Good Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers are closing in on their largest division lead since they were seven games up in September 2009. They’ll need to improve on that by at least one game to avoid a rerun of the ’09 finish. Leading Off: The Tigers somehow figured out way to solve David Price and hang on to a thrilling 2-1 win. Phil Coke was tremendous in relief and Ryan Perry got a huge out in the seventh and Alex Avila continues to deliver. The Wednesday Rundown The Tigers are in first place, 6.5 games ahead of the Indians and White Sox. With a win tonight, the Tigers would be 7 ahead of Cleveland and 7 1/2 ahead of Chicago. Today’s Game: Tigers @ Rays Max…
Welcome to the last full week of August. The Tigers enjoy a 4.5-game lead on the Indians today. The last time they led the A.L. Central by that many games was Sept. 16, 2009. Leading Off: I’ve watched a lot of Tigers baseball in my time but I can’t recall a more exciting final out sequence as the one we saw on Sunday to preserve a 8-7 Tigers win. Austin Jackson’s flawless throw to Alex Avila. Rick Porcello seemed hell bent to surrender a seven-run cushion but thankfully the bullpen did enough to blow it entirely … The Tigers head to Tampa Bay for a four-game set … They also are looking for their first winning streak of more than three games since June…
Welcome to the weekend and a big series against the Indians at Comerica Park. Cleveland will avoid facing Justin Verlander in the three-game set, much to the chagrin of Tigers fans. Leading Off: The Tigers were off on Thursday and likely spent part of the day kicking themselves over missing an opportunity to beat the Twins and take the series. You know, kinda like how they kicked the ball around the diamond and let the Twins beat them, 6-5. Unfortunately, the boys remembered how good they used to be at losing to Minnesota in myriad ways … Every time the Tigers face Joe Nathan I think to myself, This is the time they beat him. Alas … The Friday Rundown The Tigers are in…
The Tuesday Rundown The Tigers are in first place, two games ahead of the Indians. Today’s Game: Tigers vs. Twins - Justin Verlander (17-5, 2.35 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Blackburn (7-9, 4.36 ERA) | 7:05 p.m. – FSD/1270 AM and 97.1 FM From STATS, LLC: Verlander has won five straight starts with a 2.61 ERA, striking out 43 in 38 innings during that stretch. He allowed three runs and struck out 10 in seven innings of his 100th career victory — a 4-3 win over Cleveland on Thursday. In the right-hander’s lone start against Minnesota this season, he gave up one run and five hits over eight innings of a 6-2 win July 21 at Target Field. Verlander is 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA over his last five…
Good Saturday morning. Thank goodness Al Alburquerque is going to be okay after a batting practice scare yesterday. The Tigers placed Alburquerque on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion effective August 12 and recalled Ryan Perry from Toledo. Perry appeared in 20 games with the Mud Hens, posting a 3-0 record, 3.03 ERA, seven saves and 30 strikeouts. Leading Off: The Tigers won their seventh-straight one-run game, topping the Orioles 5-4 [highlights here]. Andy Dirks went 4 for 4 and knocked in the winning run and Brad Penny was good enough for his eighth win … The victory marked the seventh straight game the club has won by one run. According to STATS LLC, Detroit’s seven straight wins by one run matches a…
