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Game 1 (Final Score: 4-8, A’s win)

Someone finally got to Douglass and handed him his first loss of the season. The A’s started the second with a double and kept on trucking. Hatteberg singled, Kielty hit a groundout for an RBI, Johnson walked, Payton hit a sac fly, and Ellis hit a two run shot to left (0-4). The Tigers got a run back in the bottom half when Shelton singled Polanco home after he doubled and advanced on Guillen’s groundout (1-4).

The one run rally did nothing to stem the tide and Dingman came into the game after Douglass gave up a lead off double, sac fly, and two RBI singles in the bottom of the third (1-7). Dingman stayed in and pitched very well, shutting down the hot Oakland offense and giving most normal teams a chance to come back and make a game of it. The Tigers were putting the ball in play but it was mostly at Oakland’s defenders who fielded well and kept Harden propped up.

Finally some of the many base runners the Tigers put on came home in the sixth. Young took a one out walk, Monroe singled him to second, and Inge doubled him home with Monroe stopping at third (2-7). Polanco hit the inning’s second double and the Tigers were within three (4-7). Duchscherer quashed all Tiger notions of evening the score in this inning, earning a pair of strikeouts from Guillen and Shelton.

After the Tiger’s explosion they went back to stranding singles and walks and giving up runs. Kendall hit a sac fly to score Johnson from third after a pair of singles in the sixth and the game ended with the Tigers two games below .500 (4-8).

Game 2 (Final Score: 5-9, A’s win)

The game started out fantastic with the offense and Robertson producing. The Tigers scored twice in the first inning with Polanco again getting on base right from the start and coming home on Guillen’s two run shot (2-0). In the second Rodriguez hit a single, stole second, and scored on Young’s single (3-0). Robertson must have been really happy since he was pitching and he had an early lead. He pitched like it for three full innings before self-destructing.

Kendall worked a walk on a full count and was later joined on base by Crosby and Chavez who hit one out singles. The next man up made Robertson pay for crossing the bases on ball gods one too many times this season and hit a grand slam (3-4). It has been a while since Robertson combined the home run with his walk problem so I guess he was about due (Yes, I know that’s not a sound statistical statement). The inning got completely out of hand with two extra base hits by Johnson and Hatteberg; Two for Johnson and all four for Hatteberg (3-6). Pudge threw a tantrum so Vance “My Grandma” Wilson was called on to catch the rest of the game. Of course, my grandma does a lot more for the team that Wilson does so that’s not quite fair to her. Robertson finally escaped with another fly after giving up the second double of the inning.

The Tigers started chipping away in the fifth with Logan crossing the plate on the third single of the inning – by Ordonez – with two away (4-6). The A’s answered in the bottom half on their third single of the inning – by Payton – and only one out away (4-7). Spiting me for comparing him to an 80 year old woman, Wilson led off the sixth with a solo homer; the Tiger’s last run of the game (5-7).

A host of Tiger pitchers combined to ineffectively keep the team within two runs. Spurling gave up a lead of double in the eighth and Walker replaced him. Walker in turn gave up an RBI single after getting the first out and German replaced him once the next guy hit another single (5-8). Scutaro got some wood on the ball and plated Swisher from third (5-9). German proceeded to load the bases on a single and a walk before finally getting Crosby to hack away at strike three. I’d like to say the Tigers closed the gap in the ninth but they went out like kittens. Cute kittens.

Game 3 (Final Score: 2-5, A’s win)

The Tigers decided to spot the A’s five runs and then try to mount a come back against an overpowering pitcher that averages about as many walks as strikeouts per game with only one out left. To be evenhanded, Oakland is playing special baseball lately; They were the first team to solve Douglass (it’s only his first time against most teams this year) and Dingman (ditto) and they beat around Bonderman, who’s been good lately with an ERA of 3.40 and striking out 6.2 batters per nine innings in the last month.

The A’s scored four of their five runs with two outs, one courtesy of a Bonderman walk with the sacks stacked with A’s. Not much good to say here except that Ordonez is continuing his hot hitting to the tune of .343/.403/.956 and pairing well with Shelton’s .350/.402/.952 in the month of July. Actually, check out the performance of all Tigers batters with at least 20 plate appearances in July courtesy of the Day-By-Database at Baseball Musings.

This series is a perfect demonstration of how far the team needs to come to be a serious playoff contender. Right now the Tigers are only decent; Good teams tear decent teams a new one like the A’s did the Tigers and go on incredible hot streaks that can resurrect a season. It is a fine goal to shoot for the playoffs in the form of a wild card but I’d rather watch the team do something in them besides get swept in the first round. The playoffs were an enjoyable pipe dream and I won’t fault anyone for optimism after the experiencing the recent Tiger history. That’s my two copper plated coins.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	14	2	3	2	0	7	0.214	0.500
B Inge	9	1	2	1	1	3	0.222	0.333
N Logan	6	1	3	0	1	4	0.500	0.667
C Monroe	7	1	2	0	0	2	0.286	0.286
M Ordonez	13	1	2	3	1	5	0.154	0.385
P Polanco	13	2	7	2	1	8	0.538	0.615
I Rodriguez	10	1	3	0	0	3	0.300	0.300
C Shelton	13	0	2	1	1	3	0.154	0.231
R White	8	0	3	0	1	4	0.375	0.500
V Wilson	2	1	1	1	0	4	0.500	2.000
D Young	12	1	4	1	1	4	0.333	0.333
Totals	107	11	32	11	7	47	0.299	0.439
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	6	8	4	4	4	1	6.00	2.00
V Darensbourg	2.2	2	1	1	0	0	4.09	0.91
C Dingman	2.2	1	1	1	1	4	4.09	0.91
S Douglass	2.2	6	7	7	1	0	28.64	3.18
F German	0.2	1	0	0	1	1	0.00	10.00
N Robertson	6	9	7	7	1	2	10.50	1.67
F Rodney	1	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
C Spurling	1	1	1	1	0	1	9.00	1.00
J Walker	1.1	2	1	1	0	1	8.18	1.82
Totals	24	30	22	22	9	11	8.25	1.63

Game 1 (Final Score: 3-5, Mariners win)

The Tigers did most of their damage in the top of the fourth. Shelton singled; Ordonez and White took walks, so Rodriguez had a bases loaded opportunity with no outs. In a 1-1 count he hit a fly to center that advanced each runner one base (1-0). Monroe drove the 0-2 pitch to short so Ordonez came home and Infante struck out, stranding one (2-0). Two runs is nice but this was a bases loaded, no out opportunity against an average pitcher on a bad team and both runs required an out to score. These situations are indicative of the team’s current level of play.

The top half of the inning looked exceptionally bad compared to the bottom half. Seattle scored three runs on three hits: a single by Ibanez and homers from Beltre and Sexson (2-3). There were two more singles in the inning before Robertson finally got his game together and got some easy outs, two on infield flies. I don’t consider the Mariners to be a particularly strong team this year so it is disappointing to see them score more runs in a significantly less dangerous situation. I suppose they did perform just as badly in the same situation when it came up in the seventh.

The Tigers and Mariners both loaded the bases in the seventh. With two outs, Inge singled and Guillen drew a walk. Nelson relieved Franklin and proceeded to issue two more walks, tying the game (3-3). White had a bases loaded opportunity that he squandered when (a) Putz came in and finished him off. In the bottom half, the Mariners finally got Robertson off the mound when he gave up a single and hit Ibanez with a pitch. Rodney came in for relief and didn’t provide much. The first and second men he faced singled, the second one scoring a run, and Reed’s fielder’s choice was good for another run (3-5).

Robertson had only three bad innings: In the second when issued a couple of walks and allowed a stolen base, in the fourth with the homers, and in the seventh when he was finally replaced. He escaped the first one without casualties and might have escaped the third but he was pulled after only 88 pitches. Rodney was brought into a tough spot but most people would agree he’s pitched like the second best arm in the pen. Really, the offense should’ve completed more punches when they had the chance.

Game 2 (Final Score: 8-5, Tigers win)

This was a seesaw battle that really started when both teams traded runs in the third. The Tigers again scored first before promptly relinquishing the lead when Guillen singled McDonald home with two away (1-0). The Mariners went ahead in the bottom half scoring two on Beltre’s RBI single and Reed’s sac fly (1-2). Returning the favor, Pineiro allowed three consecutive base runners with two away in the fourth. The third runner was Young who smacked a double that plated White and Rodriguez (3-2).

Seattle came storming back in the sixth after spotting another run to Detroit on Shelton’s fifth inning two out single that scored a run (4-2). With one away, Reed, Bloomquist, and Lopez singled, scoring the first run (4-3). Johnson got Olivo to groundout, erasing the lead runner and bringing up Suzuki. Suzuki hit the first pitch he hit for a triple and the Tigers were in the back seat again (4-5). Johnson pitched two more scoreless innings before calling it a night and ended up with the victory.

Young hit a three run homer in the eighth with White and Logan on -replaced Rodriguez at first – in an attempt to dislodge the barbecue fork that has been visibly protruding from his back all season (7-5). The bases loaded opportunity in the ninth that was wasted ended up being just gravy since the team didn’t need the additional run that scored on Ordonez’s sac fly (8-5). I will mention that it was with none out, again. At this point in time I would like to congratulate Farnsworth for being effective and Rodriguez and Guillen for combining to make three caught stealing.

Game 3 (Final Score: 3-9, Mariners win)

Ick! I guess I have to write about this one. Moyer completely had his way with the team and its spouses for eight innings and the Mariners’ hitters beat the living day lights out of Maroth. I’ll stick to the highlights since that covers about all I can stomach of the lowlights.

Spurling was reasonably effective, allowing a third as many runs as Maroth in nearly three times as many innings and fewer pitches. German continued to not give up many runs, even though he threw only 21 of his 40 pitches for strikes, thanks to Ibanez getting thrown out at home. Polanco returned to the lineup and continued his torrid hitting. Maroth’s runs were scored on mostly weak hits, walks, and Monroe’s three run error with two outs in the second. The Tigers were effective at times hitting, stringing some together; The only problem was the hits were all singles. Seattle takes the series two games to one.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Granderson	8	1	1	0	0	1	0.125	0.125
C Guillen	11	0	3	1	2	3	0.273	0.273
O Infante	7	0	1	0	0	1	0.143	0.143
B Inge	9	1	1	0	0	1	0.111	0.111
N Logan	2	1	1	1	0	1	0.500	0.500
J McDonald	5	2	1	0	1	2	0.200	0.400
C Monroe	7	0	1	1	1	1	0.143	0.143
M Ordonez	9	1	3	2	3	4	0.333	0.444
P Polanco	5	1	3	1	0	4	0.600	0.800
I Rodriguez	10	2	3	1	1	3	0.300	0.300
C Shelton	10	2	3	1	4	3	0.300	0.300
R White	11	1	5	1	0	5	0.455	0.455
V Wilson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	9	2	4	5	0	9	0.444	1.000
Totals	104	14	30	14	12	38	0.288	0.365
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
V Darensbourg	1.1	2	1	1	0	2	8.18	1.82
C Dingman	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
K Farnsworth	1	0	0	0	1	2	0.00	1.00
F German	1.2	4	0	0	1	1	0.00	4.17
J Johnson	8	9	5	4	3	4	4.50	1.50
M Maroth	1.2	5	6	3	4	0	22.50	7.50
N Robertson	6.1	9	5	5	2	6	7.38	1.80
F Rodney	0.2	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	10.00
C Spurling	3.1	2	2	2	1	2	5.81	0.97
Totals	25	33	19	15	12	18	5.40	1.80

Game 1 (Final Score: 10-5, Twins win)-Johnson

Game 2 (Final Score: 6-12, Tigers win)-Maroth

Game 3 (Final Score: 1-2, Tigers win)-Douglass

Game 4 (Final Score: 5-2, Twins win)-Verlander

Game 5 (Final Score: 2-5, Tigers win)-Bonderman

It was a choice between writing and statistics so I chose everyone’s favorite.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Granderson	14	3	6	4	1	16	0.429	1.143
C Guillen	17	2	4	1	1	7	0.235	0.412
K Hooper	1	0	1	0	0	1	1.000	1.000
O Infante	19	2	5	4	0	7	0.263	0.368
B Inge	20	1	3	2	3	4	0.150	0.200
N Logan	4	1	2	0	0	4	0.500	1.000
J McDonald	4	0	1	0	0	1	0.250	0.250
C Monroe	16	2	9	7	2	15	0.563	0.938
M Ordonez	20	4	8	3	1	12	0.400	0.600
I Rodriguez	15	3	4	1	0	4	0.267	0.267
C Shelton	22	4	9	0	1	12	0.409	0.545
R White	7	1	2	1	1	3	0.286	0.429
V Wilson	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	11	3	4	1	2	5	0.364	0.455
Totals	174	26	58	24	12	91	0.333	0.523
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	8	7	2	2	2	6	2.25	1.13
D Creek	1	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
C Dingman	2	1	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.50
S Douglass	7	5	1	1	4	1	1.29	1.29
K Farnsworth	2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00
F German	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00	2.00
J Johnson	4	10	8	6	2	1	13.50	3.00
M Maroth	6	8	6	6	2	7	9.00	1.67
F Rodney	2	1	0	0	1	0	0.00	1.00
C Spurling	3	3	2	2	2	1	6.00	1.67
J Verlander	6	8	5	5	2	3	7.50	1.67
J Walker	3	3	0	0	2	0	0.00	1.67
Totals	45	46	24	22	20	24	4.40	1.47

Sorry I missed the KC series; I spent all of my usual Internet time doing work.

Game 1 (Final Score: 5-7, Sox win)

This looked like a pretty even pitching match-up on paper, which is why the games are played. Hernandez quickly made the game a mismatch when he gave Inge a delicious pitch to drive and Inge parked it in the left field seats (1-0). Douglass was successful once again on the mound and surrendered his only run in the third on a sacrifice by Podsednik. He surrendered a lead off double to Crede and had a runner on third with one out after Uribe’s groundout. So the Sox traded the second out to tie the game and Douglass struck out Iguchi (1-1).

Hernandez helped the visitors to a big lead in the fifth. Happily the Tigers did it with only one extra base hit; Sadly, they only had one extra base hit in the inning. Rodriguez got things started with a groundout but Monroe took first on a five pitch walk and third on Infante’s single. Logan’s single plated Monroe and he took second on the double steal with Infante (2-1). Inge’s deep fly went for a run, Guillen walked on four pitches, Shelton hit a big double that scored Logan but Guillen made the third out at home (4-1).

Douglass was relieved in the seventh by Spurling and he greeted Konerko with a fat pitch that went for a solo homer (4-2). With one out,
Spurling looked shaky after a double by Dye and single by Pierzynski but Trammell stayed with him. This will go down in history as a poor decision since Spurling surrendered the lead on back-to-back homers by Crede and Uribe; Then Rodney was put in as relief (4-6). The inning ended on Pudge’s second caught stealing of the game but the damage was done. Both teams added a run on solo shots in the eighth and ninth by Thomas and Rodriguez respectively (5-7). My hat is off to Rodriguez who continues to deliver extra base hits in the ninth inning.

OK, Trammell botched the pitching in the seventh. Yes, I realize he’s done it before and will continue to do so – judging from the number of times this comes up – and it will hurt the team again. However, the double steal call made a bad situation worse for the Sox in the fifth and he deserves credit for that as well. I’m still satisfied with his performance and not prepared to go looking for some schlub that probably won’t perform better, will cost more, and won’t bring the good feelings of nostalgia.

Game 2 (Final Score: 7-1, Tigers win)

This pitching match looked to and did favor the Tigers. Bonderman looked really good in the meager four innings I was able to watch; He worked both sides of the plate with all his pitches, kept the fastball low but snuck it up when needed, and had some very good hitters baffled. I especially enjoyed the high fastball he threw to Iguchi on a 2-0 count in the bottom of the third with two on and one out that moved away from him late. That Weaver trade is starting to look really exceptional and will only get better if German masters his control problems. It makes me feel giddy to think that Dombrowski pulled a steal like this off with the team’s only tradable commodity at the time and it involved both the Yankees and Athletics. All that has to happen now is have the team keep him when he comes out of arbitration and the big money comes calling.

After watching his team flail at the ball in the first (three strikeouts!), Bonderman got into a spot of trouble in the bottom half. Iguchi took a one out walk and third when Rodriguez’s throw to second went into the outfield on the stealing attempt. With the heart of the order up, Bonderman got the other two outs he needed and kept the game scoreless. The Tigers took advantage of Contreras and the scoreless game in the second with Ordonez starting the inning with a single. He watched the first two outs pass him by before Monroe lofted a soft single and Infante took both men home with home on his three run homer (3-0).

Bonderman and Contreras traded scoreless halves until the bottom of the fifth when Uribe had Pierzynski on third after a lead off double and groundout. He plated Pierzynski with the second consecutive groundout of the inning and Podsednik ended it with the third (3-1). The Tigers responded in the top of the sixth to this provocation and abused Contreras for four runs. Shelton and Ordonez went with back-to-back doubles, Young singled and took second on the throw, and Rodriguez and Monroe hit back-to-back doubles and the team had a huge lead (7-1). Bonderman dominated the Sox for the rest of the game and Dingman came in throwing fire in the ninth, striking out two to end the game.

Game 3 (Final Score: 8-6, Tigers win)

The starting pitching in the rubber match looked to favor the Sox since Garcia has been virtually unbeatable in day games and Robertson can only get runs when he bats them in. Instead, the Tigers scored plenty of runs with help from the Sox and won the series and moved one game closer to .500.

The Tigers produced two runs on three hits in the first: Two singles and a Shelton one out two run homer than brought Inge home (2-0). This bit of efficiency stands in stark contrast to the many other hits the Tigers produced and didn’t turn into runs. Iguchi cut the visitors’ lead in the bottom half and then the offenses took a couple of innings to rest up for the late game fireworks (2-1).

Two runs scored in the fifth and sixth due to White Sox errors. Inge scored from first after walking on Guillen’s single when Rowand’s throw from center hit him in the back (3-1). Rowand later earned the run back when he scored on Uribe’s single in the bottom half (3-2). Rodriguez scored from third after doubling and advancing on a groundout when Garcia bounced a pitch in front of Widger that went back to the wall (4-2). In the bottom of the seventh Widger picked up Garcia’s mistake with a solo homer off Robertson (4-3).

Rodney pitched a great half inning and the Tigers came up to bat in the top of the ninth nursing a one run lead. Infante smacked the second pitch he saw from Garcia for a solo homer and the inning was off at a run (5-3). Logan singled, Politte relieved Garcia, Inge struck out, and Guillen singled, setting the plate for Shelton to feast. Shelton hit the 2-0 pitch for an RBI single and Ordonez followed him on first with a walk (6-3). After another pitching change and with the bases loaded, Young finally did something for the first time in about a half dozen games, plating two runners with his single (8-3).

Farnsworth replaced Rodney even though this wasn’t a save situation to end the game in the ninth. Things didn’t go as planned. He walked the first two batters he faced and was staring down Rowand with runners on second and third and only one out away. Rowand used the second out to score a run so it looked like Farnsworth was in good shape but he walked his third batter of the inning (8-4). Uribe stepped into the box and Farnsworth blew him away, getting him to an 0-2 count, but Uribe smacked the third pitch for a two run single and I honestly wasn’t sitting comfortably any more (8-6). Crede singled, Farnsworth was relieved, and Dingman finally closed out the game, getting Iguchi to weakly hit the ball back to him.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	13	1	2	0	1	2	0.154	0.154
O Infante	12	3	4	4	0	10	0.333	0.833
B Inge	11	3	3	2	2	6	0.273	0.545
N Logan	11	2	3	1	0	3	0.273	0.273
C Monroe	12	2	2	1	1	3	0.167	0.250
M Ordonez	10	2	7	1	3	8	0.700	0.800
I Rodriguez	13	3	5	2	0	10	0.385	0.769
C Shelton	14	3	5	4	0	10	0.357	0.714
R White	8	1	2	1	0	2	0.250	0.250
D Young	5	0	1	2	0	1	0.200	0.200
Totals	109	20	34	18	7	55	0.312	0.505
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	8	3	1	1	2	5	1.13	0.63
C Dingman	1.1	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00
S Douglass	6	3	1	1	2	6	1.50	0.83
K Farnsworth	0.2	2	3	3	3	0	135.00	25.00
F German	1	2	1	1	1	0	9.00	3.00
N Robertson	7	4	3	3	2	6	3.86	0.86
F Rodney	1.2	0	0	0	1	3	0.00	0.83
C Spurling	0.1	5	5	5	0	0	450.00	50.00
Totals	26	19	14	14	11	22	4.85	1.15

Game 1 (Final Score 3-9, Indians win)

Johnson faced Elarton in the first half of the day/night doubleheader in Cleveland. While Elarton and the Detroit offense combined to throw zeroes on the board, Johnson gave up some crooked numbers. It started in the first with one out gone and Crisp at bat; He doubled and scored on Hafner’s single (0-1). Hafner made it to second on Johnson’s wild pitch but Broussard struck out, reducing the scoring threat. Belliard hit an infield single but Gerut ended the inning.

Crisp again started a successful inning for the Indians, hitting a one out single. Hafner’s singled sent him all the way around to third and Broussard’s single scored Crisp (0-2). Belliard hit a sac fly that only scored Hafner and Johnson escaped after allowing another single when Hernandez jumped on the first pitch he saw and hit an inning ending groundout (0-3).

Bard brought the pain in the fourth, leading off with a double and scoring on Peralta’s single (0-4). Sizemore singled and Hafner, Johnson’s last batter, brought everyone home with a three run homer (0-7). Creek relieved Johnson and pitched pretty well until Hafner connected again, deep to center this time, in the sixth (0-8).

Both teams scored in the seventh, the Tigers on White’s single (the third in a row) and the Indians on Peralta’s (1-9). The Tigers’ singles all came with no outs used but only one crossed the plate because Rodriguez and Young combined to make three outs. The last Tigers’ gasp was in the top of the ninth when Shelton and White hit back-to-back extra base hits, Shelton for two and White for four (3-9). That was, however, a new line of harmony added to the Tigers’ 2005 Season Symphony I’m dubbing “Too Little Too Late.”

Game 2 (Final Score: 0-6, Indians win)

The Indians tagged Verlander for three early runs and never looked back. Sizemore became Verlander’s first major league victim and Crisp took the first hit of Verlander’s career. While Crisp stole second, Hafner became Verlander’s first career strikeoutee. Martinez’s double was the first extra base hit and Crisp the first earned run allowed by Verlander (0-1). Broussard followed with another double and Peralta hit an RBI single (0-3). Verlander threw his first wild pitch and issued his first and second walk to Gerut and Hernandez respectively before finally completing his first major league inning courtesy of Cora. Oh by the way, it was Verlander’s first career major league appearance today.

The second and third innings were also quite interesting. Monroe hit a one out double and Wilson drew a two out walk in the second but Logan stranded them. Not to be outdone, the Indians’ Sizemore hit a lead off double in the bottom half and was stranded. Inge singled to start the Tigers’ third and was doubled out on Polanco’s grounder so Shelton thought it was the perfect time to hit a double and Ordonez thought he’d groundout to end the inning. Verlander had his first major league fielding error but it came to nil since the Indians weren’t in a threatening position.

The fourth and fifth innings passed unremarkably into history but the Indians started something in the bottom of the sixth. Peralta singled, Gerut walked, Hernandez hit a fly for an out, and Walker replaced Verlander, ending his day. Cora was good for the second out of the inning but Sizemore hit a double that plated Peralta (0-4).

To start the seventh, the Tigers looked like they could claw their way back into the game. Miller replaced Davis on the mound for Cleveland and Infante greeted him with a lead off double. Wilson’s single was followed by Logan’s fielder’s choice, which featured Infante being thrown out at home. Inge used the second out but the Tigers still looked dangerous since Miller helped the cause with a balk, sending Logan over to second and Wilson to third. Alas, Polanco could only hit a hard grounder for the third out. Rodney was called on to put out the bases loaded fire in the bottom half and the game moved to the eighth inning.

The Tigers did jack against Miller’s replacement but Cleveland struck again with the long ball. Crisp beat out an inside-the-park homerun on a ball that Logan couldn’t play cleanly and Hafner crushed Rodney’s full count pitch deep into right field (0-6).

Riske finished the Tigers in the ninth but Detroit again made it interesting. Wilson was ejected when he complained that both strike two and three were off the plate and he wasn’t getting those calls all day. During the verbal exchange, the third base umpire ran down to help out and tripped, falling into Wilson, who thought he was getting tackled. Wilson later insinuated that the umpire was in a hurry to leave and that is why he called a couple of bad pitches strikes. I might have made that last bit up, but I swear I read it some where.

Game 3 (Final Score: 3-2, Tigers win)

The Tigers avoided the sweep in Cleveland by winning a close game, powered by the pitching of Maroth. The Tigers’ new batting order started the game right, two men on with one out and bases loaded with two out in the first inning but couldn’t get anything done. Maroth did his part keeping the Indians scoreless until his hitters gave him a lead.

The Tigers strung together a few hits in the third. Polanco led off with a single, took third on Guillen’s double, and scored on Shelton’s groundout (1-0). Ordonez came up next and he parked the 1-0 pitch in the cheap seats in right and escorted Guillen home (3-0). Maroth threw only six pitches in the bottom half of the inning but one of them Boone hit for a home run to put the home team right there (3-1).

The Tigers and Indians traded 1-2-3 innings or innings with only a single base runner through eight. Westbrook gave way to Cabrera in the sixth and Maroth gave way to German in the seventh, who gave way to Farnsworth in the eighth when the fun started up again. Farnsworth got Sizemore to swing at strike three in a full count but Crisp singled and Martinez walked, giving Broussard runners at the corners and one out. He went the way of Sizemore and so did his buddy Belliard. Percival entered in the ninth to close the game out but being a showman, he decided to give the home side’s fans some hope. Peralta led off with a solo shot but only Hafner was able to get on base the rest of the inning with a walk and Percival squeaked out another one (3-2).

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	8	2	5	0	0	6	0.625	0.750
O Infante	3	0	1	0	1	2	0.333	0.667
B Inge	11	0	1	0	0	1	0.091	0.091
N Logan	7	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	10	0	2	0	0	3	0.200	0.300
M Ordonez	8	1	2	2	0	5	0.250	0.625
P Polanco	8	1	2	0	0	2	0.250	0.250
I Rodriguez	8	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Shelton	12	1	3	1	0	5	0.250	0.417
J Smith	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	7	1	2	3	1	5	0.286	0.714
V Wilson	3	0	1	0	1	1	0.333	0.333
D Young	9	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
Totals	97	6	19	6	4	30	0.196	0.309
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
D Creek	2.2	1	1	1	1	3	4.09	0.91
K Farnsworth	1	1	0	0	1	3	0.00	2.00
F German	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
J Johnson	3.1	11	7	7	0	4	20.32	3.55
M Maroth	6.2	4	1	1	2	4	1.45	0.97
T Percival	1	1	1	1	1	1	9.00	2.00
F Rodney	1.1	2	2	2	0	2	16.36	1.82
C Spurling	1	2	1	0	1	0	0.00	3.00
J Verlander	5.1	7	4	4	3	4	7.06	1.96
J Walker	1.1	3	0	0	1	1	0.00	3.64
Totals	25	32	17	16	10	23	5.76	1.68

Game 1 (Final Score: 2-10, Tigers win)

Bonderman drew Johnson to start the series and pitched pretty well. He allowed base runners in every inning but two and only two runs. The team’s defense was pretty good; They helped Bonderman out by turning a pair of double plays with runners on early in the inning and the one error didn’t hurt much. Reviewing the game log, a majority of the outs (22 of 27) were recorded with groundouts or strikeouts, including double plays. The furious Yankees rally in the ninth (a double, two walks, and a wild pitch) was calmly handled by Bonderman, who definitely earned his win today.

The teams traded first inning runs before the Tigers broke the game open in the second. A pair of singles and a balk put Sheffield in a perfect position to punish the Tigers but he hit a groundout that scored Jeter from second and advanced Cano to third (1-0). Rodriguez (ARod for the rest of the series) and Matsui ended the inning quietly. Inge’s and Polanco’s back-to-back doubles tied the game up before the rest of the inning was wasted by Guillen, Ordonez, and Rodriguez (IRod for the rest of the series) (1-1). White hit a lead off single and Shelton smacked a two run homer (1-3). Monroe followed with a single, took second on Logan’s successful sacrifice, and third on Johnson’s wild pitch. Inge drew a walk and advanced on Polanco’s sac fly (1-4).

The Tigers added to their lead with liberal use of the long ball, except in the fourth when Logan pretty much killed a good inning with his double play ball after Shelton and Monroe hit a pair of singles to start (1-5). Guillen singled with one away in the fifth and Ordonez had his first home run in the Majors this year (1-7). For the curious, Ordonez is hitting .071 with one homer for $7.2 million in salary this year (Yes, I know he’s been injured).

Polanco trebled Matsui’s solo homer in the top of the sixth with his three run shot in the bottom. With two outs, Logan was hit by a pitch, stole second, and Inge walked. Polanco hit the 1-2 pitch from Proctor-ologist deep into left and put the Tigers way ahead (2-10). The lead off triple and one out walk in the seventh that were erased on Monroe’s double play didn’t much matter as the Tigers took care of business in the opener.

Game 2 (Final score: 8-4, Yankees win)

The Tigers scored a respectable number of runs and still lost because the Yankees made Percival pay with two outs left in the ninth. These things happen to good relievers every now and again against good teams so it is disappointing but not depressing to see this result. What is disappointing is that Womack and Williams combined for the deathblow that totaled four runs and neither is having a year worth remembering. A tip of the hat to Douglass who continues to look like a major league level fifth starter and kept the team in the game.

Douglass and Mussina traded scoreless innings until the fourth when ARod walked on four pitches. Matsui added a single and ARod scooted all the way over to third and scored on Posada’s fielder’s choice hit to short (1-0). Williams added a single but it was in between outs two and three so it didn’t amount to much. Polanco and Guillen led off the bottom of the fourth with two singles and Polanco scored on Ordonez’s double (1-1). After IRod made the first out, Young cleared the bases with his homer before Shelton and Monroe combined to end the inning (1-4).

The Yankees mounted an effective come back that began when ARod reached first with some help from IRod, who dropped strike three and couldn’t make the play. Matsui walked, Posada struck out, Giambi grounded out, and Douglass looked like he was going to be OK. Williams hit a single that plated both runners and squished that thought (3-4). The come back was completed with Rodney on the mound facing Sheffield. After Jeter worked a nine pitch at bat for a weak single and Cano popped out, Sheffield smacked the second pitch Rodney threw him for a double, scoring Jeter (4-4). Rodney and Walker combined to keep the Yankees from taking the lead by striking out ARod and getting Matsui to ground out.

Gordon steamrolled the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh and Farnsworth pitched an exciting eighth. With one out used, he walked Giambi (pinch runner Womack) and Williams followed with a single. Martinez pinch hit for Crosby and hit into a fielder’s choice but the lead runner stayed on. Jeter walked and Cano jumped on the first pitch he saw, sending it to short for the third out. Gordon allowed two base runners on a walk and an error in the bottom of the frame but they didn’t do anything to help.

In the top of the ninth, ARod hit a one out double and scored on Womack’s single (5-4). Matsui popped out and Posada was intentionally walked by Percival to get to Womack. With two men on, Williams hit a three run homer, paving the way to Rivera’s scoreless ninth (8-4).

Game 3 (Final Score: 1-0, Yankees win)

The rubber match went to the Yankees in stomach turning fashion. Wang was effective but not even close to dominant; I’m not sure how in the span of two games you can go from kicking around a great pitcher to being kicked around by a rookie. This game is a story of missed opportunities and another example of Robertson catching the shaft from the Detroit offense. He reminds me of a friend that goes out and has women all over him every weekend but always ends up going home with a drag queen instead (Not that there’s anything wrong with that).

In the first, Inge and Polanco led off the game with a single and a hit by pitch and Guillen, Ordonez, and IRod couldn’t get them home. Polanco hit a two out triple in the fifth and Wang convinced Guillen to strand him there. Ordonez worked a walk during a ten pitch at bat to start the sixth and IRod followed him on base, getting hit by another pitch. Young struck out and Shelton hit into a double play and no one came home. Those were the golden opportunities the Tigers wasted with Wang pitching.

Meanwhile Robertson had only three nasty situations in his nine innings of work. He allowed two singles to start the third before getting Flaherty and Jeter to end the inning. In the fourth, Cano scored the game’s only run on Sheffield’s single after his lead off double (1-0). ARod struck out and IRod gunned down Sheffield on his steal attempt so Williams’ and Matsui’s back-to-back singles were squandered when Sierra used up the last out of the inning. Giambi walked to start the fifth and Flaherty botched his bunt, letting the Tigers erase the lead runner. Jeter followed with a single but Cano and Sheffield wasted both runners.

IRod took Rivera deep to left in the bottom of the ninth- like against the White Sox -but not deep enough. His lead off extra base hit was diddled away once again by the Tigers batters and the Yankees took the series.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	12	2	3	0	0	3	0.250	0.250
B Inge	11	2	3	0	2	4	0.273	0.364
N Logan	8	1	1	0	0	1	0.125	0.125
C Monroe	12	1	3	0	0	3	0.250	0.250
M Ordonez	10	2	2	3	2	6	0.200	0.600
P Polanco	10	2	4	5	0	10	0.400	1.000
I Rodriguez	11	0	3	0	0	6	0.273	0.545
C Shelton	11	2	4	2	1	7	0.364	0.636
R White	4	1	1	0	0	1	0.250	0.250
D Young	8	1	1	3	0	4	0.125	0.500
Totals	97	14	25	13	5	45	0.258	0.464
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	9	8	2	2	2	5	2.00	1.11
S Douglass	6	7	3	1	2	6	1.50	1.50
K Farnsworth	1	1	0	0	2	0	0.00	3.00
T Percival	1	3	4	4	1	0	36.00	4.00
N Robertson	9	9	1	1	1	4	1.00	1.11
F Rodney	0.2	2	1	1	0	1	45.00	10.00
J Walker	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
Totals	27	30	11	9	8	16	3.00	1.41

Game 1 (Final Score: 1-2, White Sox win)

In close games the missed opportunities really jump out at you since you feel like they would have made the difference. There’s no guarantee that the two on, one out spot in the bottom of the first would have made the difference. The one that stings is the wasted lead off triple in the bottom of the ninth that WOULD have give the Tigers more time to tack up some more runs on the Sox. Young actually had a pretty good at bat from what I caught of it except for the end of it when he popped up into the troposphere. Monroe and Shelton showed their youth it looks since they both swung at the second pitch they saw and beat it into the ground.

The Tigers struck first in the second, getting a run on Shelton’s single. With one out, Monroe singled and took third on Widger’s throw when he was stealing second. Shelton’s single scored him from third and the rest of the inning went out quietly (1-0).

The Sox tied the game in the fifth and took the lead an inning later. Uribe’s one out triple became the first run on Podsednik’s sac fly (1-1). Robertson escaped the single and walk he gave up to the next two batter when he convinced Konerko to swing at a really tempting pitch. With one out gone in the sixth on a 2-2 count with Dye, Robertson hung an inside fastball that was sent post haste into the outfield for the winning run (2-1).

Game 2 (Final Score: 3-4, White Sox win)

I’m sorry I missed watching more of this game; As it stands, the six innings I watched was less than half the game. Johnson was effective but not as good as he’s been. Sidebar: Could someone please tell me who defined a “quality start” to be what it is? (Back to the usual blather.) He staked the Sox to an early lead with men on second and third after a pair of singles by Everett and Pierzinski and a bad throw in from the outfield. Crede’s one out single plated Everett and Johnson’s wild pitch did the same for Pierzynski (2-0). In the bottom half Shelton smacked a two run homer after Monroe’s one out single (2-2).

Konerko’s third inning job put the Sox up and the game stayed pretty even until the eighth (3-2). Johnson’s second wild pitch went for naught just like both teams’ incidental base runners. The game was tied after a one out triple by Shelton on White’s pinch hit sac fly (3-3). The Tigers loaded the bases on Politte’s ineffective pitching with two singles from Polanco and Guillen and Young’s walk. Rodriguez struck out on three pitches to make the first out and Monroe hit the 1-2 pitch he saw into the ground for two more.

Vizcaino almost let the Tigers take the game in the ninth with two out singles from Inge and Logan before Polanco grounded out to end the threat. German returned the favor in the ninth before escaping the deadly Thomas with a foul out.

The game looked like it was over in the bottom of the eleventh or top of the twelfth but either was not to be. Vizcaino and Takatsu gave up a pair of runners but the Tigers couldn’t convert and Rodney gave up a pair of one out base runners before finally escaping only to be greeted with Thomas’ homer on a 2-0 count in the top of the thirteenth (4-3). The Tigers came storming back, loading the bases on two singles and an intentional walk, but Takatsu mowed down Inge and Polanco for the Sox victory.

Game 3 (Final Score: 6-1, White Sox win)

After last night’s excellent game and the long rain delay today, the Tigers laid this piece of crap on us. Yes, I am bitter. This was a great game through five innings and then it just fell apart and the team is watching .500 and respectability get further away. If the team is below .500 at the end of this year there will continue to be a substantial Tiger premium to sign free agents and some of the best will likely ignore the money entirely. Illitch looks like he’ll spend but I don’t want to have to overpay a pitcher like Jason Johnson to hold up the bottom end of the rotation for three years since that is embarrassing. Yes, there is young help in the minors but we’re one or two freak injuries away from no future.

The Tigers had a potent offense for two innings. Garcia allowed runners on second and third with one out after he threw one away and we watched White and Monroe waste this opportunity. Gomez led off the second with and single and Infante joined him on base after an error by Ozuna. Wilson plated Gomez and Logan used the first out to sacrifice the runners over to second and third (0-1). Inge and Polanco ended the last serious scoring threat and this inning quietly for the Tigers.

Crede of all people scored the first three runs when he belted Maroth’s pitch he saw in the fifth into the stands (1-3). Maroth allowed his second homer of the day when Everett plated two more with his effort in the sixth (5-1). Spurling relieved Maroth in the seventh and Dye finished the scoring with his RBI double (6-1). A lead off double was all the rally the Tigers could sustain in the ninth and the Sox’s sweep passed into the history books.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
A Gomez	6	1	1	0	0	1	0.167	0.167
C Guillen	10	0	2	0	0	2	0.200	0.200
O Infante	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	15	0	2	0	0	2	0.133	0.133
N Logan	9	0	3	0	2	3	0.333	0.333
C Monroe	14	2	4	0	0	4	0.286	0.286
P Polanco	14	0	3	0	1	4	0.214	0.286
I Rodriguez	10	0	3	0	0	6	0.300	0.600
C Shelton	14	2	6	3	0	11	0.429	0.786
J Smith	1	0	1	0	0	1	1.000	1.000
R White	8	0	3	1	0	4	0.375	0.500
V Wilson	3	0	1	1	0	1	0.333	0.333
D Young	9	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
Totals	117	5	29	5	4	39	0.248	0.333
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
K Farnsworth	2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00
F German	2	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.00
J Johnson	7	7	3	3	0	2	3.86	1.00
M Maroth	7	6	5	5	2	1	6.43	1.14
T Percival	1	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
N Robertson	7	6	2	2	2	9	2.57	1.14
F Rodney	2	3	1	1	0	1	4.50	1.50
C Spurling	2	2	1	1	2	0	4.50	2.00
J Walker	1	1	0	0	0	1	0.00	1.00
Totals	31	27	12	12	7	17	3.48	1.10

Game 1 (Final Score: 2-1, Diamondbacks win)

I’ll start with a newsworthy observation by the espn.com recap: “Former “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff watched the game from the Diamondbacks’ executive seats.” Methinks they put the quotation marks around “Baywatch” instead of “star” unintentionally. Like Haselhoff, the Tigers are mediocre, reaching .500 again with today’s one run loss.

Tigers’ hitters had a “Hasselhoffian” (mediocre) day. Shawn Estes held them in check with the only run coming in the fifth with two outs when Monroe came around to score on Maroth’s single (1-0). Inge followed with another single but Estes got Polanco to line out. With two more singles in the sixth the Tigers looked in decent shape to repeat their one run feat of the previous inning but Estes closed the inning out again.

The Diamondback hitters caught up with Maroth in the bottom half, scoring both runs with the help of a questionable play (not as questionable as NBA Finals officiating though). Until then Maroth had avoided jams like he had in the fourth with two on and none out. Luis Gonzalez, likely to be the first run of the game, was gunned down at home as he tried to score from first on Troy Glaus’s double. But in sixth, Royce Clayton and Gonzalez were both safe on a fielder’s choice call that Trammell argued before getting ejected. Glaus walked and Tony “Half Season” Clark hit an RBI single off Inge’s glove to tie the game and Shawn Green’s sac fly ended up the winning edge (2-1).

The Tigers threatened in the seventh and eighth but couldn’t crack Estes or the Dbacks bullpen. Logan walked and took second on Maroth’s sacrifice but he joined Inge to end the inning on a strike’em out, throw’em out double play. Polanco and White paired singles in the eighth but Rodriguez and Monroe ended the inning and fans’ hopes with a pair of fly outs.

Game 2 (Final Score: 1-5, Tigers win)

The Tigers finally turn to a fifth starter and surprised only those fans without a pulse by calling on Sean Douglass for his first big league start as a Tiger. Douglass’ opposition was Javier Vasquez who recently made the Tigers line-up look atrocious during the Dbacks visit to Comerica. Vasquez continued his dominance of the Tigers by allowing only one base runner in each of the first four innings, on three singles and a walk. Douglass countered with a less dominating though effective performance with his only serious black mark coming on a lead off homer by Jose Cruz Jr. in the second (1-0).

Douglass made it through six full innings so he got to see the Tigers come from behind for the win. The game was tied by Polanco in the bottom of the sixth on Rodriguez’s two out single (1-1). Vasquez started to pitch in the seventh like he was still a Yankee: Infante doubled, Shelton had a pinch hit RBI single, Inge smacked a triple, and Polanco singled him home (1-4). Javier Lopez entered the game and provided the Dbacks some relief since he got Young to fan while Polanco took second on a passed ball. Brandon Medders relieved him ineffectively and gave up an RBI single to White (1-5). Both teams’ pens closed the door on their opponents’ batsmen setting up a rubber match tomorrow.

Alas, there was no information about David Hasselhoff’s plans for the evening.

Game 3 (Final Score: 13-7, Diamondbacks win)

Perhaps you’ve heard of Jeremy Bonderman? Well he was supposed to pitch in this game but he apparently has a body double that pitches like Jose Lima and that’s the guy who threw BP for the Dbacks during the first three innings. They scored off Limderman in the first on a single by Alex Cintron and a two home run by Shawn Green, in the second on a two run single by Cintron and a single by Chad Tracy, and finally in the third on Cruz’s two run homer (8-0). Creek relieved Limderman but not the Tigers in the third since he allowed another run on Counsell’s double (9-0). Meanwhile the Tigers earned first base on a walk, an intentional walk, a hit-by-pitch, and second on a wasted double.

Creek increased the deficit in the fourth after Chad Tracy extended a single into a triple with the help of Logan’s error. He crossed the plate on Green’s second homer and Creek later completed the inning (11-0). Spurling entered the game in the sixth and surrendered the third two run homer of the day to Tony Clark (13-0).

The bats finally woke up in the bottom of the sixth, perhaps rejuvenated by watching their old mate park one in the outfield like he did so infrequently as a Tiger. The batters smacked three doubles, a triple, and a homer, resulting in five runs (13-5). Where were all these extra base hits earlier? Two more runs were added in the ninth on a lot of singles and an error by Cintron but the Dbacks took the series (13-7).

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
J Bonderman	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
S Douglass	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
T Giarratano	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
A Gomez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Guillen	5	0	1	0	0	2	0.200	0.400
O Infante	10	2	2	3	0	6	0.200	0.600
B Inge	12	1	3	1	1	5	0.250	0.417
N Logan	9	1	1	1	2	2	0.111	0.222
M Maroth	3	0	1	1	0	0	0.333	0.000
C Monroe	13	1	6	0	0	7	0.462	0.538
P Polanco	10	2	4	1	1	4	0.400	0.400
I Rodriguez	10	0	1	1	0	1	0.100	0.100
C Shelton	6	3	2	1	0	2	0.333	0.333
J Smith	3	2	2	1	0	4	0.667	1.333
R White	10	0	3	1	1	3	0.300	0.300
V Wilson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	9	1	3	1	1	4	0.333	0.444
Totals	106	13	29	12	7	40	0.274	0.377
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	2	9	8	8	1	1	36.00	5.00
D Creek	2	3	3	3	1	3	13.50	2.00
S Douglass	6	4	1	1	2	1	1.50	1.00
K Farnsworth	1.2	2	0	0	1	2	0.00	2.50
F German	1	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	2.00
M Maroth	6.2	7	2	0	1	2	0.00	1.29
T Percival	1	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
F Rodney	2	0	0	0	1	2	0.00	0.50
C Spurling	2.1	2	2	2	1	4	8.57	1.43
J Walker	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
Totals	25	29	16	14	9	16	5.04	1.52

Due to recent time commitments and my own general idiocy I would like to apologize to my one loyal reader at this time for the tardiness of my posts. Sorry Mom!

Game 1 (Final Score: 7-2, Tigers win)

Bonderman started the series against a team that the Tigers haven’t played well in the last few years. The opportunity to be a game over .500 and pick up a full game on a team in the Central isn’t tremendous pressure in the larger scheme but this is a team that hasn’t had a winning record very often and small victories make fans like me feel better. Thus Bonderman’s stellar performance helped to wash away some of my bitter feelings towards the team and its “pitching prospects” of past years and poor season performances. Whew.

The hitters provided a fair lead in the top of the fourth with three runs scoring on a pair of singles. Polanco, on third after hitting a single, making second on an error, and advancing on Young’s groundout, was joined on base by White after he earned a walk. Rodriguez’s single pushed everyone ahead a base and gave Monroe two base runners (1-0). His single gave Shelton the bases loaded and Shelton’s single scored two more runs before Infante and Logan stymied the inning with ineffective hitting (3-0).

Bonderman was excellent through three innings. He got some defensive help from Pudge’s pickoff of Joe Mauer in the first after Mauer’s double, but Pudge wasn’t able to help with Shannon Stewart’s double in the fourth. Mauer and Justin Morneau helped the Tigers by making outs but they were sandwiched around Lew Ford’s run scoring single (3-1). With Torri Hunter at the plate, Pudge erased another Twin base runner, catching Ford trying to take second. In the fifth, the Twins touched Bonderman up for another run when Jacque Jones singled Hunter (single and stolen base) home from second but by then the Tigers had doubled their run output for the game.

Kyle Lohse issued another walk (a rarity from a Twins pitcher) to Inge to start the inning. He got Polanco to fly out but Young’s fly cleared the fences for two runs (5-1). After White’s groundout and Rodriguez’s single, Matt Guerrier came in for Lohse. Monroe greeted him with a double and took third on a wild pitch to Shelton after Rodriguez had scored, but Shelton ended the inning (6-1). Guerrier gave up three singles in the seventh and Rodriguez earned an RBI with his groundout to complete the scoring (7-2).

Terry Mulholland continued the effective Twins’ relief in the eighth and ninth and Bonderman finished out the game using only 107 pitches.

Game 2 (Final Score: 8-1, Tigers win)

Another excellent start supported with plenty of runs. It makes me wish the Tigers would save some runs for when they need them but I’ll take the win and so did Robertson. Despite surrendering just singles the entire game and working against his penchant for issuing walks, Robertson was still in the hole early. The game started fine with Stewart jumping on the third pitch for a groundout but Luis Rivas took first on a bunt single and second on Young’s error. He scored on Ford’s single but Hunter erased Ford with his 5-4-3 double play (1-0).

The Tigers evened the game up in the second and pulled ahead in the third. Monroe hit a two out double and scored on an Infante single after the Shelton walk (1-1). Logan drew a walk but Inge failed with runners at the corners after his grounder was gobbled up for the third out. In the third, Polanco led off with a double and White earned a one out walk. Rodriguez singled Polanco home from third, which he’d taken on Joe Mays’ wild pitch (2-1). Monroe plated White but Shelton’s hard hit ball was directly at Rivas and was turned into two outs (3-1).

Infante struck again in the fourth with a leadoff homer and was followed home by Logan, who’d singled, on Inge’s double (5-1). Polanco sacrificed Inge to third and Smith made out two with his grounder. White took first on an error by third baseman Michael Cuddyer and Inge scored (6-1).

One more Tiger run was added in each of the fifth and seventh innings. Infante inefficiently grounded out Monroe home from third (walked, second on a wild pitch, third on Shelton’s groundout) only to be followed by a Logan double and an Inge walk. They were stranded when Polanco finally made one of his rare outs but he later delivered in the seventh. Polanco was at bat with one out used and the bases loaded; A Shelton walk, Infante fly out, Logan’s reached on an error, and Inge’s walk had already passed. He plated Shelton and watched the rest of the inning go by on a pair of fielder’s choices from Smith and White. And Robertson pitched on.

Game 3 (Final Score: 2-6, Twins win)

No pitch-by-pitch info so this will be mercifully short. Carlos Silva provided the starting pitching the Twins wanted and didn’t get in the first two games, limiting the Tigers to a pair of runs on plenty of hits and no walks. Shelton stepped up big, scoring twice with three hits, while hitting third in the lineup. It was an off day for Pudge and Young so the Tigers had three mostly dead bats between Gomez, Infante, and Wilson hitting today.

Jason Johnson ended his streak of near domination, managing only 5.2 innings on 90 pitches. He had as ugly a first inning as I can imagine, allowing two runs on his wild pitch/strike three when he calmly watched Morneau and Mauer score without covering home. He gave up a single and two walks to load the bases, all with two outs. LeCroy’s single scored an additional two runs and the Tigers never recovered. Johnson was tolerable the rest of the way but it was still a putrid way to lose a chance at a sweep.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
A Gomez	4	0	1	1	0	1	0.250	0.250
O Infante	13	1	3	3	0	6	0.231	0.462
B Inge	10	2	3	1	4	4	0.300	0.400
N Logan	11	1	2	0	1	3	0.182	0.273
C Monroe	12	2	5	2	1	7	0.417	0.583
P Polanco	13	3	5	1	1	6	0.385	0.462
I Rodriguez	10	2	4	3	0	4	0.400	0.400
C Shelton	11	3	4	3	2	7	0.364	0.636
J Smith	5	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	12	2	2	0	2	2	0.167	0.167
V Wilson	3	0	1	0	0	1	0.333	0.333
D Young	6	1	2	2	0	5	0.333	0.833
Totals	110	17	32	16	11	46	0.291	0.418
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	9	5	2	2	2	9	2.00	0.78
J Johnson	5.2	9	6	5	2	3	8.65	2.12
T Percival	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
N Robertson	9	5	1	0	1	6	0.00	0.67
F Rodney	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
T Percival	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
Totals	26	19	9	7	5	21	2.42	0.92

Game 1 (Final Score: 4-0, Giants win)

Jason Schmidt pretty much did what he wanted against the Tigers’ hitters today. The number of hits is misleading since they were scattered across his eight innings of work. Only in the ninth did they really threaten his command of the game and Tyler Walker relieved him and beat up Pudge, Monroe, and Shelton and then stole their lunch money. For the most part the Tigers didn’t work Schmidt very hard during each at bat and he made big pitches when necessary.

Nate Robertson’s pitching performance doesn’t disgust me and you could probably describe me as marginally satisfied. The two run second was almost completely his fault since he bailed the Giants out with that two out walk and gave up a single to a poor hitter like Mike Matheny. His wild pitch that put Todd Linden on third (scored on a groundout by Snow) was regrettable but pretty standard fare for him. The only thing that gets me is the number of early inning (none or one out) doubles he gave up. Twice these hits lead to runs and the outfield defense is about as good as it’s going to get this year with White, Monroe, and Logan out there.

Game 2 (Final Score: 2-8, Tigers win)

Jason Johnson continued his outstanding season for the Tigers even though he started rough. The pair of first inning one out singles led to a pair of runs when Johnson misplayed Moises Alou’s batted ball giving the Giants an extra out so Michael Tucker was able to hit another single (2-0). Those were the only runs Johnson allowed even though he consistently gave up singles to the Giants and issued several free passes. One huge difference for him was the dearth of extra base hits he allowed the Giants. As the Tigers have proved it is hard to score runs if you’re only getting one base at a time.

The hitters started strong and ended up with an excellent performance. In the first, Inge, White, and Rodriguez hit balls for extra bases and tied the game (2-2). Infante continued their train of strong hits with a double that ended up being the game winning run once Polanco batted him home (2-3). In the third Pudge hit his second double of the day and scored on Shelton’s two out single to center (2-4). The batters rested in the fourth so they were well prepared to run up the score in the fifth. Four runs crossed the plate; Rodriguez singled and scored on Monroe’s (Rueter’s last batter) double off Rueter, Shelton’s single scored Monroe from first, Infante doubled again and joined Shelton at home on Inge’s one out single (2-8).

Some stout ninth inning defense helped Fernando Rodney avoid giving up more runs. Matheny lead off with a double and was on third after Omar Vizquel followed with a single. Rodney got Jason Ellison to tap the ball back to him and he successfully made out one at home. J.T. Snow hit an infield single to load the bases for Adam Shabala (in for Alou) who struck out in four pitches. Ray Durham iced the game by jumping on Rodney’s second offering and sending it straight at Polanco.

Game 3 (Final Score: 8-10, Tigers win)

After watching the White Sox win some exciting games it was sure nice to read the same about the Tigers. Mike Maroth started poorly when he gave the Giants another early lead in the second. A two out walk to Pedro Feliz and a two out single to Yorvit Torrealba don’t sound dangerous until you pile on another walk to Todd Linden and a two run single by Adam Shabala (2-0). Rondell White halved the gap with his lead off homer in the bottom half on a 1-2 pitch from Jesse Foppert but the other batters wasted a single and two walks with a botched bunt, an Infante strikeout, and Inge’s fly out (2-1).

Lance Niekro’s single went for naught in the top of the third but Polanco’s lead off walk in the bottom half resulted in a tie game on Monroe’s sac fly with the bases loaded (2-2). Sadly Pudge’s stolen base and Shelton’s walk were wasted by Alexis Gomez who struck out on the eighth pitch of his at bat. This free base spree continued in the fourth with one to impatient Infante and another to Polanco. Young’s double only scored one run (Infante was on third after Foppert’s earlier balk) but Polanco still found home this inning after Jeff Fassero tossed a wild pitch (2-4). The Giants struck right back with a two run shot off Maroth by Niekro (Deivi Cruz was on) and the game stayed tied until the eighth (4-4).

Farnsworth allowed his first run since he was a Cub (a slight exaggeration) on Cruz’s single that scored Linden, who was on after a lead off walk (5-4). The lately deadly Infante got the run right back in the bottom of the frame with a triple that scored Gomez from first (5-5). The game looked to be in good hands when Percival took the mound in the ninth and got two strikeouts after giving up a single and a walk. That made Linden’s three run homer especially painful since the Tigers looked to be ready to hand it to Da Meat of the order in the bottom half (8-5).

Da Meat came through in the bottom half anyway. Actually, it was White who got things started with a one out walk. He made third on Rodriguez’s single and scored on Monroe’s sac fly (8-6). Chris Shelton stepped up and delivered a huge two run shot to tie the game and give the lucky fans some extra baseball (8-8). (Does one big hit validate a call-up?) In the tenth Walker pitched a 1-2-3 inning and ended up earning the victory on Polanco’s walk off two run homer in the bottom half, emphasizing the dubious value of the Win statistic (8-10).

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
T Giarratano	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
A Gomez	4	1	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
O Infante	8	3	5	1	0	9	0.625	1.125
B Inge	13	2	5	3	2	9	0.385	0.692
N Logan	6	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	10	1	2	3	2	3	0.200	0.300
P Polanco	13	3	4	3	2	7	0.308	0.538
I Rodriguez	12	3	6	0	0	7	0.500	0.583
C Shelton	12	2	3	4	2	6	0.250	0.500
J Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	12	3	4	2	1	10	0.333	0.833
D Young	14	0	3	1	1	4	0.214	0.286
Totals	107	18	32	17	10	55	0.299	0.514
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
K Farnsworth	1	1	1	1	1	0	9.00	2.00
F German	1.2	2	0	0	1	1	0.00	2.50
J Johnson	8	9	2	1	3	4	1.13	1.50
M Maroth	5	7	4	4	3	2	7.20	2.00
T Percival	1	2	3	3	1	3	27.00	3.00
N Robertson	7	8	4	4	1	5	5.14	1.29
F Rodney	1	3	0	0	0	1	0.00	3.00
C Spurling	2.1	1	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.48
J Walker	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
Totals	28	33	14	13	10	19	4.18	1.54

Game 1 (Final Score: 8-4, Tigers win)

Returning home after that dreadful Colorado skiing trip, the Tigers got to face a top notch squad in the Padres. There was a two hour rain delay and the Tigers were Jekyll before and Hyde after it. Ginter took over the pitching duties from Johnson per Trammell’s established policy and provided some motivation for the hitters in his first inning of work. In the third the Padres played some National League ball with Ginter’s help. Khalil Greene lead off with a single, was sacrificed to second, and was on third with two out and Ryan Klesko at bat. Dmitri Young botched Klesko’s effort and Greene crossed the plate (1-0).

After the rain delay the Tigers’ hitters remembered how to put the ball in play successfully. During the first two innings the Tigers exhibited great skill in both missing the ball when they swung at it and successfully keeping it in the infield (Jekyll). Shelton and Giarratano wasted their at bats so Logan looked pretty pathetic with his two out walk. In an effort to look manlier, he stole second (enter Hyde). Inge was facing a 3-1 count and Jake Peavy threw him a pitch he probably wanted back; To get it however, he’d have to go wrestle a fan in the fountain (1-2). Polanco continued his hot hitting with a double and Young redeemed his miscue in the top half with an RBI single (1-3).

Doug Creek took the reins in the sixth and started ugly. Klesko benefited from another Tiger miscue, Creek’s, and reached second base on another infield grounder. Fernando Rodney was called on to keep the Tigers’ lead and he couldn’t do it. Phil Nevin scored Klesko from third with one out used and Mark “I wanna be like Mike” Sweeney doubled him home to tie the game (3-3). Klesko must have felt bad for the home fans because he made a fielding error that benefited the Tigers in the bottom half. With White and Polanco on first and second, Klesko’s head started spinning and he spewed projectile vomit and lost the ball hit towards him in the mess. White and Polanco both scored when the rest of the Padres went to help him out and poor Monroe was trying to clean himself up at first base (3-5).

The Tigers provided some insurance runs in the eighth. Polanco singled, stole second, and scored on White’s triple (3-6). Rodriguez hit an RBI single, stole second, and scored on Monroe’s RBI single (3-8). Shelton kept the magic going with a single but Giarratano Muggled the magic with a double play ball. Walker, Farnsworth, and Percival finished the game out from the seventh on and only Percival allowed a run on Sweeney’s solo homer (4-8).

Game 2 (Final Score: 2-8, Tigers win)

Pretty much all that needs to be said about today’s game was covered by Maroth (quote from espn.com’s recap) “Today felt good,” he said. “I haven’t been pitching with leads very often lately.” Maroth has pitched well enough to win most nights out this year but he’s still lost five games in a row, mostly due to the Tigers’ well documented offensive incompetence. Maroth quickly ended his shutout bid with no outs in the first when Greene produced the first run with his RBI double (1-0). In the second the Tigers closed the gap with Polanco scoring on White’s double (1-1). Polanco has been an absolute hitting beast since he came over from the Phillies and is making me quickly forget how to spell Ugueth Urbina.

In the second the Tigers gave Maroth his first lead in about a month. Monroe and Shelton were on after a single and an error and one out was used by Giarratano’s popped up bunt. Logan’s fielder’s choice gave Inge runners at the corners, who made second after the throw home on his run scoring single (1-2). Polanco bested Inge’s feat, scoring two runs with his single, and the inning got really interesting (1-4). Adam Eaton loaded the bases with a walk to Young and a hit White to face I. Rodriguez. Pudge demonstrated his usual impatience and hit the second pitch for out number three into right fielder’s mitt.

Maroth stuck it on cruise control in the second and abused the Padres the rest of the time he was on the mound. In the third the Tigers extended the lead with back-to-back doubles from Monroe and Shelton (1-5). The last man Eaton faced was Logan and he drew a walk. His relief, Darrell May, followed with another walk to Inge after Logan stole second. Polanco plated Shelton from third and May got Young to end the inning with a double play (1-6). May struck again in the seventh, allowing a double and home run to White and Monroe respectively (1-8).

Franklyn German was given the opportunity to end the game quietly and he wasn’t terrible. He started the ninth with a walk to Klesko, got Nevin to miss strike three, uncorked a wild one that advanced Klesko to second, and gave up Robert Fick’s RBI single before ending the game with a 6-4-3 double play (2-8).

Game 3 (Final Score: 1-3, Tigers win)

With the series already won, Bonderman faced Woody Williams with a chance to pitch the Tigers into a sweep of another first place team. Except for the first and seventh innings, Bonderman was very good. Dave Roberts was the first Padre on in the first and he thoughtfully batted himself home with his lead off homer (1-0). After two quick outs, Bonderman had a first base giveaway party attended by Brian Giles and the less famous Sweeney, Mark. Ramon Hernandez was Bonderman’s next opponent and he struck out to end the inning. In the second, the less famous Sweeney hit a single that went for two bases after the error by Monroe. He was joined on base by Geoff Blum who earned a one out walk. Greene had a real opportunity to do some damage with the Tigers ahead by only a run but Bonderman induced an inning ending double play.

The Tigers scored runs in the second, third, and seventh. Chris Shelton tied the game on his single, the third consecutive hit of the inning, scoring Pudge (doubled, advanced on Monroe’s single) from third (1-1). Inge tripled to start the third and scored on Young’s sacrifice fly (1-2). Shelton led off the seventh with his first major league homer (1-3). The offense provided just enough runs to give Bonderman his eighth win and Percival his fifth save.

I’m not going to complain about the offensive output in this series but the Tigers are still impatient at the plate. If you look at the pitch-by-pitch logs you’ll see a lot of at bats that aren’t longer than four pitches. The one thing that doesn’t show up is what kinds of pitches they are swinging at early in the count; All these pitches they’re choosing could be really good ones to hit but since so many are going for groundballs I’m a little skeptical. Just something to watch for those of you that are lucky enough to get Tigers broadcasts on the TV.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
T Giarratano	10	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
A Gomez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
O Infante	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	12	3	4	3	1	9	0.333	0.750
N Logan	7	2	0	0	2	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	11	3	5	3	0	9	0.455	0.818
P Polanco	12	4	6	3	0	7	0.500	0.583
I Rodriguez	11	2	3	1	0	4	0.273	0.364
C Shelton	11	2	4	3	0	8	0.364	0.727
R White	10	3	3	2	1	6	0.300	0.600
D Young	9	0	1	2	1	1	0.111	0.111
Totals	95	19	26	17	6	44	0.274	0.463
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	7	4	1	1	3	4	1.29	1.00
D Creek	0.1	0	1	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
K Farnsworth	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
F German	1	1	1	1	1	1	9.00	2.00
M Ginter	3	3	1	0	0	1	0.00	1.00
J Johnson	2	1	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
M Maroth	8	6	1	1	0	5	1.13	0.75
T Percival	2	2	1	1	0	0	4.50	1.00
F Rodney	1	2	1	1	0	0	9.00	2.00
J Walker	2.1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	0.48
Totals	27	19	7	5	6	13	1.67	0.93

Game 1 (Final Score: 0-2, Rockies win)

This game combined two things I didn’t expect to see: Only two runs scored at Coors and a Tigers loss. Mike Maroth has not been getting very much run support lately as evidenced by today’s offensive production and his fine outing was spoiled by the slumping Detroit offense. The Tigers had nine total base runners today on seven hits, a walk, and a double/error. Twice there were two hits in an inning (all singles) and both innings were wasted on double plays. The hitters jumped on pitches early in counts and beat them directly into the ground at a Colorado defender.

Maroth survived two wild pitches and two tough spots. In the second there were runners at the corners and no outs courtesy of his first wild pitch and a pair of singles. He retired the next seven batters convincingly before allowing men on again in the fourth. The one out walk and single he gave up were erased on a pair of ground balls. The Rockies finally touched him in the sixth for two runs on a homer by Garrett Atkins. With Helton away, Maroth walked Preston Wilson (later picked off) and Dustan Mohr hit a single. Garret Atkins smacked Maroth’s second pitch in the at bat through the thin air and into the right field stands (2-0). In the eighth it looked like the Tigers were getting some where after Logan’s and Shelton’s singles only to see Inge and Placido Polanco end the last Tigers’ scoring threat.

Game 2 (Final Score: 6-4, Tigers win)

For the second game in a row Brandon Inge started things off with a single. He made third on Young’s single and scored on White’s fielder’s choice (1-0). An Ivan Rodriguez two out single gave Craig Monroe runners at the corners and he delivered with a single (2-0). The Rockies rallied against Bonderman with one out in the bottom half. Cory Sullivan reached first on a wild third strike and scored after Helton’s and Wilson’s singles (2-1). Atkins was again at bat with an opportunity to cause some pain after Brad Hawpe drew a walk. His fielder’s choice wasn’t especially bad but it scored another run (2-2).

Young got the offense going with a lead off double in the third and scored on White’s single (3-2). Rodriguez, Monroe, and Giarratano bailed Jason Jennings out with some anti-heroics early in their at bats to end the inning. With the door wide open the Rockies drew even again in the fourth with two outs used. J.D. Closser walked; Jennings singled him to second and Cory Sullivan’s infield single evened things up (3-3). The Tigers and Rockies traded runs in the fifth with the Tigers doing it on doubles by Polanco and White and the Rockies with another RBI by Atkins (4-4).

Giarratano lead off the sixth with a walk and walked back to the dugout on Logan’s fielder’s choice. Logan stole second during Bonderman’s strike out giving Inge a runner in scoring position. He singled Logan home and made second on the throw, but Polanco couldn’t keep the scoring up, ending the inning on a long fly (5-4). Polanco’s next deep (sac) fly in the eighth scored Giarratano, the Tigers final run (6-4). Trammell’s decision to keep Bonderman out of the seventh after the rain delay paid off since the Tigers bullpen effectively shut the Rockies down the rest of the way only allowing two base runners.

Game 3 (Final Score: 3-7, Rockies win)

In the rubber match the Tigers scored early and the Rockies scored often. Nate Robertson’s first opponent, Eddy Garabito, smacked his third pitch for a double and scored after two groundouts (0-1). The Tigers came whimpering back in the second and third with a pair of runs. Tony Giarratano helped Young – the first Tiger base runner – home after he was hit by a pitch to lead off, made second on Monroe’s single, and had to wait for Thames to strike out (1-1). Logan and Polanco started the third off with back-to-back singles so Inge had runners at the corners since Sullivan decided it was time for an errant throw from center field. Inge struck out, Young got an IBB, and Monroe could only muster a sac fly (2-1).

Preston Wilson restarted the Rockies’ offense with his lead off homer in the fourth (2-2). Atkins continued to take BP from Tiger pitching this series, plating another run on his two out single in the fifth (2-3). Wilson’s second leadoff homer paved the way to the end of Robertson’s night in the sixth (2-4). He was followed by two one out singles from Luis A. Gonzalez and Sullivan before Trammell called on Spurling. Danny Ardoin’s single plated Gonzalez but he later made the second out when he went for two bases (2-5). Jorge Piedra pinch hit for Kim, doubled home a run, and then scored on Garabito’s single (2-7). Spurling finally found the way to beat Atkins at the plate, getting him to end the inning.

Doug Creek, Fernando Rodney, and Franklyn German combined to hold the Rockies scoreless the rest of the game. To dot the exclamation point, Nook Logan provided a perfect example of too little too late; He hit the Tigers’ first home run of the series with two outs used in the ninth (3-7). Yes, that’s exactly three extra base hits – one home run and two doubles – during a three game visit to Coors Lite.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
J Bonderman	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
T Giarratano	11	1	2	1	1	2	0.182	0.182
O Infante	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	11	1	3	1	2	3	0.273	0.273
N Logan	12	3	5	1	0	9	0.417	0.750
M Maroth	1	0	1	0	1	1	1.000	1.000
C Monroe	11	0	2	2	1	2	0.182	0.182
P Polanco	12	1	4	1	0	5	0.333	0.417
N Robertson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
I Rodriguez	8	0	1	0	1	1	0.125	0.125
C Shelton	2	0	1	0	1	1	0.500	0.500
M Thames	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	9	1	3	2	0	4	0.333	0.444
V Wilson	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	11	2	3	0	1	4	0.273	0.364
Totals	102	9	25	8	8	32	0.245	0.314
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	6	8	4	4	2	2	6.00	1.67
D Creek	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
K Farnsworth	1.1	1	0	0	0	3	0.00	0.91
F German	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0.00	0.91
M Maroth	7	7	2	2	2	3	2.57	1.29
T Percival	1	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
N Robertson	5.1	8	6	6	1	5	10.59	1.76
F Rodney	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00
C Spurling	0.2	3	1	1	0	0	45.00	15.00
J Walker	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
Totals	25	27	13	13	7	18	4.68	1.36

Game 1 (Final Score: 3-5, Dodgers win)

The Tigers traveled to LA to continue their Interleague play against the Dodgers. Bonderman faced Derek Lowe, a name that often came up in discussions for starting pitching in the past off-season. Ivan Rodriguez started the Tigers out nicely with a one out double in the second, scoring on Craig Monroe’s double (1-0). It’s nice to see two of the hottest Tigers getting the job done. The Tigers extended their lead later in the inning when Monroe scored during Nook Logan’s infield single and Jeff Kent’s two base throwing error (2-0). Unfortunately this was at a National League park so the ninth batter was Bonderman who struck out.

In the third the Tigers managed three groundouts. This probably would have been fine with the Dodgers but they still managed a run. Inge’s single looked to be erased on Guillen’s grounder but Antonio Perez made like Kent and threw the ball away. Inge came around to home one out later on White’s RBI groundout (3-0). These early runs buoyed Bonderman and he didn’t allow runs until the fourth. He gave up a lead off home run to Jason Repko, followed it with J.D. Drew’s triple, and Drew came home on Kent’s single (3-2).

Bonderman continued to be solid until a bad stretch in the sixth; He issued two walks and a Kent three run homer in thirteen pitches and surrendered the Tigers’ lead (2-5). It might not have mattered but Lowe continued on in the groove he started in the fourth inning and kept the Tigers down until Gagne finished the game in the ninth.

Game 2 (Final Score: 8-4, Tigers win)

Robertson started the second game a lot rougher than Bonderman did the first. He walked Cesar Izturis, got him out on Repko’s grounder but moved Repko over on a wild pitch while walking Antonio Perez. Kent’s single scored Repko from second then Robertson finally found his form and got Olmedo Saenz and Jayson Werth to end the inning (0-1). Derek Thompson, his opponent, wrapped the Tigers up in yarn for two innings.

In the third, the Tigers loaded the bases on singles by Ramon Martinez and Logan, Robertson’s successful sacrifice, and Inge’s walk. Showing a remarkable lack of patience, Guillen grounded the third pitch he saw to third and Dmitri Young did the same on the second pitch but Martinez had already scored (1-1). Martinez again exposed Thompson in the fourth with his sac fly coming with runners at the corners and one out (2-1). Sadly this run was quickly picked up on Jason Phillips’ solo shot in the bottom half (2-2).

The Dodgers went back ahead again in the fifth when Robertson rediscovered his penchant for walking batters. One out walks to Repko and Perez were both made into runs when Saenz smacked a two out double (2-4). These runs were picked up in the sixth against Johnson’s relief, Scott Erickson. Rodriguez went for extra bases again today with a leadoff home run (3-4). Monroe followed with a single and Martinez a walk before Erickson went out for Franquelis “Fresh Meat” Osoria. Logan sacrificed Monroe and Martinez over and pinch hitter Chris Shelton tied the game with an RBI groundout (4-4). Inge ended the inning with another groundout and so did all three Dodgers batters in the sixth against Spurling.

Duaner Sanchez was called on by the Dodgers to maintain the tie and they probably should have called collect. Tony Giarratano started things off badly for him with his first career Major League home run and things deteriorated from there (5-4). After Dmitri Young’s homer, Rondell White went for two bases and Rodriguez sent him to third on his single (6-4). Monroe hit the Tigers’ umpteenth RBI groundout this game and Martinez just hit a groundout (7-4). Logan plated Pudge with a single and made second on the throw (8-4). Marcus Thames pinch hit for Spurling badly, ending the inning with a strikeout. Farnsworth, Urbina, and Percival took care of the seventh, eighth, and ninth for the win. That’s the last time I’ll be saying that. I also hope that’s the last time the Tigers need groundouts to score this many runs. 🙁

Game 3 (Final Score: 1-3, Dodgers win)

During each game recap, ESPN brought up the Dodgers sweep of the Tigers in 2003. Every single one. That’s almost as frustrating as losing this game. The Tigers once again wasted a good pitching performance with very little timely hitting and did so against the inconsistent Ex-Tiger Jeff Weaver, who I’m still bitter at for not realizing his potential in Detroit. I also really hate his facial hair. Jerk.

Inge made the first inning worthwhile with a two out double after Giarratano and Logan flailed at some pitches ineffectively. White managed to make good contact but it was caught in the outfield, ending this minor threat. The Tigers’ batters sucked it up the rest of the way, not working counts and making lots of outs for the most part. They flailed at a lot of pitches, making Weaver look like the pitcher the team thought it had drafted. The only good hitter today was Johnson who must be really, really frustrated. Not only did he pitch pretty well, he scored his team’s only run on his homer. Poor guy.

If you’re a Dodger’s fan, you’re pumped. Weaver got the visitors to go after his pitches and only gave up a solo homer. They got an early lead in the second when Johnson gave Jason Grabowski a pitch he could drive out of the park. It was even better because there was already a guy on, Werth, making the lead two runs (0-2). You loaded the bases in the fourth but since this is the National League had a free out due up so the threat ended, keeping the score the same (1-2). Hee Sop Choi had an RBI in the seventh, an inning when you loaded the bases for the second time today (1-3). Last but not least you made up a game on the Padres. I told you I’d be positive this time.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
J Bonderman	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
T Giarratano	7	1	1	1	0	4	0.143	0.571
C Guillen	6	0	0	1	1	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	12	1	2	0	1	3	0.167	0.250
O Infante	7	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
J Johnson	2	1	1	1	0	4	0.500	2.000
N Logan	9	0	4	1	1	5	0.444	0.556
R Martinez	2	1	1	1	1	1	0.500	0.500
C Monroe	12	2	2	2	0	3	0.167	0.250
N Robertson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
I Rodriguez	9	3	5	1	0	9	0.556	1.000
C Shelton	2	0	0	1	0	0	0.000	0.000
M Thames	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	13	2	2	1	0	3	0.154	0.231
V Wilson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	10	1	2	1	1	2	0.200	0.200
Totals	97	12	20	11	5	34	0.206	0.351
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	6	5	5	5	2	5	7.50	1.17
K Farnsworth	2	0	0	0	0	4	0.00	0.00
F German	0.2	1	0	0	0	1	0.00	5.00
J Johnson	6.2	8	3	3	1	3	4.35	1.45
T Percival	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
N Robertson	5	5	4	4	4	3	7.20	1.80
C Spurling	2.1	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.95
U Urbina	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	1.00
J Walker	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	10.00
Totals	25	22	12	12	8	17	4.32	1.20

Game 1 (3-5, Tigers win)

Jason Johnson gets the call, once again facing his old mates (not the Indians, oops) and hoping to continue his winning streak. I am really enjoying his hot streak thus far in the season and hope he is able to keep it up all year long. His opponent, Bruce Chen, gave the Tigers a tough outing last time but the relief ended up losing the game for him. I like to call this foreshadowing.

The top and bottom of the first went 1-2-3 before the bats made some contact in the second. Johnson allowed a two out BJ Surhoff double and Chen allowed a two out Craig Monroe triple before escaping the inning. The leadoff man in the third, Chris Gomez, beat out an infield single before being erased on Geronimo Gil’s double play. David Newhan hit a single after a long at bat and went all the way to third on Johnson’s errant pickoff attempt. He scored on Mora’s bunt and Johnson struck out Tejada to end the inning (1-0).

The scoring picked up again in the bottom of the fifth with Rodriguez’s leadoff homerun (1-1). (I’ve typed leadoff homerun a lot more than I have any other home run related phrase in these updates.) Chen continued to be effective until the seventh when the Tigers broke the tie. Rondell White’s one out single was the go ahead run on Rodriguez’s double, his second extra base hit of the game (1-2). Chen was pulled in favor of Williams, who went on the give up a big inning. Monroe made out number two, Chris Shelton hit an RBI single and made second on the throw, Tony Giarratano added an RBI single, Logan walked, and Inge hit the third RBI single of the inning (1-5). James Baldwin came in to face Infante and retired him easily.

While the line says eight innings, Johnson went into the ninth. He walked Mora on a full count and Tejada hit a single before Farnsworth replaced Johnson on the mound. Pursuing a similar vein as Billfer, I’d like to mention Johnson only took 101 pitches to reach the top of the ninth, a remarkable improvement in pitching efficiency for him from the past. The next man up, Sammy Sosa, reached safely on Giarratano’s throwing error. Facing Rafael Palmeiro, Farnsworth allowed a deep fly that scored Mora (2-5). He got his second out at second when Surhoff dribbled a ball back to him but Tejada made third. Jay Gibbons singled Tejada home and Gomez struck out as the winning run (3-5). Sounds like a heck of a game to have attended.

Game 2 (14-7, Orioles win)

Wilfredo “Doghouse” Ledezma tried to continue the Detroit dominance of the Orioles, facing Rodrigo Lopez, who’s gotten excellent run support in all four of his victories. Thus it comes as no surprise that he surrendered three first inning runs with a little help from his friends. Ramon Martinez reached on one of my favorite plays in baseball: The wild pitch called third strike. Carlos Guillen earned (using the term loosely, it was a gift) a four pitch walk to give Rondell White a promising at bat. His three-run home run gave Ledezma a big early lead and hopefully a feeling of confidence (0-3).

Well, he was too confident to start the second. The leadoff man, Sosa, scored with one out after his leadoff double, Palmeiro’s groundout, and Surhoff’s single (1-3). Gomez walked in four pitches and Gibbons gifted Ledezma with out number two. Geronimo Gil proved to be troublesome when he hit a ball that Giarratano misplayed for a two run error (3-3).

The Tigers offense provided a pick-me-up with its three runs with two outs in the second. Logan singled, stole second, and Inge joined him on base with a walk. Martinez plated Logan with his single and scored with Inge on Guillen’s double (3-6). White’s groundout completed the Tigers’ second three run inning. Ledezma responded by retiring the Baltimore third, allowing only a single.

In the bottom half, the Tigers again looked very strong. Rodriguez led off with a single and was chased to third on Young’s double. Monroe brought Rodriguez home with a sac fly, the first of three consecutive fly ball outs (3-7). Giarratano and Logan disappointed since both fouled out to third with Young in scoring position. Ledezma responded with another quiet inning, only allowing another single.

Well, that was it for both the Tigers offense and Ledezma’s tolerable pitching. In the top of the fifth, two walks and a single turned into four runs when Palmeiro tied the game with his grand slam (7-7). That was it for Ledezma and Spurling replaced him effectively for the rest of the fifth and sixth. In the seventh, Jamie Walker started strong and faded. Gomez hit a two out single and Gibbons sent him home with a double (8-7). German ended the inning and pitched into the eighth. David Newhan, leading off the eighth, scored on Giarratano’s second error of the day after doubling and advancing to third on Mora’s groundout (9-7). German was relieved by Creek after striking out Sosa and watched the inning end quietly.

The Tigers threatened in the bottom with the tying men aboard, two out, and Guillen again at bat. Alas, Inge’s double and Martinez’s single were wasted on Guillen’s pop out. Surhoff’s, Gomez’s, and Sal Fasano’s singles were not wasted because Mora hit Baltimore’s second grand slam, putting the game out of reach (13-7). Tejada completed the come-from-behind beating with his solo shot also into left field (14-7).

Game 3 (Final Score: 6-2, Orioles win)

It is hard to imagine a game that ended worse than yesterday’s, but this one fits the bill. There’s nothing quite like giving up a lead by playing poorly. The first inning lead from Dmitri Young’s two out homer with Guillen on and Maroth’s decent performance were squandered in the fifth. Palmeiro’s leadoff single should have been played cleanly but Shelton slipped and couldn’t recover quickly enough to get him out. The Gomez single and Gibbons double were both clean hits but the following play that tied the game is frustrating. Fasano’s certain groundout became a two bagger on Inge’s throwing error (2-2). Ramon Nivar’s groundout scored the go-ahead run and put the Tigers behind for good (3-2). Fasano scored the final run of the fifth on Mora’s single, putting the Tigers down (4-2).

Logan lead off the sixth with a bunt single, stole second and third base, and watched Guillen strike out of for the third out. Not to be out done the Orioles scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh frame on Maroth’s wild pitch and Mora’s sac fly (6-2). Young’s wasted lead off double in the seventh was the highlight of matched 1-2-3 innings the rest of the way.

I hate to be so dismal but this game came as a first class disappointment. The Tigers had a great chance to pick up a series against a team that is playing pretty well and they Detroit Lionsed the game away. This was just a very upsetting performance from a team that seemed to finally be matching decent hitting with good enough pitching. I guess this streak was too good to last. Sorry for raining on everyone’s parade and going negative like a political campaign. I’ll find some good things to say when they play the Dodgers.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
T Giarratano	7	1	1	1	0	1	0.143	0.143
C Guillen	8	2	4	2	1	5	0.500	0.625
O Infante	8	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	12	1	3	1	1	4	0.250	0.333
N Logan	9	1	3	0	1	3	0.333	0.333
R Martinez	5	2	2	1	0	2	0.400	0.400
C Monroe	9	0	2	1	0	4	0.222	0.444
I Rodriguez	9	3	3	2	0	7	0.333	0.778
C Shelton	6	1	1	1	0	1	0.167	0.167
M Thames	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	9	2	2	3	0	5	0.222	0.556
V Wilson	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	13	1	4	2	0	8	0.308	0.615
Totals	101	14	25	14	3	40	0.248	0.396
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
D Creek	1.1	5	5	5	0	1	40.91	4.55
K Farnsworth	1	1	0	0	0	1	0.00	1.00
F German	1	1	1	0	0	1	0.00	1.00
J Johnson	8	6	3	1	1	6	1.13	0.88
W Ledezma	4.1	7	7	5	3	2	10.98	2.44
M Maroth	8	10	6	2	1	1	2.25	1.38
T Percival	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
C Spurling	1.2	1	0	0	1	0	0.00	1.67
J Walker	0.2	2	1	1	0	1	45.00	10.00
Totals	27	33	23	14	6	14	4.67	1.44

Game 1 (Final Score: 8-2, Rangers win)

The Tigers look to continue their recent success during a visit from the red hot Rangers. The first game paired Maroth and Kenny Rogers and they paired first inning runs. Maroth retired the first two men he faced but gave up a triple to Teixeira and an RBI double to Hank Blalock (1-0). Rogers allowed Inge to get ahead in the count and Inge smacked the 2-1 offering over the fences in right (1-1). That was the total of Rogers’ generosity; He two hit the Tigers the rest of the way, abusing his guest privileges. Maroth, however, was in a giving mood, making the visitors feel welcome.

Maroth allowed only one hit in each of the second and third before leaving the barn door open in the fourth. Soriano singled, Mench walked, Chad Allen hit a one out triple scoring both Soriano and Mench, Rod Barajas hit an RBI single, and finally Andres Torres and Michael Young ended the inning (4-1). In the fifth, Maroth gave up a single to Teixeira before striking out the next two batters. Mr. Mench hit a two run homer and Matt Ginter relieved Maroth (6-1).

Ginter started the sixth with two quick outs and a quick single. Torres stole second and scored on Michael Young’s single, who scored in turn on Teixeira’s double (8-1). Blalock singled and Ginter hit Soriano, loading the bases. Kevin Mench took Doug Creek to 3-2 before finally fouling out and ending the inning before it really got out of hand. I’ll give Trammell the benefit of the doubt here and call his relief of Ginter perfect timing.

With six outs left, Chris Shelton made his presence on the big league team felt with a leadoff double. He had to wait two outs until Inge singled him home to score what ended up being a meaningless run (8-2). The Rangers pretty much kicked the Tigers’ teeth in and started the series off wonderfully.

Game 2 (Final Score: 4-6, Tigers win)

Staff ace Bonderman was called on to start a new winning streak for the Tigers against Ryan Drese. The two starters combined to allow just three hits through three innings of play before Bonderman got eaten up by the heart of the Rangers’ order. The top of the fourth went leadoff single (M. Young), one out RBI double (Blalock), two out two run homer (Mench), ending on a Nix strikeout (3-0). The bottom half featured some Tigers offense on a Dmitri Young solo home run and a wasted Rondell White single (3-1). Hidalgo completed the Texas scoring with a leadoff homer in the fifth (4-1). Bonderman only allowed three more base runners before being relieved by Farnsworth in the eighth.

The offense bailed Bonderman out starting (and ending) in the seventh. White and Ivan Rodriguez started the inning with singles and Monroe belted a ground rule double that scored White (4-2). Chris Shelton hit an RBI groundout and Tony Giarratano an RBI single (4-4). Logan reached first and Giarratano third on Drese’s misplay of Logan’s bunt. Doug Brocail was called on to keep the tie but Brandon Inge delivered both runners with a single (4-6). The inning and game went quietly after that with only one single allowed and five Rangers’ strikeouts by Farnsworth and Urbina.

Game 3 (Final Score: 5-6, Tigers win)

It’s Nate Robertson who’s had success against the Rangers this season in the decisive third game. If you watched the first inning, you sure would think it was the other way around. The Rangers started the game with three singles from Torres, Michael Young, and Teixeira with Torres scoring from second on Teixeira’s (1-0). Mench‘s at bat resulted in another Rangers run when he hit into a fielder’s choice to Giarratano, who threw to Infante, who threw the ball away, allowing M. Young to score (2-0). Robertson didn’t allow another run for the next five innings, surviving two walks, a single, a double, and two wild pitches.

The Tigers halved the lead leading off the second when Rondell White hit Chris Young’s 2-0 offering into the seats (2-1). They expunged the Rangers’ lead in the third on White’s second and third RBI, despite striking out twice in the inning. Logan lead off with a single (a disputed play and he actually should have been called out), stole second, and Inge followed him on with a walk. Infante sacrificed the two of them over a base and White scored them with his two out single (2-3).

That’s the way the game looked until the seventh when the Tigers’ defense got sloppy. Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a single and made second on Shelton’s throwing error. Mark DeRosa singled, advancing him to third and setting the table for Torres’ sac fly to tie it back up (3-3). Franklyn German returned to his normal form, allowing a single by M. Young, an RBI single by Teixeira, and a sac fly by Mench (5-3). Fortunately he was relieved in the next inning by Spurling who pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth.

Ex-Tiger Francisco Cordero was given the ball and the lead when he entered to close the book on the Tigers and restart the win streak. He gave up a single to Monroe to lead things off on a full count, a single to Shelton on an 0-2 count, and walked Giarratano to load the bases. Carlos Guillen was called off the bench and hit a sac fly, reducing the lead (5-4). Inge used up the second out missing strike three but Infante hit the next pitch for a single, scoring Shelton (5-5). Infante advanced to third on a fielder’s indifference only to see D. Young foul out, ending regulation baseball.

In the tenth, Urbina allowed a leadoff double and walk before ending the inning on a double play. Nick Regilio was given the job of matching Urbina but he allowed a one out Rodriguez double to turn into the winning run on Monroe’s series winning single (5-6). That’s another one run win and only one win below .500 for the good guys. I’m looking forward to the next series against the Indians where I hope we can pick up some more games in the Central.

Hitters AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
T Giarratano	5	1	2	1	2	2	0.400	0.400
C Guillen	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.000	0.000
O Infante	10	0	2	1	1	2	0.200	0.200
B Inge	12	2	5	4	0	8	0.417	0.667
N Logan	9	2	2	0	0	2	0.222	0.222
R Martinez	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	13	2	4	2	0	5	0.308	0.385
I Rodriguez	12	2	2	0	0	3	0.167	0.250
C Shelton	10	2	4	1	0	5	0.400	0.500
M Thames	2	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
R White	9	2	4	3	0	7	0.444	0.778
V Wilson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	12	1	1	1	0	4	0.083	0.333
Totals	99	14	26	14	4	38	0.263	0.384
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	7.1	10	4	4	0	6	5.07	1.41
D Creek	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
K Farnsworth	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00
F German	1.2	4	1	1	0	0	7.50	3.33
M Ginter	1	4	2	2	0	1	18.00	4.00
M Maroth	4.2	9	6	6	1	5	12.86	2.38
N Robertson	6.1	7	4	3	2	4	4.43	1.48
C Spurling	3	2	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
U Urbina	2	1	0	0	1	4	0.00	1.00
Totals	28	37	17	16	5	24	5.14	1.50

Game 1 (Final Score: 4-3, Tigers win)

Robertson’s opponent in the first game of the Memorial Day weekend series was Sidney Ponson, who boasts a winning record even though he sports an ERA over five. Playing to his average, Ponson started the game with a Brandon Inge double. After overcoming Infante and Young, Rondell White hit Ponson’s 0-2 pitch for a single, which sent Inge home for an early Tigers’ lead (1-0). Robertson bettered his opponent for most of the game, especially in the second when he got out of a one out, two men on jam with a nicely turned double play.

Ponson was solid for two innings until he allowed the leadoff man to score in the fourth. Young did all the work himself belting his seventh homerun of the year (2-0). In what looked to be a promising inning, Rodriguez’s double and Pena’s walk were wasted by some poor hitting from Monroe and Smith. Robertson and Ponson settled in to pitch a pretty good game, trading zeros for another couple innings until Young lead off the sixth successfully with an infield single. He advanced to third on a pair of groundouts and scored on Monroe’s home run (4-0). Robertson matched Ponson in the bottom half by giving up a leadoff triple to Brian Roberts, who scored on Jeff Fiorentino’s groundout (4-1).

Robertson lasted midway through the eighth before giving way to Farnsworth. He allowed a single to Surhoff and four pitch walk to Geronimo Gil before getting Roberts and Fiorentino out. Farnsworth allowed run scoring singles to Melvin Mora and Miguel Tejada before finally ending the inning (4-3). Urbina came in to finish the game off even though it looked like he wouldn’t make it that far. The first two outs were sandwiched between a leadoff double and two walks before Urbina got Fiorentino to swing and miss at strike three.

Game 2 (Final Score: 5-3, Tigers win)

Ex-Oriole Jason “Hard Luck” Johnson started this game with the fans hoping he pitches well enough to win and actually does this time. Rookie Hayden Penn, pitching in his first game, was probably pleased to be facing a slumping Tigers lineup that hasn’t given Johnson enough support to win since the middle of April. The first major league hit he allowed was a single, which isn’t so bad, but the second was a solo home run to Craig Monroe in the top of the second, which he probably wants back (1-0). He got a nice pick-me-up from Tejada in the bottom when Johnson gave him a 2-1 pitch he could drive out of the park (1-1).

The Orioles struck again, this time in the fourth when Melvin Mora converted Surhoff’s leadoff triple into the go-ahead run on his single (1-2). That was two hits, one run, all in three pitches by Johnson. Compare this to the long inning Penn had in the top half. He gave the Tigers a single and two walks but no runs. Riding the rollercoaster called Johnson is very frustrating.

In the fifth inning much fun was had by the bats. Logan singled and stole second before Inge walked. Guillen’s groundout advanced both runners, so with first base open, the Orioles walked Young intentionally. White made them pay, kind of, when his grounder scored Logan but forced Young out at second (2-2). Next up was Rodriguez who smacked a double, scoring Inge and giving Monroe runners on second and third and a new pitcher (3-2). Todd Williams induced another groundout to end the top half. The bottom half was quiet unless you count the seven pitch at bat ending in a Rafael Palemeiro homerun (3-3).

Johnson and Williams combined to keep the next two innings scoreless. Williams’ relief, Jorge Julio, got White easily enough only to see Rodriguez single, steal second, and make third on Monroe’s fly. Home base came at a trot for Rodriguez because Infante belted the 1-1 pitch over the fence in left center for two runs, and the final margin of victory (5-3).

Game 3 (Final Score: 8-6, Tigers win)

Ledezma got the nod to finish the series with Baltimore. He stranded three baserunners through three innings before surrendering the Tigers’ fourth inning lead (Dmitri Young scored on Sosa’s error). He issued two walks that were quickly real trouble after Chris Gomez’s sacrifice. Jay Gibbons had men on second and third (one out) that he did just enough with, scoring Tejada on his groundout (1-1). The Tigers answered in the fifth with men on second and third (two out), oh, and first also. Ramon Martinez was less effective since his effort ended in a pop fly out, ruining a great scoring chance.

The bottom of the fifth saw the exit of Ledezma. He allowed two more runs on Surhoff’s triple and was replaced by Chris Spurling (1-3). Spurling bettered Mora and intentionally walked Tejada and faced Sammy Sosa with two on, one out. Sosa’s single scored a run, Gomez’s double scored a run, and Gil’s sac fly scored a third run before Spurling could mercifully end the inning (1-6). Young’s leadoff homer in the top of the sixth got a run back but it looked to be too little, too late (2-6).

It looked that way, for an entire inning or so anyway. Wilson drew a leadoff walk and Bruce Chen was finally relieved, to the Tigers’ relief as it turned out. Logan and Inge hit singles to give Martinez the bases loaded. He flied out. Young plated two with his double and Monroe did the rest with his three-run shot (7-6). That wasn’t all. Rodriguez hit a double, Thames walked, and Infante hit an RBI single (8-6). Wilson returned to the plate to end the inning on a double play but I can’t say I care since he started this inning off so nicely. Farnsworth, German, and Urbina combined for two hits the rest of the way and delivered to the Tigers’ fans a shiny new series sweep.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	5	0	1	0	0	1	0.200	0.200
O Infante	12	1	3	3	1	7	0.250	0.583
B Inge	12	3	3	0	2	4	0.250	0.333
N Logan	12	2	4	0	0	5	0.333	0.417
R Martinez	5	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	12	3	4	6	1	13	0.333	1.083
C Pena	3	0	1	0	1	1	0.333	0.333
I Rodriguez	13	2	5	1	0	8	0.385	0.615
J Smith	8	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
M Thames	4	0	1	0	1	1	0.250	0.250
R White	8	0	2	1	0	2	0.250	0.250
V Wilson	3	1	1	0	1	1	0.333	0.333
D Young	12	5	6	4	1	13	0.500	1.083
Totals	109	17	31	15	8	56	0.284	0.514
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
K Farnsworth	1.1	3	0	0	0	1	0.00	2.73
F German	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
J Johnson	8	7	3	3	1	3	3.38	1.00
W Ledezma	4	3	4	4	5	3	9.00	2.00
N Robertson	7.2	6	3	3	1	1	3.75	0.97
C Spurling	2	4	2	2	2	2	9.00	3.00
J Walker	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	5.00
U Urbina	3	1	0	0	2	1	0.00	1.00
Totals	27	25	12	12	11	11	4.00	1.33

Game 1 (Final score: 3-12, Yankees win)

After a disappointing series loss to the D-Backs, the Tigers square off against the Yankees, a team they’ve had success against the last few years, at the House that Ruth Built. The ’05 edition of the Yanks sports a record similar to the Tigers’ but at a much higher cost per loss. On to actual game commentary, Ledezma and Mussina combined for a quiet first inning before Ledezma started allowing runs in the second.

It was only a solo shot to Alex Rodriguez, but it’s still allowing the other team to score first on the road (0-1). Things were dandy until the fourth rolled around and Ledezma started giving up the long ball again. Gary Sheffield’s leadoff walk was really painful when A. Rodriguez again hit a home run (0-3). Fortunately that meant the bases were clear when Posada came up and hit a home run (0-4). The fourth inning hemorrhaging continued when Jason Giambi scored from third on Robinson Cano’s sac fly, after his double and Bernie Williams’ single (0-5). Ledezma did great during the top of the fifth when he didn’t pitch, but the bottom half didn’t go so well. Sheffield scored Womack (reach on an error) and himself on his homerun and Ledezma was replaced (0-7). Ginter proceeded to give up a double, walk, and three run homer, and a double digit deficit (0-10). After the fifth consecutive batter he faced reached safely, Spurling entered and was greeted by Cano’s RBI double play ball (0-11). Derek Jeter mercifully ended another big Yankees inning with a fly out.

The Tigers’ offense made it to New York to start the eighth inning. Paul Quantrill started things off with a pair of infield singles before getting a double play from the speedster Vance Wilson (out at first and second). Now things became ugly. Quantrill threw behind and then into Jason Smith (why him, I don’t know) before he and Torre were ejected. He took umbrage with German’s beaning of A. Rodriguez in the seventh. His replacement served up a nice fat pitch to Thames, who hit it for four bases and three RBI (3-11). Alas, that was all for the Tigers bats. Cano’s homer off Creek in the bottom half ended the scoring, making the beat down complete (3-12).

Game 2 (Final Score: 2-4, Yankees win)

Maroth versus Wang (I’ll refrain from any jokes here even though this is one of my favorite euphemisms: Yes, I’m eight years old, but it’s funny). Again, the Yankees strike first, this time in the first. Jeter scored from second, after his single and Cano’s sacrifice, on Sheffield’s single and the Tigers were behind again (0-1). Wang cleaned house the first time through the Tigers’ order before allowing two singles to Inge and Guillen and an RBI sacrifice to I. Rodriguez (1-1) in the fourth.

Maroth stayed even with Wang through five before failing to record an out in the sixth. A walk, single, an A. Rodriguez RBI double, and a two RBI Posada single chased him in favor of Jamie Walker (1-4). I’ve noticed that Trammell sends in the relief just past the nick of time quite frequently and I really wonder why. Walker, Maroth’s relief, ended the inning quickly, but not before the damage was done.

The Tigers came right back in the top of the seventh and worked on Wang a little bit. Wang was looking flaccid (Sorry!) when White waklked on one pitch – an HBP – and followed it up by issuing Monroe a one out single. Stanton replaced him and Ramon Martinez replaced Pena in a runners at the corners, one out situation. Martinez delivered one run on a single bringing the Tigers closer, only to see Thames pop out against Tanyon Sturtze for the second out (2-4). Infante was looking really good when Sturtze threw a wild pitch advancing Martinez and Monroe to second and third respectively before he missed strike three. Gordon and Rivera closed the game out without difficulty, earning the Yankees a series victory.

Game 3 (Final Score: 3-4, Yankees win)

Bonderman got the start against Kevin Brown to attempt to avoid the sweep from New York’s Swiffer. The Yankees struck first early, once again in the bottom of the second. ARod drew a one out walk and advanced to third on Tino Martinez’s double. Posada hit the next pitch at Pena, who muffed it, scoring ARod and putting Bonderman into a hole (0-1). After two strikes to Giambi, Bonderman plunked him and faced the intrepid Robinson “Crusoe” Cano. Cano hit into a double play to kill the inning.

The Tigers jumped on Brown in the third with one out when Inge went for extra bases with a double. Martinez hit an 0-2 pitch for a single, Inge scored, and Dmitri Young came up (1-1). Young hit the second double of the inning and made it to third on Jeter’s throwing error, giving the Tigers their first lead of the series (2-1). White hit the next pitch for an infield single only to see IRod hit into an inning ending double play. Bonderman came in to hold the third inning lead and made things interesting. Womack (later caught stealing), Sheffield, and Matsui hit singles but Bonderman stranded them when he got ARod swinging.

In the fourth the Tigers got good lumber on Brown’s pitches. Monroe hit a leadoff single only to go down with Pena on a strike’em out, throw’em out double play. Jason Smith stepped up and hit a triple, scoring on Logan’s single (3-1). The Yankees got to Bonderman in the bottom with some help from the Tigers defense. Martinez and Posada singled, Giambi struck out, and Cano entered the box. He hit a double play ball to short but Ramon Martinez missed the out at second (Yup, no outs this time) giving Jeter the bases loaded. He converted on a fielder’s choice when T. Martinez scored (3-2). Womack jumped on the first pitch and sent it straight to short, ending the inning.

In the fifth is when Bonderman got really unlucky. He started all five batters with strike one but allowed a one out single to Matsui and a two run homer to ARod to give up the lead (3-4). It was nice while it lasted. The rest of the inning went quietly like the rest of the game. Call it a Swiffer for New York.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	6	0	1	0	0	1	0.167	0.167
O Infante	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	14	3	5	0	0	6	0.357	0.429
N Logan	7	0	1	1	0	1	0.143	0.143
R Martinez	9	1	5	2	0	5	0.556	0.556
C Monroe	11	0	3	0	0	3	0.273	0.273
C Pena	10	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
I Rodriguez	9	0	2	1	0	3	0.222	0.333
J Smith	5	2	2	0	0	4	0.400	0.800
M Thames	6	1	2	3	0	5	0.333	0.833
R White	9	1	5	0	0	5	0.556	0.556
V Wilson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	12	0	2	1	1	4	0.167	0.333
Totals	103	8	28	8	1	37	0.272	0.359
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	6	9	4	3	2	4	4.50	1.83
D Creek	1.1	2	1	1	1	2	8.18	2.73
K Farnsworth	1.1	1	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.91
F German	1.2	1	0	0	2	4	0.00	2.50
M Ginter	0	4	4	4	1	0	BAD	BAD
W Ledezma	4	7	7	6	0	1	13.50	1.75
M Maroth	5	8	4	4	3	2	7.20	2.20
C Spurling	2	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
J Walker	2.2	1	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.45
Totals	23	33	20	18	9	17	7.04	1.83

Game 1 (Final Score: 6-2, Diamondbacks win)

I’m going to ape Ernie Harwell by saying it but InterLeague play for teams without cross league rivals lacks zest. So the Tigers face the Diamondbacks (2nd in NL West) in their bid to win another series against a western opponent. Sadly I’m going to have to crib from various news stories to put the game together since there was no pitch-by-pitch report. Happily you won’t have to read as much of my gibberish to find out what happened.

If you like Tigers hitting then there’s not going to be much here for you. Brandon Webb continued his dominance of the Tigers by pitching no-hit ball through 6.1 innings. According to quotes from various article sources, it was more Webb’s skill than the Tigers’ lack of skill that produced this tremendous outing. He seems to pitch well at Comerica Park so he might be worth a look when he becomes eligible for free agency in a couple years (of course after he’s signed as a Tiger, it’ll prove to be a small sample size or having faced weak competition issue). The Tigers mustered two runs in the seventh to tie the score after Bonderman allowed two first inning runs and not much else (2-2).

The tie didn’t last long because the Diamondbacks dropped a pair of runs on the Tigers in both the eighth and ninth to go and stay ahead (6-2). Overall the Tigers’ pitchers allowed five doubles (four by Bonderman) out of thirteen hits and five walks and the hitters managed only six hits (two doubles) and one walk. This was just an anemic performance by both the hitting and pitching. I sure hope Bonderman is healthy because he’s been the losing streak stopper; Poor Johnson has been pitching well enough to win but still losing. Here’s to tomorrow being better.

Game 2 (Final Score: 2-3, Tigers win)

Nate Robertson faced Shawn Estes on Saturday to banish memories of last night and earn the Tigers an InterLeague win. Robertson and Estes kept the game scoreless until the top of the seventh, allowing only 4 base runners each, albeit in different ways. Robertson allowed 3 walks and a double and Estes allowed 4 singles. These potential runs for both teams were wasted with double plays and general poor execution at the plate.

In the top of the seventh, Robertson allowed singles to Ex-Tiger Tony Clark, Shawn Green, and Royce Clayton after striking out Troy Glaus. Luis Terrero mustered a sacrifice fly to plate Clark’s pinch-runner (1-0). Robertson walked his fourth batsman of the night (Koyie Hill) and was replaced by Doug Creek. Creek induced a groundball from Craig Counsell to end a bad inning before it turned ugly. In the bottom half, the Tigers actually strung together a couple of hits. Ivan Rodriguez smacked a leadoff triple and scored on Carlos Guillen’s single (1-1). Dmitri Young hit a one out single after Rondell White’s line out bringing up Craig Monroe, who loaded the bases with his walk. Marcus Thames and Omar Infante both had awful at bats ending in strikeouts to end the inning.

After Farnsworth’s dominant eighth (2Ks), the Tigers again hit well enough to make it interesting. Inge hit a one out double and Rodriguez advanced him to third on a groundout. Guillen was intentionally walked to bring up White, who validated the choice by harmlessly forcing out Guillen at second. Ugueth Urbina almost made the decision gold by loading the bases with the combination of two walks and a single in the top of the ninth before escaping with Counsell’s pop out. The Tigers went quietly to end the game but since it was tied, gave the hometown fans bonus baseball.

In the tenth, Franklyn German and Jose Valverde provided for a quick inning by getting the hitters out in order. The eleventh was a different story. German allowed a leadoff triple before mowing down the next two batters. He issued first base to Luis Gonzalez, bringing up Koyie Hill who scored Chad Tracy from third with his two out single (2-1). Counsell ended another inning by missing strike three. In the bottom half, Rodriguez had another extra base leadoff hit (a double). Rodriguez proceeded to tie the game when he scored from third on White’s one out double (2-2). Young was given first base on purpose and Monroe earned it after watching four consecutive balls on an 0-2 count. Thames came up again and smacked a single scoring White and winning the game (2-3).

Game 3 (Final Score: 1-0, Diamondbacks win)

I can’t describe how fun it is to write about the third game of a three game series and have the Tigers in a position to win it. Obviously taking the first two would be ideal but it is nice (not satisfying) to be competitive each time we face a new team. Jason Johnson went up against Javier Vasquez to decide the series’ winner. To be frank, these two were the deciding factor, hands down. Johnson and Vasquez both pitched excellent games with Johnson going eight and Vasquez nine innings.

That’s not to say Johnson didn’t make things interesting. He ended his no-hit bid on the first batter, Craig Counsell, who singled and stole second. Jose Cruz Jr. walked putting Johnson to his first test: Face the heart of the Arizona order with two men on and none out. Luis Gonzalez was out one (fly out); Troy Glaus and Shawn Green were Johnson’s first two strikeout victims. Yup, he got out without giving up a run. Johnson allowed a couple of two out singles and that was it until the eighth. Royce Clayton was on third after his single, Chris Snyder’s sacrifice to Johnson, and Johnson’s wild pitch. Craig Counsell hit a single into left, scoring Clayton (1-0). Vance Wilson helped Johnson out by going 1 for 2 on base stealers so Johnson’s two walks didn’t amount to any more scoring.

I wish I could say the Tigers got the run back in the last third of the game to get Johnson even, but they didn’t. I’m going to be slightly fair about this; Vasquez brought his nasty stuff tonight and tore through the line-up. He didn’t issue any walks, allowed only one leadoff hit, and never allowed multiple base runners in an inning, but he was vulnerable. Rondell White hit a two out double and Dmitri Young couldn’t get him home in the fourth. Brandon Inge hit a two out triple and Carlos Guillen couldn’t plate him in the sixth. Finally in the ninth, Guillen had a one out double but both White and Young couldn’t plate him and tie the game up. Thanks mostly to Vasquez, the Diamondbacks take the series tonight and incidentally are the only first or second place team with more runs allowed than scored.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	12	1	5	1	1	0.417	0.500
B Inge	13	0	2	0	0	0.154	0.385
O Infante	9	0	1	0	1	0.111	0.222
N Logan	13	0	1	0	0	0.077	0.077
C Monroe	10	0	0	0	2	0.000	0.000
C Pena	6	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
I Rodriguez	10	3	6	0	0	0.600	0.900
M Thames	5	0	2	1	0	0.400	0.400
R White	13	1	4	3	0	0.308	0.538
V Wilson	2	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	12	0	1	0	1	0.083	0.083
Totals	105	5	22	5	5	0.210	0.314
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA WHIP
J Bonderman	6	7	2	2	4	4	3.00 1.83
D Creek	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0.00 10.00
K Farnsworth	1.1	0	0	0	0	2	0.00 0.00
F German	2	3	2	1	1	3	4.50 2.00
J Johnson	8	5	1	1	3	6	1.13 1.00
N Robertson	6.2	4	1	1	4	5	1.45 1.29
C Spurling	2	3	2	1	0	2	4.50 1.50
U Urbina	1	1	0	0	2	1	0.00 3.00
J Walker	1.2	1	1	1	1	1	7.50 1.67
Totals	29	25	9	7	15	24	2.17 1.38

Game 1 (3-4, Tigers win)

The Tigers have been playing .500 ball recently so it is awfully nice for the schedule to give them a home series against the D-Rays. Jason Johnson squared off against Casey Fossum and was his usual inconsistent self. He would have great innings where he started every hitter out with a strike, which he’d blow by making a pitch that he shouldn’t. Want some evidence?

He threw seven pitches in the first inning, including a three strike at bat (all looking) to Carl Crawford. In the second, he allowed a leadoff homer to Josh Phelps after getting behind in the count (1-0). The next four batters he faces all see strike one again. The third inning was only ten pitches but the fourth went like the second. Ahead 0-2 with two outs, he allows a single and an RBI double. The fifth and sixth were scoreless but the seventh was a problem. Alex Sanchez hit a single and moved over to third on Johnson’s throwing error when he tried to steal. Johnson gave up the lead again when Toby Hall singled him home. He followed this inning up with a scoreless eighth before being relieved in the ninth by Farnsworth.

It took the Tigers 2.1 innings to get on the board. Marcus “the River” Thames hit a single and scored on Omar Infante’s homerun (1-2). With two out, Brandon Inge got a free pass and advanced to second on Ivan Rodriguez’s single. Carlos Guillen battled Fossum before retiring on a weak pop fly, ending the inning. After two innings of quiet bats, the Tigers perked up in the sixth. Seth McClung, Fossum’s replacement, issued a leadoff walk to Guillen before striking out White. White’s strikeout was followed by Young’s and Monroe’s walk, bringing up Carlos Pena with the bases loaded and a tie game (2-2). McClung dusted off his nasty stuff to strikeout both Pena and Infante to end the inning.

In the ninth, trailing (3-2) the Tigers waited until their last out to get it done. Pena watched four balls to get on, a sacrifice to go to second, and the second out before Rodriguez entered the batter’s box. On a 2-2 count, Pudge tied the game with a single (3-3). Urbina pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless ball before yielding to Franklyn German in the eleventh, who struck out both men he faced. In the bottom half, Inge hit a single and made second on Crawford’s fielding error. Wanting nothing to do with Pudge, he was walked to bring up Ramon Martinez. Martinez laid down a great sacrifice bunt, which gave White runners on second and third. He promptly ended the game with his third hit of the night (3-4).

Game 2 (Final Score: 4-6, Tigers win)

Ledezma got the start and started well, striking out the side in the first. In between the first two strikeouts, he allowed a solo home run to Julio Lugo and an early lead to Tampa Bay (1-0). His opponent, Doug Waechter, helped the Tigers out by misfiring on a pickoff attempt on Logan at first. Logan made it all the way to third on the play and scored when Inge grounded out (1-1). Ledezma added two more strikeouts in the second, better his career best by one, and the Tigers added two more runs. Dmitri Young leadoff with a solo shot and Craig Monroe followed him with a single (1-2). Monroe scored from second on Infante’s double after advancing during Pena’s groundout (1-3). This promising inning was stifled when Jason Smith was thrown out at second stretching for a double leaving Logan with Infante on third and two outs. He did about as much as the Devil Rays did in the top of the third i.e. nothing.

The bottom of the third was different than the top. Waechter again made a play for the other team when he botched Ivan Rodrguez’s one out grounder by dropping the ball at first. It really hurt because Rondell White chased Rodriguez home with a double, extending the lead (1-4). Things got worse when Jorge Cantu botched Young’s ground ball, giving Monroe runners at the corners and only one out. He delivered on an infield single, scoring White from third (1-5). Realizing that playing ten against nine is pretty hard, Pinella replaced Waechter (the best Tigers player today) with Jon Switzer. He managed to strike out two batters to end the inning but not before surrendering another run on Infante’s single (1-6).

Ledezma ran into a patch of trouble in the fourth when he allowed a single and a walk. Toby Hall came up with two out, two on, and hit a three run shot into left field, making things interesting again (4-6). Ledezma only lasted another half and Chris Spurling entered the game and successfully held the lead for two innings. Farnsworth pitched a scoreless eighth and Urbina a scoreless ninth for the win. I’m looking forward to a little bit of spring cleaning with a broom tomorrow.

Game 3 (Final Score: 6-2, Devil Rays win)

Bonderman was given an extra day off (a dead arm according to Trammel) so Maroth takes the mound against the winless Scott Kazmir. After a hitless first, Maroth got down to business in the second. Charles Johnson was looking at three base runners and one out after three singles to Josh Phelps, Aubrey Huff, and Nick Green; Jorge Cantu courteously struck out looking. Maroth walked the first run in before getting Damon Hollins to fly out (1-0). Apparently he liked it so he did it again, walking Carl Crawford (2-0). Mercifully Julio Lugo ended the inning with a groundout, TGiTB.

I can happily report that the Tigers weren’t hitting any of Kazmir’s pitches into space unoccupied by Devil Ray fielders and this went on until the fourth inning. Meanwhile the D-Rays were still having success. Jorge Cantu came home with Damon Hollins on his two run shot in the fourth (4-0). Lugo came on down when Huff hit a deep fly into the waiting glove of Craig Monroe in the fifth and Nick Green batted himself home in the sixth (6-0).

Finally in the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers started to generate some offense. Logan beat out a single and Inge earned a walk only to be forced out at second when Ivan Rodriguez hit into a fielder’s choice. Rondell White hit a single, scoring Logan and advancing Pudge to third (6-1). Dmitri Young hit the ball off Kazmir scoring Rodriguez but getting thrown out at first (6-2). Seth McClung replaced the hobbled Kazmir and ended the inning promptly. The Tigers got two men on in each of the eighth and ninth only to see them stranded. A sweep would have been nice but a series win is still great.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	4	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
O Infante	10	1	3	3	2	7	0.300	0.700
B Inge	12	1	3	1	4	4	0.250	0.333
N Logan	14	2	3	0	2	3	0.214	0.214
R Martinez	3	0	1	0	1	1	0.333	0.333
C Monroe	12	1	3	1	1	3	0.250	0.250
C Pena	5	1	1	0	2	1	0.200	0.200
I Rodriguez	14	2	3	1	1	3	0.214	0.214
J Smith	4	0	1	0	0	1	0.250	0.250
M Thames	5	1	1	1	1	4	0.200	0.800
R White	12	1	5	3	1	6	0.417	0.500
D Young	12	2	3	2	1	7	0.250	0.583
Totals	107	12	27	12	17	40	0.252	0.374
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
D Creek	1	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	2.00
K Farnsworth	2	2	0	0	0	2	0.00	1.00
F German	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00
M Ginter	2	2	0	0	0	2	0.00	1.00
J Johnson	8	7	3	2	2	3	2.25	1.13
W Ledezma	5	5	4	4	2	7	7.20	1.40
M Maroth	6	9	6	6	2	3	9.00	1.83
C Spurling	2	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	0.50
U Urbina	2	0	0	0	1	4	0.00	0.50
J Walker	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
Totals	29	27	13	12	8	24	3.72	1.21

Game 1 (Final Score: 2-0, Tigers win)

The Tigers sent Nate Robertson to the mound to continue the win streak started by winning the previous series against the Angels 2-1. Nook Logan smacked a leadoff triple to left to start the game against the Rangers’ Chris Young only to be stranded as the next three batters couldn’t get the job done. Logan was the only base runner for either team to make it past first base safely until the eighth inning.

Hats off to both Robertson and Young, who seemed to have all the batsman stumped for most of the game. This streak of dominance ended when Rod Barajas hit a leadoff two bagger. Barajas, the catcher, was replaced by Laynce Nix on the base paths. Gary Matthews Jr. laid down a sad bunt that Ivan Rodriguez quickly fielded and threw out Nix at third. The next two Rangers batters also weren’t up to the task and surrendered easily to end the inning.

Ex-Tiger Francisco Cordero came in to relieve Young in the ninth and face the heart of the Tigers’ order. Rodriguez and Rondell White went down quickly, but Cordero did Dmitri Young a favor and walked him on five pitches. On a full count, Craig Monroe hit a triple, scoring Young and giving the Tigers the lead (1-0). On a side not, I love watching Young chug around the bases since he looks like he’s trying so hard to run quickly. Carlos Pena added some insurance by singling Monroe home in the next at bat (2-0).

Jamie Walker came in to face Hank Blalock after Ramon Martinez ended a productive inning. He gave up a single and was replaced by Ugueth Urbina to close out the game. Urbina threw a lot of pitches that inning even though he got the job done. He made it interesting by issuing a one out walk to Kevin Mench, giving Richard Hidalgo runners on first and second with only one out. Hidalgo hit a fly that wasn’t deep enough to advance the runners and pinch hitter David Dellucci swung and missed strike three. The winning streak stands at 3 games.

Game 2 (Final Score: 4-5, Rangers win)

I had to open my mouth about the winning streak. Sigh. Jason Johnson got into a spot of first inning trouble when he allowed two singles to Michael Young and Mark Teixeira, who were sent home on Hank Blalock’s double (0-2). Alfonso Soriano hit a deep fly ball to right for a double, scoring Hank Blalock (0-3).

Extra bases were again a concern for Johnson in the second inning when Gary Matthews Jr. doubled to left. Due to some poor hitting, he was stranded at third. On the third pitch of the third, Blalock hit a solo home run making the hole even deeper (0-4). Chan Ho Park cruised through the first five innings surrendering only a few hits including the wasted one out triple by Rondell White in the fourth.

In the six inning, the wheels came off Park’s pitching parade. Carlos Guillen and White hit a pair of singles with Guillen advancing and White out on Dmitri Young’s fielder’s choice. Craig Monroe singled, scoring Guillen, advancing D. Young, and bringing up Ramon Martinez, who flied out (1-4). Omar Infante was up next and he jumped on Park’s second pitch, hitting it for an RBI double (2-4). Ex-Tiger Doug Brocail entered the game to stifle the rally, only to allow the third and fourth runs of the inning on singles by Nook Logan and Brandon Inge (4-4). Ivan Rodriguez struck out ending the big inning.

Johnson held the lead for a half inning until he surrendered a second solo shot to the powerful (career .384 Slg.) Matthews Jr. (4-5). The Tigers rallied again in the eighth with runners on second and third (one out used) but wasted the opportunity. Johnson completed the game for the Tigers and took the loss while former Tiger farm hand Francisco Cordero closed it out successfully. This was a disappointing result since the Tigers got 9 decent innings from Johnson and the hitters left 10 men on base.

Game 3 (Final Score: 6-5, Tigers win)

Again the Tigers found themselves in a decisive game three. I must say I enjoy seeing the Tigers in almost every series this year, especially on the road. Young Wilfredo Ledezma was riding a 3 game losing streak and he went up against a similarly situated Pedro Astacio.

Both pitchers were solid through 3 innings before they decided to give the fans a show in the fourth. Dmitri Young’s leadoff double would have been wasted except Nook Logan homered off Astacio staking Ledezma to the lead (2-0). In the bottom half, Texas threatened with Mark Teixeira reaching first on Ledezma’s error and Alfonso Soriano inexplicably drawing a walk. Ledezma got the next man to fly out, leaving himself to deal with Richard Hidalgo. Well, he sure dealt with him, hitting him and loading the bases. He also dealt with Mark DeRosa, walking him on four pitches (2-1). Sandy Alomar Jr. continued the two out rally by plating Soriano and Hidalgo with his single to left (2-3). At last, the inning was over when power hitter Gary Matthews Jr. flied out.

After a scoreless fifth, Franklyn German relieved Ledezma in the sixth only to give up a triple to Kevin Mench and an RBI single to Richard Hidalgo before settling down nicely (2-4). Happily he didn’t allow any walks this outing. Kameron Loe relieved Astacio and pitched, well, a bizarre inning. He allowed two infield singles, a stolen base, and a two run wild pitch with Logan scoring from first after the Alomar throwing error, tying the game up (4-4). After the walk on the wild side, Doug Brocail came out again to pitch to the Tigers in the eighth. He pitched just badly enough giving the Tigers a single, a walk, and an RBI single by none other than Carlos Pena (5-4).

In the eighth, Logan hit a single, stole second, and made it to third on a wild pitch, setting the stage for Inge’s sacrifice fly (6-4). Walker and Farnsworth combined for scoreless seventh and eighth innings, bringing in the revitalized Urbina to close the game out. He made things interesting with a solo shot to David Dellucci but finished the game and series out (6-5).

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	10	2	3	0	0	3	0.3	0.3
B Inge	12	0	5	2	1	6	0.417	0.5
O Infante	8	2	3	1	0	4	0.375	0.5
N Logan	12	2	8	1	0	10	0.667	0.833
R Martinez	7	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
C Monroe	11	2	4	2	1	6	0.364	0.545
C Pena	8	0	3	2	0	3	0.375	0.375
I Rodriguez	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J Smith	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M Thames	4	1	1	2	0	4	0.25	1
R White	8	0	3	0	1	5	0.375	0.625
D Young	12	3	2	0	1	3	0.167	0.25
Totals	109	12	32	10	5	44	0.294	0.404

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
K Farnsworth	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
F German	1.1	3	1	1	0	0	8.18	2.73
J Johnson	8	8	5	5	0	6	5.63	1
W Ledezma	5	3	3	0	3	4	5.4	1.2
N Robertson	8	6	0	0	1	3	0	0.88
J Walker	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
U Urbina	2	1	1	1	1	3	4.5	1
Totals	26	21	10	7	5	18	3.46	1

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