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The Tigers are heading back to the World Series for the first time since 2006 and will look to deliver their first championship since 1984.
The Tigers did it in every facet of the game today. They pitched and they hit.
Max Scherzer struck out ten and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning.
Phil Coke came in and shut down the Yankees in the eighth and ninth innings, once again staking his claim to the closer role.
The Tigers bats chased C.C. Sabathia from the game in the fourth inning with big home runs from Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta.
While the Yankees will surely have a few excuses up their sleeves, no one can doubt how well the Tigers played in this series. They absolutely dominated the Yankees in this sweep.
Thanks for following along and I hope you all enjoyed the new format of our blog today. You can follow the Tigers on our website all the way through the World Series.
Phil Coke came in and did what he’s done three times this series. He shut down the Yankees.
Coke delivered the Yankees in order and the Tigers are just one well-pitched inning away from the World Series.
Jose Valverde pitching the ninth looks like a real possibility with the team having a huge lead and Jim Leyland looking to instill some confidence in his much maligned closer.
Ocatavio Dotel walked the leadoff hitter to start the seventh inning, but he struck out the next two batters and got Eduardo Nunez to fly out to Austin Jackson to end the inning.
Interesting to note, Joaquin Benoit and Phil Coke were warming up in the bullpen, so one of these guys will more than likely pitch the eighth. Could we see a situation where Jose Valverde comes in and pitches the ninth to send the Tigers to the World Series?
Avisail Garcia had Andy Dirks on first base and hit a high shot to right-center field that looked like it might carry out of the ballpark. Unfortunately, the ball bounced on the warning track and into the stands, forcing Dirks back to third on a ground-rule double.
Gerald Laird couldn’t bring Dirks and Garcia home with a hit, as he grounded out to Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlin.
The focus now shifts to Jim Leyland and how we will handle the Tigers bullpen for these last three innings. Don’t be surprised if Jose Valverde makes an appearance.
The Tigers are leading 6-1, but after giving up a run and putting runners on the corners, Jim Leyland came out to get Max Scherzer.
Scherzer hadn’t given up a hit entering the inning. He walked two and gave up just two hits and one run.
With a nice lead, the Tigers will have to turn to their much maligned bullpen to put this one way.
The Tigers stranded singles by Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera in the fifth inning.
The big story here is Max Scherzer and how much longer he can go in this one. Scherzer battled injury in the last few weeks of the regular season and may not make it past the sixth.
A no-hitter in the pennant clinching game would be huge, but Scherzer’s health for the World Series is the bigger picture here.
Max Scherzer has struck out nine batters, walked one and given up no hits through five innings.
It’s unlikely Scherzer will be able to finish this one off, seeing as he’s thrown 84 pitches in five innings. The Tigers might be shooting for a collaborative team effort on a no-hitter, but that takes a back seat right now to finishing this one off and heading to the World Series.
Jhonny Peralta just did his best Miguel Cabrera impression, blasting a homer of his own to left field after a two-out single from Delmon Young.
C.C. Sabathia has been pulled from this game. He only pitched 3 2/3 innings, throwing 93 pitches and giving up six runs (five earned) on 11 hits.
Miguel Cabrera took the first pitch he saw from C.C. Sabathia in the fourth inning and drilled it over the left field fence.
The Tigers have not let Sabathia look comfortable on the mound all day, as the team looks primed to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 2006.
Max Scherzer continues to deal, and while his pitch count my be piling up (69), he is being very effective against just about everyone that comes to the plate for the Yankees.
Scherzer picked up two more strikeouts in the fourth inning, and the Yankees bats are showing no more life than they have through the first three games of this series.
Gerald Laird couldn’t deliver another Tigers hit with the bases loaded, but Avisail Garcia did his job in the third inning with an RBI.
C.C. Sabathia is not himself today. He has given up six hits and thrown 73 pitches in the first three innings. This game is shaping up very nicely for the Tigers.
C.C. Sabathia got Miguel Cabrera to fly out to start the third inning, and then he got in some trouble when Mark Teixeira misplayed a ball off the bat of Prince Fielder that allowed the big man to reach.
Sabathia then walked Delmon Young before getting Jhonny Peralta on a long fly out to left field. Teixeira then misplayed another ball, this time off the bat of Andy Dirks. Avisail Garcia got a shot at a big moment with the bases loaded. Garcia hit a chopper up the middle that Eduardo Nunez was able to get to, but could not get his feet set to make a good throw.
If not for a Prince Fielder error on a two-out ground ball, Max Scherzer would have set down all nine Yankees hitters the first time through the lineup. After Eduardo Nunez reached on the error, Scherzer walked Ichiro before striking out Nick Swisher for the second time today to get out of the inning.
The error by Fielder made Scherzer drive up his pitch count by facing two more batters. He’s now thrown 55 pitches and struck out five.
Andy Dirks led the second inning off with a single up the middle, but was forced out at second base after Avisail Garcia set down a less than stellar sacrifice bunt.
Gerald Laird popped out to second and Austin Jackson walked before Omar Infante grounded out to first.
The real advantage for the Tigers, besides the score, is that C.C. Sabathia has thrown 41 pitches in the first two innings and does not appear to have his good stuff today.
C.C. Sabathia didn’t bring his A-game in the first inning, and the Tigers made him pay. Sabathia allowed three hits, including Delmon Young’s two-out RBI.
Perhaps just as important, the Tigers made Sabathia throw 23 pitches in the first inning. If the Yankees ace can’t go deep into this one, the Motor City will have a party on its hands tonight.
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Max Scherzer set the Yankees down 1-2-3 in the first inning and picked up strikeouts of Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano.
It looked a little harry for Scherzer when Ichiro led off the game and Scherzer threw his second pitch behind the batter, but he recovered nicely and looks like the pitcher Tigers fans love to have on the mound.
We’ll have to keep a watch on Scherzer’s pitch count. Since he is a strikeout pitcher, he typically doesn’t go especially deep into games. He threw 19 pitches in the first inning.
A day after the threat of rain postponed Game 4 of the ALCS, the Tigers and Yankees get back on the field in downtown Detroit with the home team looking to sweep the Bronx Bombers and get back to the World Series for the first time since 2006.
It won’t be an easy task for the Tigers with C.C. Sabathia on the mound. The Yankees ace pitched a complete game his last time out in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Orioles.
The Tigers counter with Max Scherzer, who has come alive this season to become one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball.
First pitch from Comerica Park is scheduled for 4:07.
I hope you all enjoy this new blog format. Every update will be contained to this one page, so feel free to comment and keep the conversation going all game long.
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