Unknown Galarraga pitches gem for Tigers - 4/16/08

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tigers 13, Indians 2
Unknown Galarraga pitches gem for Tigers
Offense stays hot with 30 runs in past three games.
Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

CLEVELAND -- No, it has not been an easy April to explain for a Tigers team that already has had its share of theatrical tragedy and comedy this month, all courtesy of some crazy baseball games.

The stagecraft continued Wednesday night at Progressive Field, at least for Tigers fans who saw a pitcher whose name they barely knew, Armando Galarraga, join with a suddenly angry bunch of Tigers hitters to blow away the Cleveland Indians, 13-2.

The Tigers got five RBIs and four hits, including a two-run homer, from the awakening Miguel Cabrera, and five more RBIs from Edgar Renteria, who hit his first grand slam since joining Detroit.

"I'm always careful not to make excuses, but I think a lot of baseball is mental," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland, whose team has suddenly won three consecutive games and is 5-10 on the season -- a record identical to the reigning Central Division champions, the Indians. "And I think the last two days, the weather being better (67 degrees at game time) has helped.

"Players are zeroed-in better. Our players today were all happy when they got to the ballpark. It was beautiful."

The same might have been said for Galarraga's performance.

Filling in for the injured Dontrelle Willis, Galarraga during one dizzying stretch put down 17 Indians batters in a row. A 26-year-old right-hander, who only a few days ago was in the same place he has spent most of his baseball career -- in the minor leagues, acted as if he was in a hurry not only to join Detroit's rotation, but to get busy celebrating his first big-league victory.

He threw only 81 pitches during 6 2/3 innings, and did not throw his 20th ball until the next-to-the-last pitch he threw in the sixth inning.

He threw steady strikes and a steady blend of fastballs with mixed-speed breaking pitches that kept the Indians off stride and out of rhythm.

"I was working all off-season on location, location, location," said Galarraga, a Venezuela native who came to the Tigers from Texas in a February trade for minor-league outfielder Michael Hernandez. "In my mind was location. I didn't want to walk anybody. I tried to be in the strike zone and attack."

Leyland, who never met a strike he didn't like, at least from one of his pitchers, was in rapture afterward.

"He pounded the strike zone," Leyland said, counting down the reasons Galarraga was able to dominate a scary Indians team Wednesday.

"Number one, he was very good," Leyland said, giving Galarraga his due. "Number two, they (the Indians) had never seen him before. He got away with some pitches early in the game. But some of the pitches he got away with late in the game he'd have gotten away with on any night."

The Tigers after falling all over themselves trying to score runs through the first 13 days of April, have now scored 30 runs in their past three games. They had 17 hits Wednesday night, including four by Cabrera (batting .364 in his last eight games) and three more from Renteria (.300 on the season)

Although they were down, 1-0, in the first, Cleveland's lead lasted only two batters into the second. After a leadoff walk to Magglio Ordonez, Cabrera flicked his wrists at an outside fastball from Sabathia and hoisted it into the right-field seats for his second home run in consecutive at-bats, dating to Tuesday night's game.

At that point, it was the Tigers' party, exclusively.

Indians starter C.C. Sabathia, who has been in a horns-locked duel with the Indians front office over a new contract, did himself no favors Wednesday as he moves, week by week, closer to free agency at the end of this season.

He was torched for nine runs on eight hits and five walks in four innings of work so tortured that it's a wonder the 17,644 fans on hand Wednesday didn't cry rather than boo.

But they booed. They booed Sabathia when he walked three consecutive batters in the fifth, just ahead of Renteria's grand slam, a 400-foot blast to deep left-center.

They booed Indians relievers Tom Mastny and Craig Breslow, as well, when they walked four Tigers batters in the seventh to score a run.

If it seemed to the Tigers if this was reminiscent of Comerica Park a week or two ago, it was.

But that was another era as far as Leyland's team is concerned. That was then. This is now. And the Tigers have decided at last that their star-studded show must go on.

Maybe Indians fans will get used to booing their own players this year?

tigersaint wrote:

Maybe Indians fans will get used to booing their own players this year?

I hope so.

I was wondering why they didn't start cheering for the Tigers....JK

I predict a last place finish for the Indians!

GO TIGERS!


Another win tonight gets them out of last place!

Lets go for 2 sweeps in a row tonight.

tigersaint wrote:

Lets go for 2 sweeps in a row tonight.

Amen, and amen!!

ohh.....crap!!

Start a NEW streak tonight boys!!

Beat the BJays.....

Put in Galarraga again!!! He did awesomely (and he has nice hair!!!)

tigersaint wrote:

ohh.....crap!!

Start a NEW streak tonight boys!!

you guys have the funniest, but sick in a way, but they are the funniest nicknames for teams ever!!! Do you have a nickname for every team in the MLB?

Oops!!! Meant to quote the BJays thing...