Tigers On Top

We swept the Nats, we scored 32 runs in three days, and we are tied for first with Cleveland! What could be better?

Bondo’s record is still perfect, even though he only gave us five innings yesterday. Durbin got another win after another of his delightfully solid outings. The bats were oh-so-awake–did you SEE those moonshots Marcus Thames was launching? In almost every crucial situation, one Tiger or another would really step up and get it done (something the Nationals just couldn’t seem to do). Like Brandon Inge and Omar Infante yesterday with the score tied and the bases loaded. Base hit and base hit, game untied and permanently in the Tigers’ control.

I was a little worried going into RFK–what if the Tigers didn’t take these NL patsies seriously enough? What if they blew three golden chances for keeping pace with the Tribe? The first game seemed a semi-confirmation of these fears, with the Nats coming almost all the way back. But in game 2 and 3, the Tygs just buried the Nationals under a flurry of base hits, as they should have.

One worrisome bit in yesterday’s game was Pudge leaving with a spasming (is that a word?) hamstring. He says it’s not serious, but I won’t be pacified until I see him behind the plate again. Also, we traded Wil Ledezma to the Braves for Macay McBride, another lefty. According to the Tigers’ website, the big difference between them is that McBride has more options, allowing him to be sent down, which is not possible with Wil. McBride is also a lefty specialist. Leyland said it’s not for sure that McBride will be the one sent down to make room for Kenny when the Gambler returns on Friday, but really, why else would they have traded for him? If you weren’t planning to send him down, then what is the point of getting rid of Ledezma, who much as I hate to admit it has been more rocklike than the rest of our exceedingly suspect bullpen lately.

Hopefully this series will give the Tigers a good shot of momentum going into Atlanta to face Smoltz. They did almost everything right in Washington (just try to repress the second half of the first game). There was good pitching (mostly), good defense, and most of all, timely, clutch, and prolific hitting. We can’t rely solely on the offense to get us to and through the playoffs, but it sure doesn’t hurt to be scoring 8+ runs per game!