Two Too Many

This post is going to be a little short on detail because I didn't see any of this game (stupid class). Apparently Justin Verlander looked real good early and got a complete game (rare for anyone in April), but it wasn't enough as he blinked in the seventh inning. Actually, this reminds me of another complete-game loss the Tigers had last year (not Verlander's). Perhaps one of the ghosts is still hanging around. However, I think it's a bit premature to be looking up who currently holds the record for complete game losses since Verlander has a whopping two complete game losses in his career and pitchers a hundred years ago threw nine innings almost every game.

Meanwhile, the only one who ever figured out Alexi Ogando was Miguel Cabrera, who managed a single and a double off him. However, he made a baserunning error that killed one of the few scoring opportunities when Victor Martinez hit a pop-up to shortstop and Cabrera kept on running. I don't know if he thought it was going to drop or if he thought there were two out (I know I thought there were two out; Having Rhymes and Boesch bumped up one spot each in the lineup was confusing). And Ryan Raburn made us all learn that if you're batting in front of Miguel Cabrera and he represents the tying run in the ninth inning, you'd better hit a single or a home run. Not a double or triple, because then you leave first base open. I don't think that they would've intentionally walked Cabrera if first base wasn't open or the bases were empty (I wouldn't put it past Joe Maddon to do it, but not Ron Washington). But hey, if I were a manager, I'd rather face Victor Martinez, too. He's a good hitter, but he's not as good as Cabrera. 


For game 2, the Tigers start Brad Penny, who really has yet to show why he is a clear upgrade. He was better in Baltimore than he was in New York, and maybe the vastness of Comerica Park will help curb the long ball that keeps biting him (although the Rangers can bomb the ball anywhere). The Rangers will start former closer CJ Wilson. The Tigers saw Wilson several times as a reliever, but never as a starter (and the Tigers are the only AL team that Wilson hasn't made a start against). And Wilson is supposed to be the ace of their staff. Magglio Ordoñez is going to sit for a couple of days to get his ankle/Achilles' tendon straightened out because Leyland is tired of putting him and taking him out of the lineup repeatedly (He actually sounded a little annoyed with Magglio). So with that in mind, and with the lefty on the mound, my guess is that Victor Martinez will catch and Casper Wells will be in there somewhere. And maybe Santiago in place of Will Rhymes (although I don't think Leyland can take all the lefties out of the lineup, so odds are that either Rhymes or Boesch will be in there).