Now That's Making Quick Work of It

Photo: AP

I can honestly say that was one of Jeremy Bonderman’s best performances this season. And it was certain one of the quickest of his entire career. That game absolutely flew by. I do believe it was the second-shortest game the Tigers have played this year (Who could forget the shortest?). The only White Sox batter who really did any damage to him was Omar Vizquel (who is 168 years old, according to Ryan Field). Other than that, he made it look effortless, really. It was the type of performance one has come to expect from Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer, really. I’m still not all that enthusiastic about re-signing him, but if Bonderman can pitch like that for the rest of the season, I’d certainly appreciate it.

The offense didn’t have Miguel Cabrera, but luckily, they didn’t need him. The only Tiger with more than one hit was Ryan Raburn, but the others made their hits count. Brandon Inge hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to give the Tigers the lead, and Alex Avila hit a two-run double in the same inning to break it open. Casper Wells added an insurance run with an infield single in the following inning. It’s definitely not a lineup I’d like to have out there long-term, but it came through for one night, at least.

The series concludes today with Rick Porcello on the mound for the Tigers. He got nickel-and-dimed a bit by the Royals in his last start (as the cliché goes), but did a decent job. The White Sox have been his own personal nemesis until the last time he faced them, when he pitched very, very well but came away with a no-decision (The Tigers did win that game, though). The White Sox are starting Gavin Floyd, who has also pitched very, very well this year and usually pitches extremely well against the Tigers. Despite that, there are three Tigers with really good numbers against him. Ryan Raburn is 10-for-25 (.400) with two doubles, Jhonny Peralta is 8-for-21 (.381) with two doubles and two home runs, and Johnny Damon is 6-for-11 (.545) with a double and a home run. With numbers like that, it’s amazing that Gavin Floyd has shut down the Tigers like he has (granted, the last time they faced him, it was back in June, Peralta wasn’t a Tiger yet, and Ryan Raburn hadn’t started hitting). Miguel Cabrera is still out of the lineup (no further update as of yet), but if it’s any consolation, his numbers against Floyd are downright dismal (6-for-29, only good enough for a .207 average, though three of those hits were doubles). Yeah, I know it’s not much of a consolation, but I thought I’d throw that out there anyways.