Photo: AP
Well, I’m still not fond of 4-game series, but this one turned out okay in the long run (though the Tigers could’ve easily taken three of four if they had any kind of decent offensive production in the first game). At any rate, Edwin Jackson was tremendous, only giving up two hits to a team that got 10 off Galarraga and nine off Verlander. And hey, the most impressive part is that he was able to keep Luke Scott under control. I thought Leyland would give him a chance at the complete game (since he let him throw 132 pitches a couple starts ago), but apparently not. Rodney had a few issues with the strike zone, but he managed to gut his way through it.
There definitely was not a lot of offense, but Jackson’s pitching made sure it held up. Then again, without Polanco and Cabrera, you’re probably not going to expect a lot of offense (though given the way both of them have not hit in this series, they probably needed the day off). Alas, Magglio’s hitting streak was broken, though he did draw a walk that turned out to be huge. Santiago’s bat has kinda cooled off as well. However, Jeff Larish looked better at the plate, getting two hits including an RBI double.
Today is an off-day (enjoy it, cuz there won’t be another one for two weeks), and tomorrow begins what could be a very difficult homestand. First up, the Boston Red Sox, which I’m not exactly looking forward to. While most people seriously dislike the Yankees, I seriously dislike the Red Sox (though I’d still root for them over the Indians, as I did in the 2007 ALCS). This could be a very impressive series or a very bad series. I’ll tell you one, thing, though: The Tiger hitters need to do a better job at scoring runs. That’s not a knock at the pitching staff. It’s just true. You’re not going to win many games when you’re only scoring three runs. At any rate, the first Tiger pitcher to get a crack at the BoSox is Rick Porcello. He’s been really good for the past month (In fact, his May earned run average was actually lower than Verlander’s; by the way, make sure you vote for JV as the Pepsi Clutch Performer for May). However, he didn’t fare so well against the Yankees when he saw them, and the Red Sox make you throw a lot of pitches, so pitch count could definitely be an issue. Meanwhile, the Tigers will be up against Dice-K, who throws a lot of pitches no matter which team he’s facing. The lack of offense in Baltimore was largely blamed on the fact that the Tigers were facing three rookies they’ve never seen before. They HAVE seen Dice-K. They haven’t done a whole lot with him (save for one game in ’07), but they’ve seen him. Dice-K issues a lot of walks, but not many hits. He threw four wild pitches in his last start as well. I work tomorrow night, but I get off at 8:00 instead of 9:00, so perhaps I’ll only miss the first two or three innings. I will probably not post tomorrow, so I’ll give you the Mood Music now. As I alluded to in the post after Porcello’s last start, I decided to present Offspring’s “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid.” Enjoy.
Well, I’m still not fond of 4-game series, but this one turned out okay in the long run (though the Tigers could’ve easily taken three of four if they had any kind of decent offensive production in the first game). At any rate, Edwin Jackson was tremendous, only giving up two hits to a team that got 10 off Galarraga and nine off Verlander. And hey, the most impressive part is that he was able to keep Luke Scott under control. I thought Leyland would give him a chance at the complete game (since he let him throw 132 pitches a couple starts ago), but apparently not. Rodney had a few issues with the strike zone, but he managed to gut his way through it.
There definitely was not a lot of offense, but Jackson’s pitching made sure it held up. Then again, without Polanco and Cabrera, you’re probably not going to expect a lot of offense (though given the way both of them have not hit in this series, they probably needed the day off). Alas, Magglio’s hitting streak was broken, though he did draw a walk that turned out to be huge. Santiago’s bat has kinda cooled off as well. However, Jeff Larish looked better at the plate, getting two hits including an RBI double.
Today is an off-day (enjoy it, cuz there won’t be another one for two weeks), and tomorrow begins what could be a very difficult homestand. First up, the Boston Red Sox, which I’m not exactly looking forward to. While most people seriously dislike the Yankees, I seriously dislike the Red Sox (though I’d still root for them over the Indians, as I did in the 2007 ALCS). This could be a very impressive series or a very bad series. I’ll tell you one, thing, though: The Tiger hitters need to do a better job at scoring runs. That’s not a knock at the pitching staff. It’s just true. You’re not going to win many games when you’re only scoring three runs. At any rate, the first Tiger pitcher to get a crack at the BoSox is Rick Porcello. He’s been really good for the past month (In fact, his May earned run average was actually lower than Verlander’s; by the way, make sure you vote for JV as the Pepsi Clutch Performer for May). However, he didn’t fare so well against the Yankees when he saw them, and the Red Sox make you throw a lot of pitches, so pitch count could definitely be an issue. Meanwhile, the Tigers will be up against Dice-K, who throws a lot of pitches no matter which team he’s facing. The lack of offense in Baltimore was largely blamed on the fact that the Tigers were facing three rookies they’ve never seen before. They HAVE seen Dice-K. They haven’t done a whole lot with him (save for one game in ’07), but they’ve seen him. Dice-K issues a lot of walks, but not many hits. He threw four wild pitches in his last start as well. I work tomorrow night, but I get off at 8:00 instead of 9:00, so perhaps I’ll only miss the first two or three innings. I will probably not post tomorrow, so I’ll give you the Mood Music now. As I alluded to in the post after Porcello’s last start, I decided to present Offspring’s “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid.” Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment