Game Report - July 27, 2013 - Tigers 10, Phillies 0
Steve Bielawski
This game was supposed to be a great pitching match-up, with Max Scherzer going against Cliff Lee. Then yesterday, it was announced that Mr. Lee was not feeling so good, and that he would not start this game. A lefty named Raul Valdes would start instead. When I looked at the numbers, it was obvious that there was a huge gap between these two pitchers.
The Tigers took advantage of that gap. After the Tigers made two quick outs in the first, Miguel Cabrera homered. Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez, and Jhonny Peralta all singled to create another run, then Matt Tuiasosopo homered to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
In the second, Alex Avila singled, went to second on a single by Torii Hunter, and scored on a single by Miguel Cabrera. Although Prince Fielder struck out, the runners advanced on his third strike, which was a wild pitch. (No, Mr. Fielder did not make it to first on that pitch.) A single by Victor Martinez drove in Mr. Hunter and Mr. Cabrera.
Torii Hunter led off the bottom of the fourth with a double and was safe at third when Laynce Nix bobbled the ball. He scored on a groundout by Miguel Cabrera, which gave Mr. Cabrera three R.B.I.s in his first game back from an injury.
In the bottom of the fifth, Hernan Perez hit a one-out single, went to second on a single by Alex Avila, went to third on a walk to Austin Jackson, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Torii Hunter.
As great as it was to see the Tigers hit like this, let us not overlook the other side of this game. Jack Morris has been accused of "pitching to the score," of giving up runs in games where his team had a comfortable lead. Lots of other pitchers have been charged with this same habit. Max Scherzer cannot be accused of doing that tonight. He pitched six innings of one-hit ball. Neither Mr. Scherzer nor any of the other Tigers pitchers allowed a run in this game.
The Tigers have won two games in a row against the Phillies, and seven of their last eight. They go for the sweep tomorrow. Jonathan Pettibone will oppose Rick Porcello, starting at 1:08 p.m. E.D.T.
> Detroit Tigers AB R H RBI BB SO #P AVG OBP SLG
> A Jackson CF 4 0 0 0 1 0 20 .268 .340 .392
Walked in the fifth.
He needs to step up at the plate.
> T Hunter RF 4 2 3 1 0 0 11 .313 .348 .469
Singled to left in the second and scored.
Doubled to deep right-centre in the fourth and scored.
Hit a sacrifice fly to centre in the fifth
to drive in Mr. Perez.
Singled up the middle in the eighth.
> A Dirks PR-RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245 .302 .349
> M Cabrera 3B 3 2 2 3 0 0 8 .361 .455 .674
Homered well back to left in the first.
Singled to left i the second
to drive in Mr. Avila;
he would soon score as well.
Grounded out to shortstop in the fourth
as Mr. Hunter scored.
He came out of the game in the fourth,
after the Tigers had a 9-0 lead
and after he had driven in three runs and scored twice.
Very nice for a guy who is just back.
> R Santiago 3B 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 .165 .236 .247
nothing.
> P Fielder 1B 4 1 1 0 0 2 14 .264 .357 .446
Singled to right-centre in the first and scored.
> D Kelly 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .234 .342 .379
> V Martinez DH 4 1 3 2 0 0 14 .269 .319 .397
Singled up the middle in the first and scored.
Singled up the middle in the second
to drive in Mr. Hunter and Mr. Fielder.
Doubled to deep centre in the fourth.
> J Peralta SS 4 1 2 1 0 1 21 .304 .359 .451
Singled to left in the first
to drive in Mr. Fielder;
he would soon score as well.
Singled to left in the second.
> M Tuiasosopo LF 4 1 1 3 0 1 15 .294 .410 .569
Homered into the bushes in centre in the first
to drive in Mr. Martinez and Mr. Peralta.
> H Perez 2B 4 1 1 0 0 0 12 .267 .281 .333
Singled to left in the fifth and scored.
> A Avila C 4 1 2 0 0 0 18 .193 .291 .307
Singled to right in the second and scored.
Singled to right in the fifth.
> Totals 38 10 15 10 1 4 140
A nice showing from the Tigers' hitters.
> 2B: T Hunter (25, R Valdes); V Martinez (23, R Valdes)
> HR: M Cabrera (32, 1st inning off R Valdes 0 on, 2 Out);
> M Tuiasosopo (7, 1st inning off R Valdes 2 on, 2 Out)
> RBI: M Cabrera 3 (99), J Peralta (49), M Tuiasosopo 3 (25),
> V Martinez 2 (57), T Hunter (50)
> 2-out RBI: M Cabrera, J Peralta, M Tuiasosopo 3,
> V Martinez 2
> Tigers RISP: 4-9 (P Fielder 0-1, R Santiago 0-1, M Cabrera 1-2,
> V Martinez 1-1, M Tuiasosopo 1-2, J Peralta 1-2)
> Team LOB: 6
> DP: 1 (J Peralta-H Perez-D Kelly).
> Philadelphia Phillies AB R H RBI BB SO #P AVG OBP SLG
> M Young 3B 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 .277 .342 .402
Contained.
> S Susdorf LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000 .000 .000
Capsized.
> K Frandsen 1B-2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 15 .272 .364 .404
> J Rollins SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .260 .318 .354
Curtailed.
> J McDonald SS 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .098 .178 .122
> C Utley 2B 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 .277 .338 .504
Countered.
> J Mayberry Jr. CF 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 .254 .306 .433
> D Young DH 3 0 0 0 0 1 9 .266 .312 .402
Coerced.
> D Ruf LF-1B 2 0 1 0 1 0 10 .296 .397 .500
> L Nix RF 3 0 0 0 0 2 16 .178 .224 .263
Cornered.
> E Kratz C 3 0 0 0 0 2 11 .227 .285 .420
Caught.
> M Martinez CF-3B 3 0 0 0 0 1 13 .111 .111 .111
Corralled.
> Totals 28 0 2 0 1 8 102
Not much to see here.
> 2B: D Ruf (5, M Scherzer)
> GIDP: J McDonald
> Phillies RISP: 0-2 (L Nix 0-1, E Kratz 0-1)
> Team LOB: 2
> E: L Nix (1, bobble)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Philadelphia Phillies (49-55, 23-34 away) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 1
> Detroit Tigers (58-45, 31-19 home) 5 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 x - 10 15 0
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the more lopsided games you will see.
> Detroit Tigers IP H R ER BB SO HR PC-ST ERA
> M Scherzer (W, 15-1) 6.0 1 0 0 0 7 0 75-50 3.01
He could have stayed around longer,
but he already had the quality save,
and Mr. Leyland does not want to overuse him.
I have to wonder who will pitch when
as the Tigers get days off on Monday and Thursday.
> A Alburquerque 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 20-12 5.08
He got through two innings on only 20 pitches.
> E Reed 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7-4 3.18
Did his job perfectly.
> Totals 9.0 2 0 0 1 8 0 102-66
> First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: M Scherzer 14/19;
> A Alburquerque 5/7; E Reed 1/3
> Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes:
> M Scherzer 15-13-10-12;
> A Alburquerque 3-2-3-4; E Reed 0-0-1-3
> Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M Scherzer 4-7;
> A Alburquerque 4-1; E Reed 3-0
> Game Scores: M Scherzer 77
> Philadelphia Phillies IP H R ER BB SO HR PC-ST ERA
> R Valdes (L, 1-1) 3.2 12 9 9 0 3 2 80-58 9.72
Looked more like Juan Valdez out there.
He got to 80 pitches quite quickly.
He certainly did not fool the Tigers.
> J Ramirez 2.1 2 1 1 1 1 0 38-25 7.15
Not quite right, but better than who went before him.
> J Diekman 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9-8 4.20
> J De Fratus 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 13-10 4.88
Did their jobs, but too late.
> Totals 8.0 15 10 10 1 4 2 140-101
> WP: R Valdes
> First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: R Valdes 15/23;
> J Ramirez 7/10; J Diekman 3/3; J De Fratus 4/4
> Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes:
> R Valdes 18-8-12-20;
> J Ramirez 8-3-7-7; J Diekman 2-1-2-3; J De Fratus 2-1-3-4
> Ground Balls-Fly Balls: R Valdes 2-6;
> J Ramirez 3-3; J Diekman 2-1; J De Fratus 0-3
> Game Scores: R Valdes 4
> Game Notes
> THE GAME BEGAN AFTER A 47 MINUTE DELAY.
> TIGERS THIRD BASEMAN MIGUEL CABRERA WAS REMOVED FROM THE GAME
> AFTER THE FOURTH INNING FOR PRECAUTIONARY REASONS.
> Game Information
> Stadium Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
> Attendance 41,970 (101.7% full)
That's not counting the folks on the roof of the opera house.
> Game Time 2:25
The game was fast, once it began.
> Weather 62 degrees, partly cloudy
> Wind 10 mph
This game report is brought to you by the Dodge Daytona
Pure Detroit muscle.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Max Scherzer wins 15th game as Tigers roll past slumping Phillies
DETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera figured he'd try to play after missing four games because of a hip problem.
In his first plate appearance back, he homered -- a feat so impressive teammate Max Scherzer found it downright amusing.
"I laugh every day," Scherzer said. "It can be a pitcher throwing his `out' pitch in the right location, and he'll hit it for a home run. It just doesn't surprise you, anything he does. He's obviously the best."
Cabrera's first-inning homer was the start of an early offensive outburst, and the Detroit Tigers went on to a 10-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night. Scherzer allowed only one hit in six innings to become baseball's first 15-game winner.
The Phillies lost their seventh in a row.
"That wasn't much fun," Philadelphia's Chase Utley said. "They came out with hot bats and we came out facing one of the best pitchers in baseball."
Scherzer (15-1) threw only 75 pitches -- he was one of several stars pulled early after the game got out of hand. Detroit scored five runs in the first and three in the second off Raul Valdes (1-1), who started because Cliff Lee was out with a stiff neck.
Cabrera's solo homer in the first was his 32nd of the year, and he later added two more RBIs to increase his season total to 99. Matt Tuiasosopo hit a three-run homer in the first.
The Tigers remain three games ahead of second-place Cleveland in the AL Central. The Phillies, meanwhile, are now 10 back of NL East-leading Atlanta.
Detroit outhit Philadelphia 15-2.
Valdes had been used exclusively as a reliever this year, and his first start since June 27, 2012, did not go well. He actually retired his first two batters before Cabrera -- back after missing some time while his left hip recovered -- went deep to put Detroit ahead 1-0.
"I'm feeling OK, so I was thinking, try to go out there and try to go and play," Cabrera said. "I don't want to do too much today -- wanted to make something happen. I tried to make sure I made contact with the ball."
Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta followed with consecutive singles -- Peralta's hit brought home another run -- and Tuiasosopo hit his seventh homer of the year, to the bushes beyond the wall in center field.
Cabrera added an RBI single in the second, and Martinez's two-run single made it 8-0.
Cabrera came out of the game in the fifth, and he wasn't the only one who didn't stick around for the full nine innings. Fielder and Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley were among the players pulled early.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he took Cabrera out as a precaution as the slugger works his way back from his injury. Scherzer was also allowed a bit of extra rest because of the big lead.
"It gives me a chance to regroup," said Scherzer, who celebrated his 29th birthday Saturday. "It was a 10-0 game, and there really wasn't much more to accomplish in the game tonight."
The only baserunner Scherzer allowed was Darin Ruf, whose second-inning double was nearly caught by Austin Jackson in center. Scherzer struck out seven, and the Detroit All-Star again got plenty of run support. Detroit has backed Scherzer with an MLB-best average of 7.64 runs.
"That's why I love being in Detroit," Scherzer said. "If you go out and pitch well, you have a good chance to win the ballgame. Obviously, I was able to pitch effectively tonight, and obviously, these guys came out chomping at the bit."
Cabrera hit an RBI groundout in the fourth. Valdes was finally pulled after allowing nine runs and 12 hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three.
Game notes
The game started after a 47-minute rain delay. The game itself took only 2:25. ... Tuiasosopo snapped an 0-for-10 skid with his homer. ...
The Tigers go for a three-game sweep Sunday when RHP Rick Porcello (7-6) takes on Philadelphia RHP Jonathan Pettibone (5-4).
John Black
> T Hunter RF 4 2 3 1 0 0 11 .313 .348 .469
Singled to left in the second and scored.
Doubled to deep right-centre in the fourth and scored.
Hit a sacrifice fly to centre in the fifth
to drive in Mr. Perez.
Singled up the middle in the eighth.
> M Cabrera 3B 3 2 2 3 0 0 8 .361 .455 .674
Homered well back to left in the first.
Singled to left i the second
to drive in Mr. Avila;
he would soon score as well.
Grounded out to shortstop in the fourth
as Mr. Hunter scored.
He came out of the game in the fourth,
after the Tigers had a 9-0 lead
and after he had driven in three runs and scored twice.
Very nice for a guy who is just back.
> R Santiago 3B 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 .165 .236 .247
nothing.
> P Fielder 1B 4 1 1 0 0 2 14 .264 .357 .446
Singled to right-centre in the first and scored.
> V Martinez DH 4 1 3 2 0 0 14 .269 .319 .397
Singled up the middle in the first and scored.
Singled up the middle in the second
to drive in Mr. Hunter and Mr. Fielder.
Doubled to deep centre in the fourth.
> A Avila C 4 1 2 0 0 0 18 .193 .291 .307
Singled to right in the second and scored.
Singled to right in the fifth.
> Philadelphia Phillies (49-55, 23-34 away) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 1
> Detroit Tigers (58-45, 31-19 home) 5 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 x - 10 15 0
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the more lopsided games you will see
> Detroit Tigers IP H R ER BB SO HR PC-ST ERA
> M Scherzer (W, 15-1) 6.0 1 0 0 0 7 0 75-50 3.01
He could have stayed around longer,
but he already had the quality save,
and Mr. Leyland does not want to overuse him.
I have to wonder who will pitch when
as the Tigers get days off on Monday and Thursday.
> A Alburquerque 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 20-12 5.08
He got through two innings on only 20 pitches.
> E Reed 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7-4 3.18
Did his job perfectly.