It’s 2:36 on Opening Day, and already we have our first “Second-guess Jim Leyland” moment. With two runners on to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, Leyland essentially took the bat out of the hands of one of his best hitters, Alex Avila. I get the reasoning for a bunt: First scoring chance, … Continue Reading →
Justin Verlander’s streak of 10 consecutive Red Sox hitters retired ended with one out here in the fifth, when Ryan Sweeney singled softly to center field. The next ball put in play wasn’t hit softly, and threatened to end the scoreless tie. Ex-Tiger Cody Ross drove a Verlander pitch deep to right field, but Brennan Boesch hauled … Continue Reading →
Boesch. Cabrera. Fielder. Young. Plenty this season, those four Tigers will cause opposing pitchers to have migraines. Not so far today against Red Sox lefty Jon Lester, however. Boesch led off the fourth with a weak grounder to first, then Miguel Cabrera reached on a four-pitch walk (someday the Tigers will find some protection for … Continue Reading →
Justin Verlander was quite efficient in the top of the fourth inning. He needed just nine pitches to set down the Red Sox in order. Most impressive was his strikeout against Boston first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, one of the best hitters in the league. Verlander carved him up on a breaking ball that caught the … Continue Reading →
Well, the Tigers wasted another leadoff single. But at least Jhonny Peralta wasn’t wiped out on a double play after leading off the third with a liner to center field, like Austin Jackson was in the first and Prince Fielder was in the second. The Tigers had the makings of a scoring inning. Following Peralta, … Continue Reading →
I suspected we’d see a Justin Verlander groove today. He might just be in it now. The Tigers ace blew away the first two hitters in the Red Sox third inning, striking out Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Mike Aviles — that’s three K’s in a row, going back to the second inning. He then capped the … Continue Reading →
Not an ideal trend for the Tigers. So far in 2012, they’re 2-for-2 in leadoff singles. Problem is, they’re also 2-for-2 in double plays immediately following. Prince Fielder had his first at-bat in a Tigers uniform, leading off the bottom of the second inning. After working the count to 3-2, he took an eye-high fastball … Continue Reading →
Where have we seen this before? Justin Verlander gets in trouble, and then wiggles out of it like Houdini. Something about the Tigers ace. He just seems to thrive when the going gets tough. Leading off the second inning, Red Sox DH roped an opposite-field double over Delmon Young in left field. But then Verlander … Continue Reading →
Let the record show that Austin Jackson is batting 1.000. The Tigers leadoff hitter, who has been oft-criticized during his Tigers tenure, took the first pitch he saw from Red Sox lefty Jon Lester and laced it to center field for a single. If he does that consistently this season, he’ll score 120-plus runs. But … Continue Reading →
Tigers Opening Day starter Justin Verlander looked like the ace he is in the first half-inning of 2012, retiring the Red Sox in order on nine pitches. No strikeouts, but efficient all the same. The first pitch of 2012 was a fastball for a strike at 1:10, to Red Sox leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury — … Continue Reading →