Game 68: Five and Fighting

ESPN highlights available here.

The Score: Tigers 12 – Dodgers 7

The Gist: The surging (?) Tigers got more timely hitting and some clutch homers by Marcus Thames and Miguel Cabrera on their way to a 12-7 win over the Dodgers. Eddie Bonine gave up a bushel — i.e., six — earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched on his way to major league victory number one. Pudge Rodriguez picked up three hits, and Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez, Cabrera, Edgar Renteria and Jeff Larish each had two.

The Quote: “Marcus is a two-run homer, three-run homer waiting to happen.” — Jim Leyland

The Stat: 6. The number of two-out RBI by Tigers hitters — Two for Thames and one each for Granderson, Placido Polanco, Pudge and Renteria.

My Two Cents: Already assured of their second-straight series win, now the Tigers are on the verge of a second-consecutive sweep. Of course, Ian would remind me that Nate Robertson is Sunday’s starter for the Tigers so it’s best to keep the optimism guarded. Sunday would be the perfect time for Detroit to reverse its trend of mailing-in getaway games and send the team out West with momentum. With the Giants and Padres on the schedule this coming week, it’s almost as good as back-to-back series against the Mariners. In other words, if all goes well in the coming seven days, the Tigers could be at the .500 mark — or darn close. Sunday’s game will show us a lot about this team.

Up Next: Dodgers at Tigers

Nate Robertson (4-6, 5.88) vs. Clayton Kershaw (0-1, 4.50)