Five years ago this week, the Tigers sent a young, often frustrating righthander to the mound in the fourth game of the American League Division Series. With a win, no sure thing with the unpredictable starter, the Tigers would eliminate the Yankees and move on to the American League Championship Series against the Oakland A’s. Twenty-three-year-old Jeremy Bonderman was the Tigers’ starter that chilly Saturday afternoon and he faced righty Jaret Wright, who’d gone 11-7 witha 4.49 ERA in 30 appearances (27 starts) for New York. Tigers fans didn’t want to seem overconfident, but compared to the Yankee starters in the series’ first three games (Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson) Wright seemed like a notch above batting-practice quality. That day, the Tigers staked Bonderman to a 3-0, second-inning lead on home runs…
There’s no shortage of joy when the Tigers face the Twins for the final time during a season. Yes, 2009 included – outcome notwithstanding. And just think, a week from now we can say the same about the White Sox. The Friday Rundown The Tigers are in first place, 8.5 games ahead of the White Sox. Magic Number: 12 Today’s Game: Tigers vs. Twins – Brad Penny (9-10, 5.13 ERA) vs. Kevin Slowey (0-4, 5.31 ERA) | 7:05 p.m. – FSD/1270 AM and 97.1 FM Notes on Penny Penny enters his start this evening having lost four of his last six decisions dating back to July 23. He has compiled a 6.85 ERA over the eight-start stretch. He’s 2-2 with a 6.31 ERA in…
A few overdue thoughts as I work the previous-channel button on my remote, switching between the Tigers and Wings games. When a few specific things occur, I know for certain the baseball season is in full bloom — eight games in or not. Two of these things have already taken place in the past 24 hours: the Tigers lose to the Royals and Ryan Raburn makes at least one bone-headed play in the field. Speaking of the Wings, if they end up playing the Coyotes in the first round, I’ll have to endure lame Detroit jokes in the media out here. Did the Tigers really lose to Bruce Chen? Bruce Chen? Slowly — very slowly — I’m gaining confidence in Alex Avila. He was…
Tigers’ Record 1-2; 4th place, 1.5 GB Royals Today’s Game Tigers @ Orioles | 3:05 p.m. ET – Baltimore | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM Pitching Matchup Rick Porcello (0-0) vs. Jake Arrieta (0-0) Yesterday’s Results Tigers 10 – Yankees 7 W: Max Scherzer (1-0) L: Phil Hughes (0-1) HR: Miguel Cabrera (2), Brennan Boesch (1)
