FOURTH INNING: BRAVES 2, TIGERS 1 Joba Chamberlain made his Tigers debut this spring and retired the Braves in order after giving up a leadoff single. He induced a pair of groundouts, and struck out Mark Hamilton with an impressive breaking ball. This guy could be huge (no pun intended) for the Tigers. Glad to see him getting some work in and being successful at it. He's going to be a big factor in the success of the Tigers bullpen, imo.
SIXTH INNING: TIGERS 3, BRAVES 2 Joe Nathan made his debut this spring and retired the side in order, highlighted by a pair of strikeouts. It's been an impressive day for Detroit's newly acquired relievers as Chamberlain, Ian Kroll and Nathan have combined for three shutout innings and four strikeouts.
Tigers win it 5-2, to go 2-0 on the Spring...Im not counting the college game. So far, good pitching, and speed on the base paths...coolness.
Nice to finally have some speed. Davis, Jackson,Hunter and Kinsler are all threats to steal. People underestimate how.much that plays with a pitchers mind and changes their pitches. Base stealer on normally means a steady dose of fastballs. And that benefits the hitter
The speed factor mixed in with a knowledge of what and when to do stuff is going to be great this season. The Tigers only have like 2 or 3 extra-base hits this Spring and are getting their run production from speed and smart base running. Its sure going to be fun watching the Tigers with a new weapon, speed on the base paths. I totally agree on how much it plays into the game and strategies and gets into a pitchers head when you have guys out there that can do some damage on the base paths. Its going to be very interesting and fun to see the Tigers come out with an offense that can get it done not only with the bat, but base running prowess also...its been a long time, since the Tigs gave the opposing pitcher something to worry about other than the hitters. Tigers and Yankees at 1:05 today, and its on 1270am.
1270 or usually theyll have it on 97.1 fm the Ticket too Will. I think they own 1270 now so you may be able to listen to it there and atleast get FM quality
Split Squad today...Here are the lineups for the Yankees game. 1:05pm (A. Warren - R) @ Tigers (M. Scherzer - R) 1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF 2. Eduardo Nunez (R) 3B 3. Carlos Beltran (S) RF 4. Brian McCann (L) C 5. Zoilo Almonte (S) LF 6. Russ Canzler (R) 1B 7. Brendan Ryan (R) SS 8. Dean Anna (L) 2B 9. Gary Sanchez (R) DH 1:05pm (M. Scherzer - R) vs. Yankees (A. Warren - R) 1. Rajai Davis (R) LF 2. Torii Hunter (R) RF 3. Miguel Cabrera (R) DH 4. Victor Martinez (S) 1B 5. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 6. Don Kelly (L) 3B 7. Bryan Holaday (R) C 8. Steve Lombardozzi (S) SS 9. Ezequiel Carrera (L) CF The rest of the Tigers are playing the Phillies today... 1:05pm (J. Alvarez - L) @ Phillies (K. Kendrick - R) 1. Hernan Perez (R) SS 2. Andy Dirks (L) LF 3. Jordan Lennerton (L) 1B 4. Austin Jackson (R) CF 5. Tyler Collins (L) RF 6. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 7. Trevor Crowe (S) DH 8. Luis Exposito (R) C 9. Devon Travis (R) 2B
glad I looked up Travis. 13th round pick at 2b. Hes actually pretty damn good. FSU guy, they always have a good team down there and he slipped in the draft due to being in a stacked lineup down there and scouts worried if his play would translate over in the bigs. He hasnt dissappointed, very solid number including batting over .330 at multiple levels last year. He hit over .350 at AA W Michigan which is typically where the best prospects make the jump to the majors. Hes small 5'9 but hes got 5 tool potential. he now on my radar
I think it was Jim Price who said he would probably be the future star for the Tigers at 2nd base, especially after the Kinsler stint is done. I didnt realize he was that small...guess it doesnt matter if he can hit like he does. Probably land up in Erie for a while, then I'll see him in Toledo. I dont know. Hell, people get injured, he might be up sooner rather than later.
Saturdays Lineup... 1:05pm (K. Lobstein - L) vs. Astros (S. Feldman - R) 1. Rajai Davis (R) LF 2. Steve Lombardozzi (S) SS 3. Miguel Cabrera (R) 1B 4. Victor Martinez (S) DH 5. Alex Avila (L) C 6. Austin Jackson (R) CF 7. Don Kelly (L) RF 8. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 9. Hernan Perez (R) 2B Glad to see Alex is back behind the plate. He's been having back spasms. Lombardozzi with more time at short...Iglesias has sore shins already, jeez. Hope he gets that figured out. He just got back from break and is sore already. Bummer.
Part of James Schmehl's article, mlive... GAME NOTES -- Austin Jackson broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a bases-loaded single that scored Miguel Cabrera, who reached base with a leadoff single. Jackson finished 2-for-3 and is batting .625 this spring. -- Don Kelly, who started in right field, highlighted the Tigers' five-run fourth inning with a one-hopper to the right-field wall that scored two and forced Brad Peacock's early exit. "I was just trying to get something up to drive to the outfield, and he started me off with a curveball," Kelly said. "It kinda surprised me that he threw a curveball with the first pitch." -- Nick Castellanos and Hernan Perez each recorded a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead. It marked Castellanos' team-leading fifth RBI in two games. -- Despite the impressive outing, it's possible Lobstein's start Saturday could to be his only start in major league camp this spring as Verlander, who is recovering from core muscle surgery this past winter, is likely to return to the Tigers' rotation later this week. -- Lobstein, along with right-hander Drew VerHagen, held the Astros without a hit for 4 1/3 innings until George Springer sent a grounder through the infield for a fifth-inning single. -- The Astros finally got on the board in the sixth when Carlos Correa, who hit a leadoff double, scored on Brett Wallace's groundout to short. -- Anibal Sanchez will get a chance to match Lobstein's workload when he starts Sunday against Atlanta, marking the third time in five days the Tigers have played the Braves. -- For the fifth straight game, the Tigers did not hit a home run. They recorded nine hits, but were limited to just one extra-base hit -- Kelly's two-run double in the fourth. The final score was Tigers 5-1.
1:05pm (A. Sanchez - R) @ Braves (A. Wood - L) 1. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 2. Ezequiel Carrera (L) CF 3. Victor Martinez (S) DH 4. Torii Hunter (R) RF 5. Andy Dirks (L) LF 6. Jordan Lennerton (L) 1B 7. Danny Worth (R) 3B 8. Bryan Holaday (R) C 9. Eugenio Suarez (R) SS
Justin Verlander suffered no setbacks Sunday and is scheduled to make his first start this spring Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies, manager Brad Ausmus said. Sounds to me he is going to be pretty much on schedule.
