May, 15 2012: Brutal 9 game road trip finally comes to an end.

By: Rich Sinishtaj

After a road trip that included some late nights for many fans that sent us off to bed in agony, they return home and we want some answers as to why they went 3-6 against the likes of the M’s, A’s and White sox?

I will stay positive for as long as I can, and yes we do have some positive to take from this last trip.

I will start with Austin Jackson; he has been a Tigers bright spot all season and continues to deliver. It makes things easier when someone decides to throw a Granderson homerun in our face. Dirks as well is a pleasant surprise, to the nay sayers, Jim Leyland made the right move and put him in that 2 slot thus dropping Boesch in the order, that looks to have calmed Boesch down and has had some good looking at bats. Take note, Dirks has made consecutive starts vs. left handed pitching. More Positives? Overall starting rotation has been solid, how great is it to see Fister back?

But here comes the but… We have overall seen some horrible baseball unacceptable baseball for a World Series contender. We watched Cabrera go 0 for Seattle, it didn’t look so great watching Prince match Cabrears’ 0-22 from earlier in the season. Track records indicate they will hit and we are all confidant in that. Tail end of the trip they showed us they can hit. The struggles from our DH continues and is a bigger issue than Raburn. Delmon bats 5th he needs to accept his role on this club; he is the DH and nothing more. Adjusting to being an everyday DH has shown to give players struggles in the past maybe he should call V-mart for some advice.

Yes, I will continue with some even more concerning issues of this ball club, that’s the bullpen! The Tigers host the worst pen era in the American league at 5.06 going into Tuesdays’ game compare that to Texas (2.23) Baltimore (2.28) and the Yankees (2.61). You cannot win many games with those numbers.

Thoughts on Jim Leyland? I personally am not the one to look for the easy way out or a scapegoat. Can I explain why Raburn is used in LF late in games for defense? Absolutely not. I also am not seeing that costing us games. What’s costing us games for the most part is that pitiful pen, accompanied by the clubs BA with RISP… I saw an interesting post last night by a fan, the 1982 Brewers started off 23-24, fired their manager and went to the World Series. Keep in mind reading that last sentence, if you bring that argument to the table we are going back 30 years! For the most part if you fire your manager, you will not sniff the playoffs yet alone be in the World Series. Furthermore, after seeing the Tigers come back down 6-0 that shows me he has not lost his players therefore he has not lost me.

FIX OUR PEN!!!

Tonight Justin Verlander became the first Tiger to win 21 or more since Jack Morris in 1986. Austin Jackson went 3 for 5 and is now hitting .500 on the current homestand, he also extended his 13 game hitting streak vs. the Sox.

Justin Verlander is certainly making a case for A.L MVP, he is now 15-3 with an era of 1.69 after a Tigers loss. Tonight, JV flirted with a shutout, going 7.2 innings while only giving up a solo homer to Tyler Flowers (21-5, 2.34).  His 6 strikeouts was his 14th straight game with more then 6 K’s. Justin’s win also was his 11th against Chicago. All i can say is M.V.P.

Verlander’s counterpart, John Danks was flat out ugly tonight, getting lit up for 8 runs. Danks has not given up more then 6 runs all year long, tonight could have possibly been his worst start of his career. The southpaws final line ended up as; 4 2/3 innings, 8 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks and 4 K’s on 91 pitches. The loss was his 10th on the 2011 campaign (6-10, 4.01).

Detroit pounded out 11 hits, 5 from Jackson and Inge combined. Inge got his 8th multi-hit game of the season (LOL). While Jackson extended his modest 5 game hitting streak. Shortstop, Jhonny Peralta also had a big game, knocking in 3 runs (71) on a bases-loaded double in the 5th.

Chicago’s only run came on a solo shot from catcher, Tyler Flowers. The Flowers homer (3) leadoff the 8th inning, and came off of the best pitcher in baseball.

The Tiger bullpen held its own, Beniot came on to get the final 2 outs in 8th. Jaquin, in the month of August, had an era of 2.00. Daniel Schlereth sealed the victory with a scoreless 9th. Daniel has also been very good lately, carrying an era of 3.80 to his name in his last 10 games.

Tomorrow afternoon, both teams will go at it, on national TV. G. Floyd (12-10, 4.36) and  B. Penny (9-10, 5.07) will be on the hill for there respective teams. First pitch is slated for 4:10 on FOX. Go Tigers!

The Whitesox and Tigers have played 12 times this year and Detroit is currently winning the season series. Tonight the Tigers ace will be taking the hill, going for win no. 21 on the season. Grab a beer and make yourself comfortable Tiger fans, this will be must see TV!

Verlander, in search for his 21st victory, and will be making his 24th start against the White Sox. Career against the ChiSox, Verlander is 10-10. Struggles early on his career put a damper on his record vs. the Sox. Justin is coming off a mediocre start in which he allowed 4 runs in 6 innings. That’s good, but not Verlander good. More then likely, Verlander will be on a mission tonight, biggest game of his season against a rival. This game will be great!

John Danks has been good in his young career vs. Detroit, owning a record of 4-5 with a solid 3.95 era. His last two starts against Motown have resulted in two quality starts. Since starting 0-8 this season, Danks has gone 6-1 with an era hovering around 3. Tonight he will have to be on his A game if he has any shot.

Among the Tigers hitters, Jackson has had the most sucsess against Danks. Action Jackson is 4 for 8 with a homer off of the southpaw. Besides Avila and Jackson, every Tiger in the lineup has been shutdown by Danks in there careers. But look for the big guys to step up in the biggest game of the year.

Chicago Whitesox have had the most success against Verlander by far. Paul Konerko and Carlo Quentin have manhandled Justin. Paul and Carlos are hitting above .300 vs. Verlander, and both have two homers off of the ace. Dunn and Ramirez have also had a tint of success off of the righty. Chicago hitters will try to continue there recent dominance over JV tonight.

Starting lineup for the Tigers:

1. Jackson CF, .251

2. Ordonez RF, .238

3. Young LF, .267

4. Cabrera 1B, .327

5. Martinez DH, .322

6. Avila C, .299

7. Peralta SS, .306

8. Santiago 2B, .255

9. Inge 3B, .180

Justin Verlander (20-5, 2.38)

MUST SEE TV!!! First pitch scheduled for 7:05 at Comerica Park. Go Tigers!

Doug Fister took a perfect game into the 7th inning before allowing a double off the wall leftfield wall, but he wasn’t the hero tonight. Move over Cabrera, Ramon Santiago’s in town!!

Doug Fister’s bid for MLB’s 21st perfect game ended in the 7th inning, Alex Gordon tagged a hanging breaking ball for a double off the leftfield fence. The debate of wether Young could have caught that, could go on forever, but its done and over with. Can’t change it, still a great performance by Doug. His final line was; 7 2/3 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, and 6 K’s on 94 pitches. Fister was not awarded the win, but boy did he deserve it.

All eyes were on Fister tonight but Jeff Francis pitched a better game. Francis was in line for his 6th win on the season until Magglio Ordonez tied it up with a single off Holland. Francis’s amazing start resulted in a no-decision, here was his final line; 6 1/3 innings, 2 his, 0 runs and 2 K’s on 90 pitches. The southpaw lowered his era from 4.82, to 4.64.

There wasn’t much offense for Detroit tonight, but Magglio Ordonez was a major part of it. The veteran came through with a clutch hit in the 8th, a base hit up the middle scoring Ryan Raburn. The hit was Magglio’s 2nd game tying hit this year, and his 25th RBI. Infielder Ramon Santiago’s lone AB tonight was the biggest of the game. The AB resulted in a walk-off homer, the very first in career. We see you Ramon.

Kansas City’s offensive attack was lead by Alex Gordon. Gordon broke up Fister’s perfect game in 7th and scored the Royals only run. Billy Butler drove in Gordon with a sacfly in the 7th, the RBI was his 76th on the 2011 campaign.

Both teams bullpens factored into the decisions. Joaquin Benoit (4-3) threw two shutout innings while earning his 4th win as a Tiger. Aaron Crow (3-4) allowed the walk-off homer to Ramon Santiago and was tagged with the loss.

KC and Detroit will square off again tomorrow afternoon, Rick Porcello (12-8, 5.01) and Felipe Paulino (2-10, 4.30) are the scheduled starters. Go Tigers!

Max Scherzer gave the Tigers another poor start, he should seriously look into changing his name to Brad Penny.

Max Scherzer (13-8) was coming off two solid starts in a row, but today was a different story. Seven runs in 3 innings. That crap just isn’t gonna cut it, not when the Tigers need him more then ever. Max was taken deep by two rookie’s; Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar. Max is now 4-4 career against KC. If Max is really going to be considered as the Tigers #2 starter, he will obviously need to step up, and quick because Doug Fister is coming.

Luke Hochevar (9-10) was filthy tonight, despite giving up 5 runs. Boy did he have his breaking ball working tonight, he had everyone off balance, collecting 7 K’s. The 7 strikeouts tied his season high, the 3rd time Luke has done so. Hochevar’s final line was; 7 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits and 7 K’s on 108 pitches.

Detroit’s offense was good tonight but not good enough, 5 runs on 10 hits should be enough to win ball games. The big fella, Miguel Cabrera lead the offense tonight, picking up 3 hits and an RBI. Cabrera’s RBI was his 83rd on the season, which leads the Tigers. Outfielders Young and Jackson were both had good nights offensively; Young got an RBI hit and Jackson collected 2 base knocks. On the negitive side, Avila snapped his 12-game hitting streak with an 0-4 performance.

Kansas City’s offense was firing on all cylinders tonight, especially Alex Gordon who lead off the game with a homerun. The Royals pounded out 18 hits, including 10 off Tigers starter Max Scherzer. Every Kansas City Royal in the starting lineup was able to reach base at least once.

The Tigers rally in the late innings was shutdown by the Royals bullpen. Blake Wood held Detroit hitless through two innings, and picked his first career save.

KC and Detroit will go at it again tomorrow. The Tigers will send Doug Fister (6-13, 3.35) to the mound vs. Jeff Francis (5-14, 4.82). First pitch will be at 7:05 ET. Go Tigers!

Justin Verlander was at it again this sunny afternoon, Verlander was shaky but got it done regardless. Ladies and gentleman, first pitcher in baseball to reach 20 wins in 2011, Justin Verlander!

It was definitely not Verlander’s best start of 2011, but his teamaates were able to back him up. In the 5th inning, Verlander allowed back-to-back homer runs to Luke Hughes and Jason Repko, clipping the lead to 4-2. The following inning, Justin got two quick outs before the Twins were able to get a 2-run double off the bat of Hughes. That 2-run double tied the score at 4, putting Verlander’s 7 game win streak in jeopardy. Thankfully teammate Delmon Young was able to drive in the go ahead run, putting JV back in line for his 20th win on the season. Verlander finished with 6 strikeouts, he has now struckout 6 or more in 13 straight starts.

Minnesota’s starter Carl Pavano held his own and almost outpitched Verlander. Pavano gave up the go ahead run in 7th inning, and was handed the loss. Pavano ended up allowing 6 runs total, in 6 2/3 innings. This loss was Pavano’s 4th against Detroit in his career.

Detroit’s offense had another big game, piling up 10 hits. Cabrera and Avila both paved the way, both hitting solo shots in the 2nd inning. Slugger Delmon Young was able to drive in the go ahead run in the 7th on a clean base hit to right field. Young now has 9 RBI as a Tiger, 43 total in 2011.

All Minnesota’s scoring came from bottom third of there batting order. Luke Hughes, Jason Repko, and Drew Buetera combined for 5 of the teams 8 hits. The three of them drove in Minnesota’s 4 runs, two on homers.

Schlereth, Beniot, and Valverde shutout the Twins over the final 3 innings, securing Verlander’s 20th win. Beniot was awarded his 24th hold on the season, good for 3rd in the American League. Papa Grande remained perfect for his 39th save on the season, still first in the AL.

Injury update: Second baseman Carlos Guillen will start his rehab assignment in Toledo tomorrow. The Tigers hope Guillen will return before September 1st so he will be eligible for postseason play. Still no word on Brennan Boesch’s thumb injury, he may return to action on the next homestand. Raburn and Ordonez will continue to fill in for the injured outfielder.

Brad Penny (9-9, 4.87) and Brian Deunsing (8-13, 5.12) will be pitching for the respective squads tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is slated for 2:10 at Target Field once again. Go Tigers!

The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins square off for the 13th time this season. Detroit is currently winning the season series 9-3.

Game 1:

Game one will be Rick Porcello (11-8, 5.17) against Scott Diamond (0-1, 4.26).

Porcello is in desperate need of a good outing. He has had 3 straight horrible starts. Rick has not been pitching aggressively inside to batters since August 5th at KC, since then he has lost 2 of his 3 starts. The aggressiveness has payed off big time for Rick, but has suddenly disappeared in his last 3 starts, allowing a combined 17 earned runs. Career against the Twins, Rick Porcello is 5-4 with a nice era of 3.00.

Scott Diamond was not even scheduled to start this game until earlier today when Anthony Swarzak came on to relieve Liriano. Diamond has only 1 career start under his belt. That start came against the Indians on July 18th, he allowed 3 runs and was handed the loss. Diamond is a young lefty who only has 6 1/3 innings in his career, this game will be a tough task for the 26 year old rookie.

Detroit has the edge here.

Game 2:

Getting the call for the Tigers in game 2 is the one, the only Justin Verlander going for number 20 (19-5, 2.28). Opposing JV will be Carl Pavano (6-10, 4.54).

What can i say about Verlander? All I really can say is that he is great. Best pitcher in baseball. Leads the league in strikeouts, whip, wins, opponent batting average, innings, and games started. He has pitched his way into the MVP race in addition to the CY Young contention.

Carl Pavano on the other hand has been very disappointing thus far for the Twins. Pavano comes in with a ridiculous era of 4.54, not necessarily what the Twins were looking for out of there ace. Carl’s last start resulted in his 10th loss of the season. Pavano pitched 7 innings of 4 run ball, but his team could not provide him with the much needed run support. In his last start against Detroit, Pavano only let 3 runs cross the plate in 7 strong innings, he would end up getting a no decision.

Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez are both 4 for 6 off of Pavano in there careers. One of Peralta’s knocks have been a long ball.

Detroit has the edge here with Verlander on the hill.

Game 3:

The series finale will consist of Brad Penny (9-9, 4.82) and Brian Duensing (8-13, 5.12).

Brad Penny will be going for his 3rd straight quality start, and his 11th total on the season. In his 12th big league season, Big Brad is 2-1 with an era of 5.45 against Minnesota. In his latest start, Penny out pitched David Price, yes the brilliant David Price. Penny tossed 6 1/3 of 1 run ball against the Rays. He will look to extend his modest 2 game win streak.

Brian Deunsing has been somewhat of a mystery this season, sometimes he is excellent and sometimes he just flat out stinks. Brian has been stinking lately, in his last 5 starts, he has gone 0-5 with a miserable 9.61 era. If he stands any chance against the powerful right handed bats on the Tigers ballclub, he will need to step up in a big way.

Detroit has a slim edge here.

Wrap up

If I am correct, Detroit will sweep Minnesota. Twins pitching has been bad all year and that trend will likely continue against an awesome offense that portraits the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez.

The first two games will start at 7:05 and the series finale will be at 1:05. Lets Go Tigers!

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The Detroit Tigers capped off an amazing series with an even better finish to the series finale. “Jackson has it measured, catch is made, there gonna try and score him. Here’s the throw to the plate, HE IS OOOOUUUUTTT AT HOME PLATE!!!!!! AND THE TIGERS SWEEP THE SERIES!!”

Starter Rick Porcello was less then impressive, who failed to escape the 4th inning. Rick did not qualify for the win as Leyland saw enough of him after he had allowed 5 runs through 3 2/3. Once Porcello left, Below wasnt so good either. Duane gave up a run,along with 2 walks, in the 4th and 5th. I guess you could call it one of those days where the pitching just flat out sucks.

The Indians staff wasnt much better, in fact, it was worse. Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimenez was not able to hold down the explosive Tigers offense. Delmon Young and Victor Martinez both homered off the Indians ace in the 3rd inning. The 3rd inning marked a 7 run outburst, which promptly ended the Indians hopes of avoiding the sweep. Jimenez’s 10th loss was his second with the Indians.

Detroit’s offense showed up once again, this time for 8 runs, 7 in one inning. Former Twin, Delmon Young lead the way with 4 RBI. Young now has 6 RBI in 6 games as a Tiger. For the second straight day, the Tigers had double digit hits, with 11 this afternoon.

The Tigers bullpen was mediocre, on a day where Rick Porcello was out of whack. Duane Below, Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke and Joaquin Beniot were able to go 4 1/3 innings while allowing a combined 2 runs. Jose Valverde shut the door (with help from Jackson and Avila) in the 9th for his 37 save on the season.

The ballclub will play a red hot Tampa team Monday through Thursday. The teams begin a 4 game set Monday night at 7, in Tropicana field.

Scheduled starters for The Rays series:

Justin Verlander (18-5, 2.31) vs. Jeff Niemann (8-4, 3.29).

Brad Penny (8-9, 4.97) vs. David Price (11-10, 3.59)

Max Scherzer (13-7, 4.23) vs. Wade Davis (8-7, 4.43)

Doug Fister (5-13, 3.49) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (11-8, 3.04)

Lets go Tigers!

JJackson has it measured, catch is made, there gonna try and score him. Here\’s the throw to the plate, HE IS OOOOUUUUTTT AT HOME PLATE!!!!!! AND THE TIGERS SWEEP THE SERIES

Brandon Inge homering in a major league game? I thought for sure I would never hear that again. It reminded me of the movie “The Notebook”, but considering Inge’s career .234 average, this could very well turn into a Stephen King movie right away.

Tigers starter Doug Fister twirled a gem, that is now 4 straight quality starts by Tigers pitching. Doug delivered his 16th quality start of the season, pitching 7 strong innings. All the Indians were able to muster was a solo shot from Shin-Soo Choo. The right-hander also recorded 7 strikeouts, pretty rare because Fister usually pitches to contact. Fister’s best overall start as a Tiger up to this point.

I wish I could say the same for Indians pitcher David Huff, who couldn’t make it out of the 3rd. Huff allowed 5 runs and 4 walks on 66 pitches. David had no control whatsoever, 33 balls in 65 pitches thrown is not a good ratio. Huff is now 0-2 against Detroit in his career.

Tigers offense was explosive once again pounding out 10 runs on 13 hits, including a home run from the third basemen. Yes, Brandon Inge, led the offensive attack with 2 hits and 3 rbi. Inge’s first AB ended up in the bullpen, Brandon’s 2nd homer of the season. Alex Avila, Victor Martinez, Ramon Santiago also collected multiple hits.

Tigers bullpen was solid again as lefties Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth both pitched scoreless frames. As the regular season winds down, those two lefties will be more and more valuable to Jim Leyland in late game situations.

Detroit added there division lead with there victory, which now sits at 3.5 games over Cleveland, Chicago is only 5 back. The Tigers will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon at Comerica Park, without Justin Verlander starting.

Rick Porcello gets the call (11-8, 4.98) against the Indians ace Ubaldo Jimenez (7-9, 4.48). Don’t miss this one Tiger fans, bring your brooms!

Hands down most important win of the season for Detroit. Max pitched a gem and Tigers belted 3 homers. The Lions won too, perfect Friday night in Detroit.

Max Scherzer made his best Justin Verlander impersonation, going 7 strong while giving up just 1 run. The difference in Max giving up 5 and giving up 1, was his changeup. He executed it very well against the lefties, striking out 5 of them. Sure the pitch count was a little high (129), but he got the job done,  just what he envisioned warming up in the bullpen.

Indians starter Josh Tomlin was simply outpitched by his opponent. Kind of a hardluck loss if thats how you want to put it. Josh pitched an acceptable 7 1/3 giving 4 runs. All 4 runs came off homers from Jackson, Peralta, Avila.

Leading the way for the Tigers offense was leadoff man Austin Jackson, who took Tomlin deep in the 6th inning to give Detroit a 2-0 nothing lead. The long-ball did not stay away for long, Avila and Peralta homered back to back in the bottom of 7th to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead.

After Mad Max exited, the bullpen responded with shutout frames from Beniot and Valverde. Valverde adds to his league leading total in saves, but no dancing tonight from the Tigers closer.

HE’S BAAAAAACCCCKKKK!

In addition to the big win there was also a roster move, Brandon inge was called up and Andy Dirks was optioned. Inge is making his return to the majors and is going to be platooning a third, playing against lefties. Brandon may even get a few starts behind the plate, you never know with Jimmy Leyland.

Probably the biggest win of the season considering the circumstances. Glad to see a pitcher not named Verlander step up under the pressure. Detroit and Cleveland will square off again tomorrow night, so come on down to Comerica, grab a bud light, and enjoy the game.

Fister (4-12, 3.57)  and Huff (1-1, 0.51) are the scheduled starters. Go Tigers!