Results tagged ‘ loss ’
Holding Each Other Up
First let me say that I wasn’t particularly upset by the loss last night. Losses like that happen; sometimes pitchers just have the numbers of the offense of a team and they can’t beat them. The problem is, that the Tigers pitchers aren’t giving the offense any room to have a bad night. The games on Sunday and Tuesday would have put us at 4-5 instead of 2-7 going into tonight’s game, which would probably have done some good all around. Instead, the Tigers have to play every game as if their lives depend on it. 7 2/3 innings wasn’t long enough for Verlander, even though he threw 130 pitches (which is a new career high) and had eight strikeouts. He almost had an official quality start. However, the reliever came out and provided absolutely no relief whatsoever. Again. Now, I realize that we probably wouldn’t have won the game even if it had stayed 3-1 and in the end, the only thing that matters is the W or the L. That’s not my point. My point is that I’ve heard the words “And that run will be charged to [insert starter's name here]” way too often this season. I admit that I don’t know a ton about baseball yet, but isn’t the point of taking the starting pitcher out of the game when he gets tired and starts messing up to prevent runs from being scored? Aren’t the relievers supposed to come in and shut the door? I can count on one hand the number of times that’s happened this year. I have a feeling that if the rules were different, if the relievers were responsible for the inherited runners that they allow to score, that the bullpen ERA would be around 50. Ok, maybe that’s exxagerating, but the Tigers have no chance of pulling off a late run if the bullpen doesn’t shape up somehow. I’m just not sure how they even can shape up. I feel for Leyland, I do. It must be so frustrating to sit there and say, “Hmm. Who should I send in to blow this game?”
The Tigers could have finished this road trip at 5-5 or even 6-5 (if they win tonight) which is pretty darn good for any road trip, much less one against division rivals and leaders. Instead tonight is a must win for dignity situation. After all, getting swept once is bad, getting swept twice is just humiliating. The Tigers need a little breathing room, but unfortunately they aren’t getting any relief.
A little redemption for Rodney, but not much else
The Tigers’ offense gave their starting pitcher Nate Robertson a 6-1 lead to work with at one point. He was knocked out the game when he let that lead slip to 6-4. However, for the second time in two games, the Tigers’ bullpen was given a lead and they,collectively, blew the save, turning what should have been a nine inning cofindence booster into a 14-inning heartbreaker. *sigh* Oh, well. I’m an optimistic fan, but this is getting a little ridiculous. However, I don’t like negativity, so I’m going to focus on my favorite moments of the game.
1. Orlando Cabrera’s audition for the Joffery Ballet
2. A very nice 4-5-3 double play executed perfectly by Polanco, Guillen, and Miguel Cabrera.
3. A Sox fan heckling Gary Sheffield, repeatingly calling him “Old Man” through his first two at bats, only to yell “I’m still here….Old Man!” when he came up for a third time.
Winners: Placido Polanco hit two two-run home runs. That’s pretty darn good for a guy who only has 6 on the season. Ryan Rayburn went 4-6 with an RBI, which came at the end of an impressive marathon at bat in which he fouled off 6 straight pitches with 2 strikes to stay alive long enough to get the hit. Curtis Granderson went 1-6 with a walk, but the one hit was a two-run homer, so he wins. That also extends his hitting streak to 14 games. Finally, Fernando Rodney pitched three scoreless innings while striking out five and walking only one.
Losers: Kyle Farnsworth has given up three homeruns in two outings after going 1-2-3 in his first appearance as a Tiger. He’s fitting in nicely with the rest of the bullpen, unfortunately. Nate Robertson hasn’t recorded a win since June. He looked promising early; he even struck out Ken Griffey Jr. twice, but he couldn’t make it past the fifth inning. Better than the third inning, but not good enough. Gary Sheffield went 0-6 last night. He’s now batting .226 with nine HR and 31 RBI. Miguel Cabrera also went 0-6, but everyone has a bad night. Gary’s having a bad season and he’s making 20 million dollars. Edgar Renteria has improved offensively slightly lately, but he’s still not coming thru in big situations. He had poor Rayburn on base twice and couldn’t bring him in. He also made a nice defensive play, but that was erased in the 14th when his fielding error kept the winning run on base. Nick Swisher wouldn’t have even come up to bat if he had fielded that ball cleanly. Of course, you can talk all you want about what could have happened before-hand, but the fact is that Joel Zumaya blew the save. What is it about the words “save situation” that seem to make the Tigers forget how to pitch?
Anyway, the worst thing about this whole thing is that there are a couple of guys who are doing everything possible to make this ballclub win, but they are a lonely few. Granderson has a 14 game winning streak and has homered twice in two games. Polanco is batting well over .300 and half of his season home runs have come in the last two games. Miguel Cabrera, despite a hiccup last night, was actually named A.L. player of the month for July and nearly poked a hole in the roof of the trop on Sunday with a homer. He also had a diving-throw-from-the-knees double play that was the number one web gem on Baseball tonight. Miner has had three straight quality starts and Galarraga has pitched two near perfect 6 inning games. However, here we are, having lost five straight games, watching the post-season get farther and farther away.
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