Tigers On Top

Good thing we got 11 runs, eh? Verlander was really good, as usual, and then Miner gave up three runs in the ninth. Thanks to the 11 runs, we were far enough away that it didn’t matter. Oh, the bullpen. Even in an 11-7 win, they find a way to make me shudder.

But back to the good bits! The Tygs scored runs in many different and lovely ways. They scored on a lovely moonshot by Marcus Thames. They scored on wild pitches. They manufactured runs through timely hitting, stolen bases, and a bit more timely hitting. And Sheffield flippin’ STOLE HOME. As a purist, that’s my kind of baseball. Homers are nice, but small ball is electrifying. I don’t know if stealing home can properly be classified as “small-ball,” but it sure is something Ty Cobb would have liked. And for all his faults, his baseball tastes were impeccable.

Our boy Justin had himself a nice day, pitching seven solid innings while giving up four runs and striking out eight. The Boys, after initially falling behind, bounced back with a four run fourth, three of those runs coming on a home run by Mr. Moonshot. Thankfully they didn’t stop there–that would have been kiiiiinda bad. We scored six more runs over the sixth, seventh and eighth to make sure we put the Mariners down and kept them there.

Sure, we probably should have won three of four games. If we had, we would have a one game lead over Cleveland instead of a half game (though neither of those, admittedly, is very comfy). Brandon Inge sure deserved a win with that insane leap into the stands last night. How much would you have loved to be one of those fans sitting on the aisle, by the way? Seriously, what a thrill. You get to see Brandon come leaping at you like some crazy mix of Eric Byrnes and Derek Jeter, and then you could reach down to pat him on the back, tell him how amazing he is and then ask if he’s okay. Mmmmm.

Now the Tygs head off to Minnesota and the Metrodome, possibly the most awful place to play or watch baseball ever. The Twins are coming off a four-game sweep of the suddenly toothless A’s, who according to the laws of nature should be starting their second-half surge right now. Guess someone forgot to tell them. We gotta beat the Twinkies–remember last year. The last thing we need is to have to fight off two teams breathing down our necks.