Nice to Have a Stress-Free Night

Photo: AP

The Tigers were done scoring by the time I got out of work, but they sure scored plenty of times before that. Rick Porcello was also gone before I left work, so I can’t give you a ton of insight into his performance, but it seemed like he wasn’t totally sharp but was able to battle through it. The pitch count got up higher than you’d want it to in this sort of game, however. Things got a little bit sloppy with the bullpen, but no harm done. Bonderman walked two, but a lot of the pitches just missed and he hadn’t pitched in several days. Meanwhile, the Tigers teed off on Justin Masterson and Mike Gosling. The home run ball was in vogue. Cabrera hit his so far it almost should count for two. Guillen hit one from each side of the plate, and here I thought it would be a while before he got his timing back from the right side.

Tonight we listen to That F***ing Drum for the last time this year. And boy, do we want to sweep the Indians. Nothing’s a foregone conclusion, though. Carlos Carrasco has an ERA of 9.64, but they still think highly of him, plus the Indians at this point are desperate to win a game. Also, this is really the first year that Verlander has had prolonged success against the Tribe. Will the law of averages catch up to him? I sure hope not. Let me put it this way: This is a game the Tigers SHOULD win (“should” as in “It would look bad if they didn’t”). Verlander has beaten the Indians three times this year, once at Progressive Field (and that was without question one of the most memorable games of the year). The Tigers saw Carlos Carrasco back on September 1st and beat him then. That was his Major League debut. Carrasco really hasn’t pitched much better since then. He’s been especially prone to giving up home runs. It should be noted, however, that the Indians will likely put Lou Marson behind the plate, and he caught Carrasco in the minor leagues. By the way, “Lou Marson” sounds like the name of someone who should’ve been playing in the 1940s.