0p: I know we are getting to you a little late tonight but, well, that was exciting, wasn't it? Young Mr. Oliver loaded 'em up in the bottom of the first and got out of it, nicked for a mere run and he shouldn't even have given them that. And if you are wondering what he was thinking when he went to first and ignored the almost for-sure double play on that one-hopper back to the mound with the bases loaded, what he was thinking was is that he's 23 years old and he's making the 7th start of his major league career and, by God, he just got out of a bases-loaded none out situation surrendering only one run and it could have been so much worse. So, let's give the kid some credit, okay? A little more experience and he'll make the right play. Andy Oliver's first inning tonight is somewhat eerily similar to his first inning of work in his last start, which was his first of 2011 for the Tigers. Against the Red Sox at home in the day part of the day/night doubleheader last Sunday, Oliver allowed Boston but a single run in an inning in which the Bostons stole four bases. I can't remember the last time I saw a team steal four bags in an inning, but they did, and Oliver responded be getting the last two hitters and leaving runners stranded in scoring position and with Detroit, as they are tonight, down by only a run. Oliver would surrender 2 solo homers later which cost him, but he was no decisioned when the Tigers rallied from 0-3 to tie, only to lose in the 9th when David Ortiz won the mano-a-mano showdown with Jose Valverde by hitting a game-winning homer. I asked Oliver--noting that it was something like his 23rd inning pitched in his big league career--if working out of that first inning mess was the most important thing he's done so far in The Show and he said it was. Chicago is threatening again in the second with two on and two out, but again young Oliver escapes. The Tigers, just as an aside, are asking a lot of the youngsters, don't you think? Oliver is, as mentioned, only 23. The starter in Detroit's last game, Rick Porcello, isn't even that old. He's 22. T-3 Detroit 0, Chicago 1.
OUT OF TOWN: Texas has the lead in Cleveland 2-1 in the 7th and bat with runners on the corners and 1 out. The other game we are watching is quite entertaining. Oakland 5, Boston 5 in the 4th at Fenway Park. UPDATE! 3-RUN HOMER BY JOSH HAMILTON!!! TEXAS 5, CLEVELAND 1, T-7. UPDATE, UPDATE: Nelson Cruz hits 2-run homer in 7th. Texas 7, Cleveland 1, t-7. (The Tigers can pick up some ground on 1st-place Cleveland here, but none of this will matter, of course, unless Oliver works out of another jam: runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out on the 3rd.)
9:08p He did it again! Oliver fans Brent Lillibridge on a full-count heater and gets big, old ugly Adam Dunn (he's cultivating the big, old ugly look--unshaven, looks like the evil Yankees slugger in the movie Major League, etc.) to bounce to first. At second and third, Chi runners die and Detroit is still only a run down.
9:17p 2 on, 2 out for Detroit in the 4th and it's time for a couple "Did You Knows?" Did you know the Tigers have won 9 in a row against the White Sox? I did not know that until I read the game notes this morning. And, did you know that tonight's Chicago pitcher, Mark Buerhrle, is 16-9 all-time versus Detroit and is 8-3, 2.93 against the Tigers at US Cellular Field? He is, according to The Notes. (There is an anomaly tonight in the Official Game Notes. The Detroit notes say the Tigers 9-game win streak against the White Sox is the longest since the Tigs beat Chicago 10 straight back in 1920. The Chicago notes say this is the longest win streak by Detroit against the White Sox, ever. This hardly ever happens because, simply put, the The Game Notes are never wrong. Ever. Never, ever. But, tonight, somebody is wrong! I swoon.) The Tigers can't cash in in the 4th, by the way. And in the bottom half, Chicago again has 2 on--just as they have the entire game so far. This time, Andy Oliver pays and pays the Maximum Price. Carlos Quentin hits The Big Fly and its a 3-run homer with 2 out and the hill just got steep. Oliver exits, one pitch away from still having his team in the game, but they aren't anymore. B-4: DETROIT 0, CHICAGO 4.
9:32p Hey, it's Charlie Furbush! #49 for Detroit and one of my faves. He's pitched exactly 9 innings in his ML career to date and has not allowed a run. And he's done this in spite of being humiliated each and every night. See, somebody has to carry the snacks and junk out to the bullpen before every game, and what they use to do the toting of the snacks and junk is a bright pink vinyl backpack. The kind which would be, I suspect, VERY popular with your average middle school girl. It is Charlie Furbush who has to sling that thing on his back every night and carry it from dugout to bullpen, somewhere between the singing of the National Anthem and the throwing of the first pitch. I asked, "Why you?" and his one-word answer was: "Rookie." All in all, small price to pay to be living your dream, though. Wouldn't you say?
9:41p DETROIT IS BACK IN THE GAME!!! CASPER WELLS HITS A 3-RUN HOMER TO LEFT AND THE TIGERS NEGATE THE 3-RUN HOMER BY QUENTION IN THE 4TH AND HOW ABOUT THAT? T-5: DETROIT 3, CHICAGO 4! (This is a very entertaining game, no?)
9:47p: For my money, the play of the week prior to tonight was the sac bunt laid down by Wells that put runners at 2nd and 3rd in the 8th inning of a 7-7 tie against Minnesota Tuesday night. A perfect lay-down and it meant that Brenan Boesch's fly to right would be a sac fly and the game winner. Wells told me after the game that it was the first sacrifice bunt of his life, ever. Which stands to reason. He's always been the best player on his team--Big Leaguers are always the best players on their team until they get to the Big Leagues--and who asks their best player to bunt? Anyway, now, tonight, he hits the big home run to get the Tigers back in the game. Here's something I looked up a little earlier today. The Tigers hit 17 three-run homers last year. This year, they had hit two heading into the game tonight, (Wells' is #3) putting them on pace to hit 6 for the year. I don't know what it means, I just thought it interesting. Lillibridge homers off Furbush in the Chi 5th. b-5 Detroit 3, Chicago 5.
9:58p I forgot. It's over in Cleveland: Rangers 11, Indians 2. If the Tigers come back, they will be 3.5 back of the Tribe. The last time the Tigers were that close to first place was May 15, as I am sure you are aware. And a HUGE double play gets Furbush out of a fix in the 5th! Chi had 'em loaded with one out and all they get is the single run on the Lillibridge homer. The fellows have been dancing on the razor's edge tonight like you hardly ever see. On to the 6th...
10:16p: We've got 4 west coast games getting underway, plus they are only in the 7th at Fenway, etc. Kevin Youklis just got hit by a pitch. 75th time in his career--the most in Red Sox history. You'd think over the years opposing pitchers would have found somebody (Ted Williams?) better to throw at than Kevin Youklis, wouldn't you? The Angles--turning 50 this season--are wearing throwback caps with a stripe around the top which is supposed to look like a halo but which makes them all look like convicts. They are hosting the Yankees, by the way. Tampa is at Seattle and the Mariners are wearing the sea-green jerseys they only wear at home and only on Fridays. They are very nice. I can't remember who else is where, but we'll get caught up. I watch a lot of baseball. A lot. That play where Buster Posey broke his leg? Watched it happen. 12th inning of a night game in Frisco. No big deal. I had to stay up, anyway. The game in Philly went 19 innings that night. I watched a Dodgers game this season that didn't end until 4:15 AM. You get, you know, invested. I called the radio station in LA carrying the game during a rain delay to let them know I was still following the game but I got trumped. Somebody called in from Germany, somebody called in from Israel, somebody called in from Japan. So, big deal, Detroit guy. On to the 7th in Chicago. It's hard to believe we still have a third of a ballgame to go, but we do... T-7 DETROIT 3, CHICAGO 5.
10:40p: Boesch just flied to center with the tying runs on to end the Detroit 7th. Since his average stood at .350 on April 28, Boesch is hitting .183 (19 x104) and, yes, that includes his 2 for 4 in the game tonight. The other reporters love him, but I don't think he's particularly what we call in the business "good copy". He doesn't seem to like being interviewed and I don't think he gives us great stuff. But, night after night, the press gaggle is there to surround him. I think he'd be better off if he got a few nights off from those of us with the notebooks and the microphones.
10:52p: Of all people, Ryan Raburn (.194) just got a hit and the Tigers have the bases loaded with one out in the 8th. This is probably the old ballgame, right here. Alex Avila (.275) is the hitter. Great catch by Juan Pierre in left on a drive by Avila over his head. The runner scores from 3rd on the sac fly and it's a one-run game again. That one run is, of course, the run Oliver let them score in the first when he went to first on a bouncer back to the mound when it would have been equally as easy to get the force at home and prevent a run from scoring. But, we discussed that earlier. Pitching change: Chicago. T-8 DETROIT 4, CHICAGO 5.
10:57 Ramon Santiago is up against new pitcher Sergio Santos and the first pitch is high and they call it a strike anyway and now Santiago is in a 1-2 hole. Santos freezes him on a curve and that is that. The Tigers are down to 3 offensive outs left in the game and they are still down a run.
11:02p Pierre, who ruined the Tigers rally with that catch off Avila in the top off the inning, may have doomed Detroit in the bottom of the 8th. He hits a solo HR off Gonzales and the Tigers will be down 2 runs, at least, when they come to bat in the 9th. b-8: DETROIT 4, CHICAGO 6.
11:10p They walked the leadoff guy and that's never a good thing when one is protecting a lead. Jackson is on first base for Detroit. Everybody talks about Jackson's strikeouts--he's among the league leaders--but would it surprise you to know that the only Tiger this season to walk more often than Jackson is Miguel Cabrera? It's true. Jackson makes it to second but now there are 2 out. But, with first base open, they are pitching to Cabrera! The strategy works. Mighty Casey, er, Cabrera, has struck out. The game is over: FINAL DETROIT 4, CHICAGO 6. The Tigers 4 game win streak is over (as is their 9 game win streak over the White Sox) and Detroit (29-27) remains 4.5 games behind AL Central-leading Cleveland. But, hey, Justin Verlander is pitching tomorrow. Game time is 7:10 EDT and we'll be with you then. As Vin Scully always says, "Good night, everybody!"
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