers win, Royals lose...going to need some more days like that.

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_08_24_detmlb_minmlb_1&mode=recap_away&c_id=det

Offense erupts as Scherzer collects 15th win
Ace labors through five innings; Tigers pound out 18 hits

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Tigers did not arrive in the Twin Cities seeking a four-game split. They departed feeling thankful for it.

"At this point, yeah," Justin Verlander said before Sunday's 13-4 win over the Twins.

That's what 32 runs in the first two games will do.

"We were able to lick our wounds and win two and get a split," said Max Scherzer, who endured for five innings Sunday to become the American League's first 15-game winner.

The Tigers felt thankful to give up 42 runs in a four-game series and somehow win twice. They hadn't given up that many runs in any four-game stretch since 1996, and they hadn't split a four-game stretch allowing 40 or more runs since 1994.

They felt relieved to win two out of four and come out just a half-game worse in the American League Central standings than they were coming in, now two games back thanks to a Royals loss in Texas on Sunday.

But as much as anything, the Tigers felt tired after four games in 48 hours. They knew as this stretch began that they would pay a price for the rainouts and off-days they had early in the season. As they cleaned up in the visiting clubhouse at Target Field, the adrenaline of the game giving way, they felt it.

"I spent more time standing in right field than I spent sitting in my hotel room," Torii Hunter said. "I added it up. My back, my legs, that's a grind."

And as they looked forward to a much-needed day off, they looked ahead to a similar week coming up, with another four-game, three-day stretch next weekend against the White Sox in Chicago.

"Yup," said Rajai Davis. "That should be fun, too."

Yet on their fourth game in that 48-hour stretch Sunday, and their seventh game in six days, they arguably came out with more energy than they had all series. For many of them, getting the series split was critical, not just for the standings but for their own well-being. They've struggled in enough series finales recently -- four losses to end their last five sets -- and they didn't want to leave Minnesota losing three out of four to a Twins team that was beatable.

They couldn't do anything about the first two games. All they could do was nullify the damage Sunday.

"I think we were really fighting on at least tying this series," Davis said. "We were able to have a lot of good at-bats and hit the ball hard a lot. We hit some holes, caught some breaks really, and we took advantage."

They fed off the energy of their starting pitchers. Neither Verlander nor Scherzer picked up and carried the team. In fact, both had their troubles as they labored against a Twins offense that had some confidence built up. Neither, however, wilted in the second inning like the rookies that preceded them in the series.

"That's big," Hunter said. "It shows a little fight in us to bounce back and don't give up. We're trying to fight for something, and that team is out there swinging. We had two guys who were able to contain them and keep us in the game, and we were able to score some runs."

Scherzer (15-5) didn't dominate, but he made big pitches at big times. He retired Minnesota's first six batters in order, gave up four hits in a game-tying three-run, 42-pitch third inning, then stranded two runners in each of the next two frames.

His five innings marked his shortest outing since giving up 10 runs to the Royals on June 17, and he needed 112 pitches to get that far Sunday. He knew his fifth inning would be his last after Kennys Vargas' single put runners at the corners with one out and a 5-3 lead. From there, he made pitches that he usually reserves for the eighth.

He cranked up his fastball from 91 to 95 mph to strike out Oswaldo Arcia, then watched Trevor Plouffe hit a drive that sent Davis to the bullpen fence in left-center.

Instead of running into the fence like so many outfielders this series, Davis beat the ball there.

"I actually played deeper on him and kind of anticipated him driving the ball, especially in that situation," he said.

The Twins had one more opportunity in the sixth, but Phil Coke struck out Joe Mauer with the bases loaded and a 7-3 lead. Detroit added eight more runs over the next three innings to pull away.

The Tigers' 60 hits for the series marked their highest total in a four-game set since a 1956 matchup with the White Sox. Detroit was still outscored for the series, 42-31. They still split, and that was enough.

"We had a nice recovery," manager Brad Ausmus said. "The good thing, the four games here, the bats really picked up the pace."
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None of the 4 Tigers starting pitchers were dominant. And two of those pitchers only last 1-1/3 innings. The Tigers were lucky to get a split with the Twins.

mlmeng16 · Aug 24, 2014

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp...tebook_id=91298802&vkey=notebook_det&c_id=det

V-Mart matches career high with 25th homer

MINNEAPOLIS -- Victor Martinez doesn't focus his efforts on hitting the ball over the fence. In fact, his go-ahead RBI single, not his two-run insurance home run, might not have been his hardest hit of a four-RBI afternoon Sunday against the Twins.

An inning before Martinez launched a drive to left off Twins left-hander Brian Duensing, Martinez drilled a line drive to the same general area. The ball was low enough that it hit off the left-field wall, but hit hard enough that center fielder Danny Santana quickly got to the bounce after Jordan Schafer crashed into the wall and missed it.

Torii Hunter, who was on first base when the ball was hit, held up around second. Santana's throw came in quickly enough to shortstop that Hunter stopped, leaving Martinez scrambling around first base to retreat.

It was Martinez's second RBI single of the game. He has plenty of those. His home run, however, was his 25th, matching his career high from his 2007 season in Cleveland.

He has five weeks to add to the total.

"That means nothing," Martinez said. "I just keep trying to put in good at-bats and just put a good swing. I always say if you put a good swing, anything can happen. I was just happy to help the team and the ball didn't get caught."

The ratios show just how much of a different pace Martinez has had on home runs to reach this point. He averaged a home run every 22.5 at-bats in 2007, but entered Sunday averaging 18.3 at-bats per home run this season. Just under 10 percent of his fly balls were home runs in 2007; better than 11 percent of his fly balls have cleared the fence in 2014.

Martinez went 3-for-6 with four RBIs, one shy of his season high in RBIs set Wednesday at Tampa Bay. He's 10-for-23 over his last seven games with two home runs and 10 RBIs.
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I'm glad to see that Victor Martinez not only came back from his ACL injury in 2012, but he came back strong.

Willie · Aug 25, 2014

I'm going to do something disgusting tonight.

I'm rooting for the Yankees.

Yank's and Royals have a 1 game make-up game tonight. I swear that's the only reason!

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