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  2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

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GoGetEmTigers
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PostSubject: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Mar 19, 2014 1:33 am

 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS 13546081655_1e561ddcc3_o

2014 RECORD 1st Half:
WINS: 46,
LOSES: 33


*** All Times Eastern. ***

All games except those listed as ESPN, FS-D PLUS, FS1 and FOX will be shown on FSN-DET (FS-D HD)

Click Score for box score.

2014 Detroit Tigers MLB Schedule LINK

HOME GAMES IN BOLD


Date, Opponent, Time/Result, Broadcast/Pitcher

Mon, 3/31 Royals 1:08p WIN 4-3 (WP: Nathan (1-0))
Tue, 4/1 OFF DAY
Wed, 4/2 Royals 1:08p WIN 2-1 F/10 INNINGS (WP: Alburquerque (1-0)) - WIN SERIES
Thu, 4/3 Royals 1:08p Postponed Rain MAKEUP: June 19

Fri, 4/4 Orioles 1:08p WIN 10-4 (WP: Smyly (1-0))
Sat, 4/5 Orioles 1:08p WIN 7-6 (WP: Porcello (1-0), SV: Nathan (1))
Sun, 4/6 Orioles 1:08p LOSE 1-3 (LP: Verlander (0-1)) - WIN SERIES

Mon, 4/7 OFF DAY
Tue, 4/8 at Dodgers 10:10p LOSE 2-3 F/10 INNINGS (LP: Chamberlain (0-1))
Wed, 4/9 at Dodgers 10:10p WIN 7-6 F/10 INNINGS (WP: Nathan (2-0), BS: Nathan (2), SV: Alburquerque (1))

Thu, 4/10 OFF DAY
Fri, 4/11 at Padres 10:10p LOSE 0-6 (LP: Porcello (1-1))
Sat, 4/12 at Padres 8:40p WIN 6-2 (WP: Verlander (1-1))
Sun, 4/13 at Padres 4:10p LOSE 1-5 (LP: Scherzer (0-1))

Mon, 4/14 OFF DAY
Tue, 4/15 Indians 7:08p Postponed Snow/cold MAKEUP: July 19 @1:08
Wed, 4/16 Indians 7:08p LOSE 2-3 (LP: Sanchez (0-1))
Thu, 4/17 Indians 1:08p WIN 7-5 (WP: Verlander (2-1), SV: Nathan (2))

Fri, 4/18 Angels 7:08p LOSE 6-11 (LP: Smyly (1-1))
Sat, 4/19 Angels 1:08p WIN 5-2 (WP: Scherzer (1-1))
Sun, 4/20 Angels 1:08p WIN 2-1 (WP: Porcello (2-1), SV: Nathan (3)) WIN SERIES

Mon, 4/21 White Sox 7:08p LOSE 1-3 (LP: Sanchez (0-2))
Tue, 4/22 White Sox 7:08p WIN 8-6 (WP: Verlander (3-1), SV: Chamberlain (1))
Wed, 4/23 White Sox 7:08p LOSE 4-6 (LP: Reed (0-1), BS: Krol (1))
Thu, 4/24 White Sox 1:08p WIN 7-4 (WP: Scherzer (2-1), SV: Nathan (4))

Fri, 4/25 at Twins 8:10 WIN 10-6 (WP: Porcello (3-1))
Sat, 4/26 at Twins 2:10p LOSE 3-5 (LP: Ortegia (0-1))
Sun, 4/27 at Twins 2:10p Postponed Rain MAKE UP: as DH on Aug. 23 @ 1:10 p.m. ET

Mon, 4/28 OFF DAY
Tue, 4/29 at White Sox 8:10p WIN 4-3 (WP: Chamberlain (1-1), SV: Nathan (5))
Wed, 4/30 at White Sox 2:10p WIN 5-1 (WP: Scherzer (3-1)) SWEEP

Thu, 5/1 OFF DAY
Fri, 5/2 at Royals 8:10p WIN 8-2 (WP: Porcello (4-1))
Sat, 5/3 at Royals 7:10p WIN 9-2 (WP: Smyly (2-1))
Sun, 5/4 at Royals 2:10p WIN 9-4 (WP: Verlander (4-1)) SWEEP

Mon, 5/5 Astros 7:08p WIN 2-0 (WP: Scherzer (4-1), SV: Nathan (6))
Tue, 5/6 Astros 7:08p WIN 11-4 (WP: Ray (1-0))
Wed, 5/7 Astros 7:08p WIN 3-2 (WP: Porcello (5-1), SV: Nathan (7))
Thu, 5/8 Astros 1:08p LOSE 2-6 (LP: Smyly (2-2)) WIN SERIES

Fri, 5/9 Twins 7:08p LOSE 1-2 (LP: Verlander (4-2))
Sat, 5/10 Twins 1:08p WIN 9-3 (WP: Scherzer (5-1))
Sun, 5/11 Twins 1:08p LOSE 3-4 (LP: Chamberlain (1-2), BS: Ckamberlain (1))

Mon, 5/12 at Orioles 7:05p WIN 4-1 (WP: Porcello (6-1), SV: (8))
Tue, 5/13 at Orioles 7:05p WIN 4-1 (WP: Miller (1-0), SV: Nathan (9))
Wed, 5/14 at Orioles 12:35p WIN 7-5 (WP: Verlander (5-2), SV: Nathan (10)) SWEEP

Thu, 5/15 OFF DAY
Fri, 5/16 at Red Sox WIN 1-0 (WP: Scherzer (6-1), SV: Nathan (11))
Sat, 5/17 at Red Sox WIN 6-1 (WP: Porcello (7-1))
Sun, 5/18 at Red Sox WIN 6-2 (WP: Sanchez (1-2)) SWEEP

Mon, 5/19 at Indians LOSE 4-5 F/10 INNINGS (LP: Alburquerque (1-1))
Tue, 5/20 at Indians LOSE 2-6 (LP: Verlander (5-3))
Wed, 5/21 at Indians LOSE 10-11 F/13 INNINGS (LP: Coke (0-1), BS: Nathan (3))

Thu, 5/22 Rangers LOSE 2-9 (LP: Ray (1-1))
Fri, 5/23 Rangers WIN 7-2 (WP: Sanchez (2-2))
Sat, 5/24 Rangers LOSE 2-12 (LP: Porcello (7-2))
Sun, 5/25 Rangers LOSE 4-12 (LP: Verlander (5-4))


Mon, 5/26 at Athletics LOSE 0-10 (LP: Smyly (2-3))
Tue, 5/27 at Athletics WIN 6-5 (WP: Alburquerque (2-1), H: Chamberlain (10), SV: Nathan (12))
Wed, 5/28 at Athletics LOSE 1-3 (LP: Nathan (BS, 4)(2-1))
Thu, 5/29 at Athletics WIN 5-4 (WP: Porcello (8-2), SV: Nathan (13))

Fri, 5/30 at Mariners WIN 6-3 (WP: Verlander (6-4), SV: Chamberlain (2))
Sat, 5/31 at Mariners LOSE 2-3 (LP: Smyly (2-4))
Sun, 6/1 at Mariners LOSE 0-4 (LP: Scherzer (6-2))

Mon, 6/2 OFF DAY
Tue, 6/3 Blue Jays LOSE 3-5 (LP: Nathan (2-2))
Wed, 6/4 Blue Jays LOSE 2-8 (LP: Porcello (8-3))
Thu, 6/5 Blue Jays LOSE 3-7 (LP: Verlander (6-5))

Fri, 6/6 Red Sox WIN 6-2 (WP: Smyly (3-4))
Sat, 6/7 Red Sox WIN 8-6 (WP: Scherzer (7-2))
Sun, 6/8 Red Sox LOSE 3-5 (LP: Chamberlain (1-3)) win series


Mon, 6/9 at White Sox LOSE 5-6 (LP: Porcello (8-4))
Tue, 6/10 at White Sox PPD RAIN
Wed, 6/11 at White Sox LOSE 2-8 (LP: Verlander (6-6))
Thu, 6/12 at White Sox WIN 4-0 (WP: Scherzer 8-2))

Fri, 6/13 Twins LOSE 0-2 (LP: Smyly (3-5))
Sat, 6/14 Twins WIN 12-9 (WP: Sanchez (3-2), SV: Krol (1))
Sun, 6/15 Twins WIN 4-3 (WP: Nathan (3-2)) series win


Mon, 6/16 Royals LOSE 8-11 (LP: Verlander (6-7))
Tue, 6/17 Royals LOSE 4-11 (LP: Scherzer (8-3))
Wed, 6/18 Royals LOSE 1-2 (LP: Smyly (3-6))
Thu, 6/19 Royals WIN 2-1 (WP: Sanchez (4-2), SV: Nathan (14))

Fri, 6/20 at Indians WIN 6-4 (WP: Porcello (9-4), SV: Nathan (15))
Sat, 6/21 at Indians WIN 5-4 F/10 INNINGS (BS: Nathan (5), WP: Nathan (4-2), SV: Coke (1))
Sun, 6/22 at Indians WIN 10-4 (WP: Scherzer (9-3)) sweep


Mon, 6/23 OFF DAY
Tue, 6/24 at Rangers WIN 8-2 (WP: Smyly (4-6))
Wed, 6/25 at Rangers WIN 8-6 (WP: Sanchez (5-2), SV: Nathan (16))
Thu, 6/26 at Rangers WIN 6-0 (WP: Porcello (10-4)) sweep


Fri, 6/27 at Astros LOSE 3-4 F/11 INNINGS (LP: Hardy (0-1))
Sat, 6/28 at Astros WIN 4-3 (WP: Coke (1-1), SV: Nathan (17))
Sun, 6/29 at Astros LOSE 4-6 (LP: Smyly (4-7))


Mon, 6/30 Athletics WIN 5-4 (WP: Hardy (1-1))
Tue, 7/1 Athletics WIN 3-0 (WP: Porcello (11-4))
Wed, 7/2 Athletics 1:08p FS-D, MLBN, 97.1 The Ticket

Thu, 7/3 Rays 7:08p FS-D, MLBN, 97.1 The Ticket
Fri, 7/4 Rays 7:08p FS-D, ESPN, 97.1 The Ticket
Sat, 7/5 Rays 4:08p FS-D, 97.1 The Ticket
Sun, 7/6 Rays 8:00p ESPN, 97.1 The Ticket

Mon, 7/7 OFF DAY
Tue, 7/8 Dodgers 7:08p FS-D, 97.1 The Ticket
Wed, 7/9 Dodgers 1:08p FS-D, 97.1 The Ticket

Thu, 7/10 at Royals 8:10p FS-D, MLBN, 97.1 The Ticket
Fri, 7/11 at Royals 8:10p FS-D, 97.1 The Ticket
Sat, 7/12 at Royals 7:10p FS-D, 97.1 The Ticket
Sun, 7/13 at Royals 2:10p FS-D, 97.1 The Ticket

Sun, 7/13 - SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game 5:00 p.m. ET
Sun, 7/13 - Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game (following Futures game) approximately 8:30 p.m. ET
Mon, 7/14 - Gillette Home Run Derby 8:00 p.m. ET (gates open at 5:00 p.m. ET)
Tue, 7/15 - NL vs AL 7:00 pm ET - 85th All-Star Game, at Target Field
Wed, 7/16
Thu, 7/17


Last edited by GoGetEmTigers on Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:13 am; edited 77 times in total
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Number of posts : 57424
Age : 64
Location : Eastern Ohio, near Wheeling WV
Favorite Current Tiger(s) : JV, Hunter, Jackson, Porcello, Avila (really ALL of em!)
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Mar 19, 2014 1:36 am

 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS 13546081655_1e561ddcc3_o

2014 RECORD 2nd Half:
WINS: -,
LOSES: -


*** All Times Eastern. ***

All games except those listed as ESPN, FS-D PLUS, FS1 and FOX will be shown on FSN-DET (FS-D HD)

Click Score for box score.

2014 Detroit Tigers MLB Schedule LINK

HOME GAMES IN BOLD


Date, Opponent, Time/Result, Broadcast/Pitcher

Fri, 7/18 Indians 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 7/19 Indians 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 7/19 Indians 7:08p FS1, MLB.TV
Sun, 7/20 Indians 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 7/21 at D-backs 9:40p FS-D, MLB.TV
Tue, 7/22 at D-backs 9:40p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 7/23 at D-backs 3:40p FS-D, MLB.TV

Thu, 7/24 at Angels 10:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Fri, 7/25 at Angels 10:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 7/26 at Angels 9:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 7/27 at Angels TBD FS-D, MLB.TV

Wed, 7/28 OFF DAY
Tue, 7/29 White Sox 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 7/30 White Sox 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Thu, 7/31 White Sox 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV



Fri, 8/1 Rockies 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 8/2 Rockies 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 8/3 Rockies 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 8/4 at Yankees 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Tue, 8/5 at Yankees 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 8/6 at Yankees 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Thu, 8/7 at Yankees 1:05p FS-D, MLB.TV

Fri, 8/8 at Blue Jays 7:07p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 8/9 at Blue Jays 1:07p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 8/10 at Blue Jays 1:07p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 8/11 at Pirates 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Tue, 8/12 at Pirates 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV

Wed, 8/13 Pirates 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Thu, 8/14 Pirates 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV



Fri, 8/15 Mariners 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 8/16 Mariners 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 8/17 Mariners 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Tue, 8/19 at Rays 7:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 8/20 at Rays 7:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Thu, 8/21 at Rays 1:10p FS-D, MLB.TV

Fri, 8/22 at Twins 8:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 8/23 at Twins 1:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 8/23 at Twins 8:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 8/24 at Twins 2:10p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 8/25 OFF DAY
Tue, 8/26 Yankees 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 8/27 Yankees 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Thu, 8/28 Yankees 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Fri, 8/29 at White Sox 8:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 8/30 at White Sox 7:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 8/31 at White Sox 2:10p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 9/1 at Indians 4:05p FS-D, ESPN, MLB.TV
Tue, 9/2 at Indians 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 9/3 at Indians 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV
Thu, 9/4 at Indians 7:05p FS-D, MLB.TV

Fri, 9/5 Giants 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 9/6 Giants 1:08p FOX, MLB.TV
Sun, 9/7 Giants 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 9/8 Royals 4:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Tue, 9/9 Royals 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 9/10 Royals 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Thu, 9/11 OFF DAY
Fri, 9/12 Indians 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 9/13 Indians 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 9/14 Indians 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 9/15 at Twins 8:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Tue, 9/16 at Twins 8:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 9/17 at Twins 8:10p FS-D, MLB.TV

Thu, 9/18 OFF DAY
Fri, 9/19 at Royals 8:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 9/20 at Royals 7:10p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 9/21 at Royals 2:10p FS-D, MLB.TV

Mon, 9/22 White Sox 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Tue, 9/23 White Sox 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Wed, 9/24 White Sox 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV

Thu, 9/25 Twins 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Fri, 9/26 Twins 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sat, 9/27 Twins 7:08p FS-D, MLB.TV
Sun, 9/28 Twins 1:08p FS-D, MLB.TV


Last edited by GoGetEmTigers on Sat May 17, 2014 2:13 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Mar 19, 2014 1:36 am

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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Mar 19, 2014 1:37 am

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Number of posts : 57424
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Location : Eastern Ohio, near Wheeling WV
Favorite Current Tiger(s) : JV, Hunter, Jackson, Porcello, Avila (really ALL of em!)
Reputation : 20
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedMon Mar 31, 2014 6:51 pm

 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS 10014567_10153980568535521_599847232_n

Gonzalez, Tigers roar to Opening Day walk-off win
Veteran shortstop delivers at plate with pair of key hits in Detroit debut

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 3/31/2014 7:00 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- Alex Gonzalez started last Opening Day at first base in Milwaukee after 13 season openers at shortstop. He called it "kind of boring."

His return to shortstop for his 15th Opening Day was anything but dull. His Tigers debut might well have aged a record Opening Day crowd by the end, and made him seem elderly early on. By the time it ended with his walk-off single in a 4-3 victory over the Royals, the game seemed to take a few years off his age.

When his fourth-inning error helped fuel a three-run Royals rally, his tenure in Motown felt like it had an autumn wind to it. When Gonzalez tied the game in the seventh with his first triple in three years, almost to the day, he was getting cheered by some of the same fans who booed him.

When Gonzalez stepped to the plate in the ninth inning with the potential winning run on third, one out and the infield in, the storyline was made. His low liner went past a drawn-in shortstop, Royals star Alcides Escobar, and it got Gonzalez mobbed at first base.

The first teammate to reach him, fittingly, was Nick Castellanos, a Marlins fan growing up in South Florida. He was six years old when Gonzalez made his Major League debut with the Marlins in 1998.

"He almost choked the life out of Alex today," Torii Hunter said. "He's kind of strong for a 22-year-old."

Statistically, it was the biggest Opening Day of Gonzalez's career. Gonzalez had only one RBI for his career on Opening Day, and that came with the Reds in 2007. He never had an extra-base hit to open the season, and his only multi-hit opener came in '06 with the Red Sox.

To call this his most memorable Opening Day, however, would require him to recall all of them.

"I don't remember. It's a lot of Opening Days," Gonzalez said. "But today was something special. I'm proud to be in Detroit, first game, hit a walk-off. It's great. I feel great."

Gonzalez took a lot of pride a week ago when the Tigers traded for him and slotted him into the shortstop role to replace the injured Jose Iglesias. They were expected to look for a shortstop on the market, just not necessarily him. Though Gonzalez has a lot of history with team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski, who signed him as a teenage prospect to the Marlins 20 years ago, Gonzalez has a lot of history overall.

The scrutiny that had been focused on the Tigers for a 37-year-old as a shortstop hit home in the fourth. Two batters after Lorenzo Cain slapped a ground ball past a diving Gonzalez in the hole for an RBI single to pull Kansas City ahead, Nori Aoki hit a ground ball that Gonzalez fumbled on the exchange for a two-out error as boos rose from the crowd of 45,068.


Justin Verlander ended up throwing 33 pitches that inning, nine of them after the error. His bases-loaded walk to Omar Infante immediately afterwards forced in another run and brought up Eric Hosmer with a chance to blow the game open.

Suddenly, the ace with a shutout spring coming back from core muscle surgery was on the verge of an Opening Day blowout as he struggled to find his rhythm.

"A big hit there to the next guy, that's how the wheels fall off," Verlander said. "Walk a guy and you get down on yourself, you make a mistake to the next guy and he hits a double, then it's 6-1, not 3-1."

Verlander got the out, overpowering Hosmer into a popout on a 98-mph fastball, but never got back to an even score while he was in the game. He gave up three runs, two earned, over six innings in a no-decision, leaving Verlander with only one victory in seven career Opening Day starts.

Gonzalez redeemed himself on defense with a diving stop up the middle to retire Billy Butler in the seventh, but his hitting helped keep Verlander from a second season-opening loss.

Though Victor Martinez's second-inning solo homer gave the Tigers an early lead, Royals starter James Shields largely contained Detroit's offense. He took a 3-1 advantage into the seventh when Austin Jackson, batting fifth in the new batting order, hit a one-out triple and scored on an Aaron Crow wild pitch.

Alex Avila, whose walk chased Shields from the game, was still on first when Gonzalez stepped in. He arrived with a scouting report as a shortstop who makes the plays he gets to, and a hitter who capitalizes on mistakes. Crow gave him one, and he ripped it to the fence in left-center for his first triple since April 3, 2011.

"It was a slider," Crow said. "I left it up a little bit. He got out front and hit into the gap."

By the time Gonzalez stepped to the plate again, the Tigers had the potential winning run at third, the result of a move to pinch-run Tyler Collins for Avila and a one-out Castellanos single to right that let Collins take the extra base.

On came All-Star closer Greg Holland to try to salvage the game. Right-handed hitters were just 18-for-107 with 48 strikeouts against him last year.

Up came Gonzalez, who had never faced him.

"When you make an error, especially when it scores a run, to have an opportunity like that today, I'm excited about that," Gonzalez said.

One Holland pitch to hit was enough.

"I fell behind in the count and tried to throw a pitch down in the zone for a strike," Holland said. "It was down but it was over the middle of the plate and he stayed on it and hit into left field."

For a rookie like Collins in his Major League debut, it was a dream. For Gonzalez, it was quiet redemption.

"Errors are [part of] the game," he said. "I made a mistake, but I keep my head."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


Last edited by GoGetEmTigers on Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Number of posts : 57424
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Location : Eastern Ohio, near Wheeling WV
Favorite Current Tiger(s) : JV, Hunter, Jackson, Porcello, Avila (really ALL of em!)
Reputation : 20
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Apr 02, 2014 6:50 pm

 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS 970137_10153987237440521_1017933570_n
Kinsler latest to lead Tigers' walk-off hit parade
Second baseman also belts first homer to help ensure series victory

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/2/2014 7:10 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- Max Scherzer began the follow-up effort to his American League Cy Young Award season in much the same fashion that his award-winning 2013 campaign started. All that was missing was the win.

He didn't get it. The Tigers eventually did.

"I'm going to have to have a discussion with [hitting coach] Wally [Joyner]. He doesn't realize I lead the league in run support," Scherzer joked after Ian Kinsler's 10th-inning single off Royals lefty Tim Collins earned the Tigers their second straight walk-off victory, 2-1.

It's the first time since 1901, the Tigers' inaugural season, that they opened a season with back-to-back walk-off wins, according to Elias Sports Bureau. It's the first time any Major League team has done it since the 2004 Twins.

When Scherzer went 13-0 to begin last season, he continually downplayed it, calling the win a "fluky" statistic that doesn't accurately reflect the quality of a pitcher. He still ended up winning the AL Cy Young Award with a 21-3 record. He had the highest run support in the Majors, but he had a lot of other statistics to support him.

The first start of his follow-up campaign -- and his contract year -- ended up supporting Scherzer's argument. After his eight scoreless innings had him picking up where he left off from a 2013 season in which seemingly everything went right, plenty went wrong, from a similar gem by Jason Vargas in his Royals debut to Joe Nathan's first blown save in 20 chances at Comerica Park.

"It makes my outing feel a lot better when we're able to win a game," Scherzer said. "It's probably the worst part of this job when you come in after blowing one and giving up the lead. It's the most nerve-wracking time when you're up here watching the game and just hoping we can walk away with a win."

It was the first time in Scherzer's Major League career that he didn't earn a win for seven or more shutout innings. Considering the Tigers ended up with a second straight win against a Kansas City club seen as potentially Detroit's biggest obstacle to a fourth consecutive AL Central crown, Scherzer didn't mind.

"I did a great job of pitching deep into a game," Scherzer said. "Eight innings in a first start is a great thing to do, especially with the game where it was."

In other words, he wasn't kicking things in the clubhouse during extra innings. He had already done that earlier.

Scherzer had issues from the outset, seemingly out of sync as he walked Nori Aoki and gave up an Omar Infante single. With runners at the corners and one out, Scherzer fell behind on a 3-0 count to Billy Butler, forcing him to either throw strikes of risk facing Alex Gordon, 11-for-28 with two home runs lifetime against him.

Butler not only swung at the 3-0 pitch, he hit a ground ball straight at Alex Gonzalez for an inning-ending double play.

"I'm not mad at myself for swinging at that," Butler said. "I got the green light, got a good pitch to hit and just got a bad result."

That bought Scherzer the time he needed to adjust and settle in, scattering three singles over the next seven innings. The only physical adjustment Scherzer made was changing shirts from long sleeves to short ones. The main tweak was mental, and not from an abundance of adrenaline.

"If anything, I was too relaxed," Scherzer said. "I was just kind of going through the motions at first. I got upset about that, so I came up here, started kicking some things, kicking the laundry bin, fired myself up."

He wasn't kidding.

"My thing is, I'm aggressive," Scherzer said. "I'm going to attack the zone. I respect all the hitters, and I really respect what they do over there, but I'm going to be aggressive right back at you. That's something I wasn't able to do in the first."

Scherzer allowed four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. Vargas nearly matched him, allowing five hits over his seven innings of one-run ball with a walk and six strikeouts. Until the ninth, the extra hit loomed large.

Kinsler talked during Spring Training about looking to hit line drives into the gaps for doubles and triples at Comerica Park after hitting for power over much of his Texas tenure. His first hit as a Tiger, though, was a drive over the fence in left-center field off a hanging curveball.

"The line drive carried [in the fourth]," Kinsler said. "The base hit in the 10th was a little more like it, but you can't complain about a ball that went over the fence."

It was the first hit and the only run Vargas allowed in his first start after signing a four-year, $32 million contract in the offseason to bolster Kansas City's rotation.

That difference held until Nathan, who was 19-for-19 in career save chances against the Tigers at Comerica Park before joining Detroit on a two-year contract this past offseason, entered for the ninth with the top of the Royals order due up and loaded the bases with one out on a Infante single and back-to-back walks.

"You put yourself into a bases-loaded one-out situation with Gordon coming up, you hope for the best," Nathan said, "but in that spot you want the worst-case scenario [to be] he hits a fly ball to the opposite field and ties the game, and we've still got a chance to win the game."

Gordon's fly ball to left was deep enough to easily score pinch-runner Pedro Ciriaco. Al Alburquerque earned the win with a scoreless 10th, helped by a replay challenge that turned what was originally an Aoki infield single into the third out.

Kinsler's 10th-inning gapper went in the same direction as his home run, scoring Austin Jackson. It was the only hit allowed by Collins, whose walks to Jackson and Nick Castellanos kept the inning going for the batting order to come back around.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Thursday's series finale against the Royals in Detroit was rescheduled for June 19 because of rain. (AP)

Rain postpones Tigers-Royals finale in Detroit

By Matt Slovin / MLB.com | 4/3/2014 2:33 P.M. ET

DETROIT -- The series finale between the Tigers and Royals, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, has been postponed because of rain.

Forecasts called for temperatures in the upper 30s and rain persisting throughout the afternoon and evening.

The team later announced a make-up time of 1:08 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, a mutual off-day following a three-game set at Comerica Park. Tickets for the postponed game can be used for the makeup game; no exchange is necessary.

Detroit right-hander Anibal Sanchez had been slated to see his first live MLB action since March 12. Weather caused him to miss several scheduled starts at the close of Spring Training, including the final exhibition in Washington against the Nationals that was canceled.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said in his pregame availability Thursday that Sanchez would make the team's next start.

"I think the bigger concern is we don't want to be in a situation where Sanchie goes out there, throws two innings and then all of a sudden we get rained out. For us, that would be the worst-case scenario," Ausmus said.

Ace Justin Verlander will pitch Sunday. Rick Porcello was named the starter for Saturday's game.

Detroit won both of the series' games in walk-off fashion and welcomes the Orioles on Friday for a 1:08 p.m. ET start.

Matt Slovin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Tigers overpower O's with trio of homers
Miggy blasts two-run shot for hit No. 2,000; Davis, Hunter also go yard

By Chris Vannini / Special to MLB.com | 4/4/2014 7:18 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- It was a day of firsts at Comerica Park, but it was the number 2,000 that put the final stamp on Friday's win for the Tigers.

A two-run homer by Miguel Cabrera in the eighth inning was the 2,000th hit of his career, putting the finishing touches on a 10-4 win over the Orioles.

Cabrera went 4-for-5 with three RBIs on the day after receiving his Silver Slugger and batting title awards from last season before the game. The home run made him the ninth player in MLB history to record 2,000 hits before the age of 31 and the seventh-fastest.

"What else can you say about Miguel as a hitter?" manager Brad Ausmus said. "Eventually, you run out of adjectives to describe how great of a hitter he is, not just in the context of today's game, but in the context of the history of baseball. I've only been here for a short period of time. I'm already running out of words to describe him."

Anibal Sanchez got the start for Detroit, his first action against live MLB hitters since March 12. A combination of posterior shoulder inflammation and a cortisone shot in March coupled with rain kept pushing back Sanchez's opportunities.

He allowed two runs and three baserunnners in the opening frame, but settled down from there. A rain delay in the bottom of the fourth inning didn't end his day, but an extended frame from the Tigers' bats after play resumed did.

"It really was a matter of how long he was down," Ausmus said. "Going into the restart of the game, he was going to pitch, but our bottom half of the inning was so long and they made a pitching change. We just decided he had been off the mound for too long of a period of time.

"Considering he had the shoulder issue in Spring Training, his pitch count didn't get over 70 [mph] much, we just felt like we didn't want to push him today. I'm sure he would have wanted to go back out, but it was just a situation we were thinking more long-term."

Drew Smyly came on in long relief for his first work of the season and threw three scoreless innings to record the win.

Sanchez finished with 69 pitches, allowing two runs, two hits and three walks.

"I felt good today and tried to get it back after the first inning," Sanchez said. "I just had to get the ball down. I knew I threw a lot of pitches in the first inning."

The Tigers got on the board in the second inning on a double from Nick Castellanos. It was his first Major League RBI and extra-base hit.

"It feels good to get it out of the way," he said. "It also feels good because it got us on the board. I'm happy with it. I'm happy we got the win."

Castellanos had a learning moment later in the inning when he tried to score his first Major League run.

Castellanos over-ran third base on an Ian Kinsler single, running through a stop sign. When he got his head up, he stopped, but couldn't get back in time and was tagged out. Ausmus said it was simply a matter of Castellanos not getting his head up in time.

"I was so excited to try to score on Kinsler's hit," Castellanos said. "I was anticipating it so much. As soon as he got that hit, I was like, 'This is it, I'm scoring.' I put my head down and stomped a couple steps through the hold sign."

The fourth-inning rain delay came one pitch into Rajai Davis' second at-bat. After a 34-minute wait, Davis hit a three-run shot to left field to push the Tigers' lead to 6-2. It was Davis' first hit, RBI and run scored with the Tigers. Davis went 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch.

Torii Hunter hit a solo home run two batters later for his first hit of the season after an 0-for-9 start. Hunter went 3-for-4 and was also hit by a pitch.

Cabrera's two-run homer in the eighth extended the lead to 10-2. Some Tigers players knew it was No. 2,000 when he hit it. Some knew Cabrera was close to the milestone, but didn't realize until later.

"It's pretty crazy," catcher Alex Avila said. "To have that many hits at his age, it's pretty special. I hope everyone understands how special it is."

Chris Vannini is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSat Apr 05, 2014 7:39 pm

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Tigers weather tough ninth to remain unbeaten

Porcello, Hunter enjoy stellar afternoons, while bullpen struggles

By Chris Vannini / Special to MLB.com | 4/5/2014 6:30 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- It wasn't easy in the end, but the Tigers remained the only undefeated team in baseball with a 7-6 win over the Orioles on Saturday at Comerica Park.

The Tigers entered the ninth inning with a 7-1 lead, but Baltimore scored five runs and put the tying run at second base with one out before closer Joe Nathan was finally able to close the door.

It was the second straight day the Tigers took a big lead into the ninth inning and allowed runs to score. It nearly cost them on Saturday. Through four games, the Tigers have allowed eight runs in the ninth inning and only five during the rest of the game.

"Coming into [a game with] a seven-run lead or an eight-run lead is sometimes more difficult than coming in with a two-run lead, because the adrenaline isn't there, the focus isn't there, there's not much anxiety for the hitters on the other side of the field," manager Brad Ausmus said. "The offense, at that point, has nothing to lose. They can just go up there swinging, knowing the pitcher has to throw strikes and get outs. It can be, in some sense, more difficult to come into a game with a big lead than a smaller lead.

"I'm not overly concerned about [the bullpen], right now. I certainly don't want to go out and have games like that on a regular basis. I'm not overly concerned, right now, but we certainly don't want a repeat of this [with] any sort of frequency."

Phil Coke started the inning by allowing a single to Chris Davis and an RBI triple to Adam Jones. A groundout by Nick Markakis scored the second run of the inning. After walking the next batter, J.J. Hardy, Coke was pulled. Al Alburquerque faced just one batter, allowing a bloop single by Matt Wieters that dropped in just down the third-base line.

In came closer Joe Nathan, who gave up a single to Steve Lombardozzi and a ground-rule double to Steve Clevenger that made the score 7-5. A throwing error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez made it 7-6 with the heart of Baltimore's lineup coming up with the tying run in scoring position.

But Nathan struck out Nelson Cruz and got Davis to fly out to left field to record his first save as a Tiger.

"If we're struggling right now, [and] we're 4-0, I can't wait until we get good," Nathan said. "The point being, it's early in the year. The way the schedule's gone, too, it's been a little weird with pitch, day off, pitch. But no excuses, we definitely need to get a little ... sharper. The good thing is, we will. I've got no doubt we're going to get better and better. We're 4-0 when we're not pitching at our best. I can't wait until we do."

Nathan has allowed a run in two of his three appearances this season, blowing a save opportunity on Wednesday. He didn't blame Saturday's struggles on the sudden change in situation.

"I was ready," Nathan said. "You never know. These things, when they do happen, they happen pretty quick. I never checked out. I think I've learned, over the years, that I've seen this happen before -- so I was prepared and ready for the phone to ring. Nothing [wrong] on that end."

The bullpen's struggles nearly spoiled a fantastic first start for Rick Porcello, who allowed one run and three hits in 6 2/3 innings.

After four of the first six batters reached safely, Porcello was dynamic the rest of the way, allowing just one of the final 17 batters he faced to reach -- and that was a walk.

"It seems -- and I don't know what the numbers are -- that the first inning is the most difficult inning [for a pitcher]," Ausmus said. "I think we've seen that a number of times in this short four games, that sometimes it takes a little while for a pitcher to settle in and get into a groove. It wouldn't shock me if the first inning was the most scored-in inning of the game. Once he settled in, he was outstanding."

Porcello's secondary pitches were solid. He threw 15 changeups, 11 of which were strikes, and nine of his 10 sliders were strikes. Davis entered the day 4-for-12 against Porcello lifetime with three home runs. After Davis recorded a single in his first at-bat on Saturday, Porcello later struck him out in the sixth with back-to-back changeups for swinging strikes.

Porcello was pulled after just 94 pitches and one out still to go in the seventh. But Ausmus thought Porcello was getting tired, and he was right.

"Honestly, it kills me to admit it, but I was running out of gas," Porcello said. "Brad obviously saw that and made the move. I don't know why I was starting to get tired, but I was. That was it."

Veteran Torii Hunter continued to swing a hot bat, as well. His three-run double in the third got Detroit on the board. Two innings later, he belted a two-run homer. After starting the season 0-for-9, Hunter has reached safely in seven of his past nine plate appearances -- including two home runs and a double.

The Tigers will look to continue their perfect start in the series finale with the O's on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Vannini is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSun Apr 06, 2014 5:44 pm

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Tigers drop first tilt despite Verlander's strong start
Red-hot Hunter delivers only run with third homer of series

By Chris Vannini / Special to MLB.com | 4/6/2014 4:00 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- Justin Verlander was good on Sunday afternoon, but Chris Tillman was better.

Verlander allowed two runs on five hits over eight innings, but the bats could only push across one and the Tigers lost to the Orioles by a 3-1 score, the first loss for Detroit.

Tillman was an All-Star last year and he showed why on Sunday, allowing one run on five hits over 8 1/3 innings, striking out five.

"Tillman was outstanding," right fielder Torii Hunter said. "This guy has great stuff. The curveball he threw me, it scared me, actually. He was definitely keeping us off balance. Miggy had some good swings off him. [Victor] Martinez had some good hits, and I had some good swings.

"We tried, and this guy was just outstanding. Cutter outside, fastball [at] 93, 94 [mph] -- the curveball, I'm telling you, is unbelievable. His first full season last year, made All-Star; this guy is definitely a No. 1, one of the best starters in the game."

Tillman threw 113 pitches, 74 for strikes. Of his 72 fastballs, 50 were strikes, as were 10 of his 15 sliders. At last year's All-Star Game, Verlander and Max Scherzer shared some general pitching tips with Tillman. Verlander joked Sunday that he regretted doing that.

"Tilly was great," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Some guys kind of see Verlander in their spot and kind of shake their head. Tilly takes it on as a challenge to compete against one of the best in the game. He gives that type of effort. ... I'm real proud of everybody. They grinded it out."

The Tigers offense was kept off the basepaths until the fourth, when Hunter hit a solo home run to left field to break up Tillman's perfect game and the scoreless tie. It was Hunter's third home run in as many days. It marked the eighth time in 11 plate appearances that Hunter reached safely, and the fourth time in his career he hit a home run in three straight games.

It was the only run the Tigers would score, but it looked like it might hold up with the way Verlander was pitching. He had allowed four baserunners through five innings, with only one getting into scoring position.

But Adam Jones hit a one-out double in the sixth and Nelson Cruz tied the game with a double of his own.

In the eighth, Baltimore's Nick Markakis took a low-and-inside curveball to right field for a triple and scored on Jones' sac fly.

"The Markakis triple, I executed my pitch," Verlander said. "He got jammed and just hit it in the right spot and made a nice, aggressive play to turn it into a triple. Then Adam Jones put up a great at-bat against me. I felt good, though. That's all I can ask."

Through two starts, Verlander says he feels no effects from offseason core muscle repair surgery. He has allowed four earned runs in 14 innings, throwing more than 100 pitches in each start. The velocity is also there, but he has just five strikeouts. Last season, he recorded three strikeouts in a start five times, and never fewer than that. He had two on Opening Day against Kansas City and three on Sunday.

"I talked to Max about that when I came out of the game," Verlander said. "You get a feel for strikeouts. My feel for those isn't quite there yet. I'm not quite executing as well as I should, or maybe over-trying with two strikes, hanging stuff and letting it be hittable as opposed to executing it. But that's pretty typical for me, I think. You end up finding a feel for it."

He didn't have many, but Verlander's fifth-inning strikeout of Steve Lombardozzi was the 1,675th of his career, moving him into fourth place all-time in Tigers history.

"I had no idea," Verlander said. "That was pretty cool, especially when you think that it's not like we're an expansion team. This is a team that's been around for [more than 100] years. That's pretty special to have my name starting to climb up some ladders. There's a lot of history in this organization. To have my name start to be near the top of these all-time things is pretty cool."

A solo home run by Matt Wieters off Al Alburquerque in the ninth extended the lead to 3-1. Martinez doubled in the bottom of the frame, ending Tillman's day, but the Tigers could not rally.

"This is the first time I've seen [Tillman] pitch in person," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "We had some good at-bats, but ... as well as Justin pitched, he matched him and pitched into the ninth. So I kind of tip my hat to him. We swung the bats well the past couple days. Today, the bats cooled a little bit."


Chris Vannini is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Apr 09, 2014 3:24 am

Tigers' offense limited in walk-off loss at LA
Martinez's RBI hit in ninth forces extras after Scherzer's sharp outing

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/9/2014 3:48 AM ET


BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES -- The Tigers went from American League day-game ball in chilly Detroit over the weekend to Interleague Play at unseasonably warm Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. They ended up with very similar fortunes -- another strong outing from one of their aces, and a second consecutive low-scoring loss to show for it.

Their hot start from Opening Week, in turn, seems to be fading like the Carl Crawford liner to left field Tuesday night that skipped out of Rajai Davis' reach and rolled toward the corner as Chone Figgins sped home with the Dodgers' winning run in a 3-2 Detroit defeat.

They had enough offense to get Max Scherzer off the hook from a potential tough-luck loss, scoring a tying run on Victor Martinez's RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning and Kenley Jansen throwing upper-90s heat. They couldn't get the go-ahead run they needed.

As long as the Tigers' front-line starting trio delivers low-scoring outings, they have a chance. Though they've been consistent so far, the offense supporting them has been feast or famine, from two games with seven runs or more to three others with two runs or fewer. The last two games have fallen squarely in the latter category.

It was the first walk-off loss in Brad Ausmus' brief managerial tenure, but it was also his first regular-season road game, and thus the first time he could have a walk-off loss. It was not his first difficult loss.

"We've had some tight ones in the first six games, five of them by two runs or less," he said. "A loss is a loss, but sometimes when it's a close game and you end up losing by one or two runs, it makes you look back and wonder what you could've done differently. Either way, it's still a loss."

He had a couple of situations late. Martinez was thrown out at second after hitting the game-tying single off Jansen with two outs in the ninth, but Ausmus said it was a read that Martinez made with first-base coach and baserunning coordinator Omar Vizquel, who has the go-ahead from Ausmus to do so.

"Victor and Omar were in cahoots, just in terms of finding something they could take advantage of from the pitcher," Ausmus said. "It's not really a bad play, because if he's out, you've got [Austin] Jackson leading off the next inning."

Joba Chamberlain struck out the Dodgers in order in the ninth inning, showing a 95 mph fastball and a biting slider in the process. However, Chamberlain's leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Figgins in the 10th set the game-winning rally in motion.

Ausmus had his plan going in, turning to lefty Phil Coke for left-handed hitters Dee Gordon and Crawford. Al Alburquerque was warming up in preparation for Hanley Ramirez if first base was occupied, and Drew Smyly was readying for lefty hitters Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier after that.

Gordon's popout on a bunt attempt gave Coke a quick first out. A 2-0 count to Crawford, who was 3-for-6 against Coke entering the at-bat, gave the speedy left fielder the chance for a quick ending.

Coke had to challenge Crawford or risk moving the go-ahead run into scoring position without a ball put in play. He threw a 94 mph fastball up but over enough of the plate for Crawford to slice it toward left with the authority to get past a diving Davis.

"It had a little fade to it," Davis said. "I guess it was hit solid. I certainly wasn't expecting it to skip like that, that much."

It was the fourth one-run decision in six games for the Tigers this year, but the first one they'd lost. All but one of Detroit's games have been decided by two runs or fewer. In three of those, the winning team scored three runs or fewer.

Until the ninth, Detroit's fate seemed positioned for a 2-1 defeat after Justin Turner's pinch-hit sacrifice fly off Scherzer in the seventh gave the Dodgers the lead.

The Tigers went hitless from the one-out mark in the second inning until Ian Kinsler legged out a double to lead off the ninth against Jansen, whose mid-90s cutter and upper-90s fastball rank him among the nastiest closers in the game. He not only pitched to Miguel Cabrera with first base open, he fanned Cabrera with three strikes at 98 mph or higher, sending down the two-time AL Most Valuable Player and Mariano Rivera save spoiler.

"I didn't want to put the winning run on, and I know how good Victor is," Jansen said. "I've seen [Martinez] long enough, he's an RBI machine. You don't want to pitch to Cabrera, and you don't want to get to Martinez, either."

His task, then, was only halfway complete. Martinez got enough of a 97-mph fastball on a 1-0 count to line a single just out of the reach of center fielder Matt Kemp as Kinsler came home.

"We had trouble getting the offense going," Ausmus said, "but Vic came up big there in the ninth. Unfortunately, that was all we could muster."

Scherzer allowed two runs on eight hits over seven innings. He now has 15 innings of two-run ball through two starts of his Cy Young follow-up campaign, but his winless record demonstrates how he could pitch better this year with worse results than his 21-3 mark from last year.

Though Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez are 4-for-5 in quality starts, they're winless this season. While Dan Haren, too, went unrewarded for six innings of three-hit ball, he remained unbeaten against the Tigers since 2008, with four wins and two no-decisions in six starts.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedFri Apr 11, 2014 2:03 am

V-Mart's homer takes Nathan off the hook in LA
Slugger hits game-winning shot in 10th after closer's blown save

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/10/2014 4:40 AM ET

BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES -- Joe Nathan's day began with a radio segment in which he mentioned a dead arm. His day ended with his pitches seemingly resuscitated, at least in his mind, but a game seemingly dead. His teammates brought it back.

In between those start and end points was one of the most eventful games the Tigers are likely to have all year. In the end, the 7-6 win was another example of how first-year manager Brad Ausmus' job got far more challenging than many expected when he took over this contending team.

"This is probably the third game I've said this: It didn't go exactly as we planned," Ausmus said. "But I think walking away from that game with a win is a huge plus."

The only part of this game that went as planned, really, was the second save opportunity. As soon as Victor Martinez's 10th-inning drive off Kenley Jansen landed in the Dodger Stadium outfield seats, Ausmus mapped out the matchups he'd play to hold the lead in the bottom half -- Joba Chamberlain for Hanley Ramirez, Ian Krol for lefty hitters Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier, then Al Alburquerque for Matt Kemp if a runner reached base.

He needed three relievers to do the job of one Joe Nathan, because Nathan struggled to hold a three-run lead an inning earlier. They made it through, culminating in Alburquerque's first Major League save and Nathan's second vultured win in a week and a half.

"If we had lost that game," Ausmus said, "that would've stung a little bit after we had a three-run lead. But we're fortunate after Vic's homer to get out of there with a victory."

The first inning took 45 minutes as Josh Beckett and Anibal Sanchez, two pitchers traded for each other nine years ago, struggled to settle in. The time between the Dee Gordon's game-tying single in the ninth and Martinez's go-ahead homer leading off the 10th seemed like mere moments.

Martinez's home run was his second lead-changing hit off Jansen, one of baseball's elite closers, and it came off a cutter many have ranked as the best in the game now that Mariano Rivera has retired. Martinez hit a game-tying home run off Rivera last August, and a game-tying single off a Jansen fastball Tuesday night.

Wednesday's drive, Martinez's second home run of the year, was far bigger, stopping the momentum that the Dodgers built off Nathan and giving a second chance to a Detroit bullpen that has largely struggled this year. It came off that nasty cutter, which Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said they tried to get under his hands.

Martinez's teammates marveled at it in terms usually reserved for the other slugging run producer in the clubhouse, two-time American League Most Valuable Player Miguel Cabrera.

"To be able to put a charge into a ball like that, that's not easy to do," said Alex Avila.

"He's a professional hitter. There's just no other way to describe him," said rookie third baseman Nick Castellanos, whose first Major League home run gave the Tigers an early lead they carried from the third inning into the ninth.

Nathan entered with the lead at 6-3 between five workhorse innings from Sanchez and three scoreless innings of relief from fifth starter Drew Smyly. Nathan revealed on Sirius/XM's Mad Dog Sports Radio earlier in the day that he has been pitching through a dead arm, a term describing a phenomenon many pitchers experience at times during Spring Training but rarely mention in the regular season.

Nathan's velocity has been down this season, but he downplayed it pregame Wednesday, saying his command is what matters. Come the ninth inning, he missed just enough on pitches to cost him.

"The results obviously [stunk]," Nathan said, "but I felt like I got better tonight, to be honest with you."

Though Gonzalez sent out a 90-mph fastball from Nathan to lead off the inning, Nathan still had a 6-4 lead. Back-to-back walks to Ethier and Kemp set up Nathan's downfall, putting the tying run on with nobody out.

Once Juan Uribe followed with a bloop single to right-center, the tying run was in scoring position for Yasiel Puig, coming off the bench to pinch-hit. Nathan caught him looking for a called third strike, then got a fielder's-choice grounder from pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke that pulled the Dodgers within a run.

All that stood between Nathan and an escape was Gordon. Nathan delivered his hardest fastball of the night at 93 mph, but over the plate for Gordon to turn and line into right field for the game-tying single.

In the end, it took a deceptively tricky running catch from Rajai Davis in short left field on Carl Crawford's blooper to send the game into extra innings.

"It hung up just enough," Davis said.

Martinez's home run, like this game, simply kept carrying, deep into the Southern California night, taking a lot of struggles with it.

"Tonight's one of those situations I got to feel good about the strides I made. Fortunately, again, it didn't cost us," Nathan said.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSat Apr 12, 2014 2:30 am

Tigers' offense shut down by brilliant Cashner
Tigers manage just one hit while Miggy tries to fix swing

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/12/2014 3:25 AM ET

BOX SCORE

SAN DIEGO -- The way Andrew Cashner was spotting fastballs on the outside corner Friday night, even Miguel Cabrera in midseason form might not have been able to do a whole lot.

"It looks like it's going to be outside, and it comes back to the outside corner," Cabrera said, echoing many of his Tiger teammates after Cashner's one-hit shutout dropped Detroit in a 6-0 loss to the Padres Friday night at Petco Park.

This, however, is not Cabrera in midseason form, and he's the first to admit it. He's also comfortable admitting that he had his pitch Friday.

It was the one real rally the Tigers put together against Cashner, putting runners at the corners with one out after Rajai Davis broke up Cashner's no-hit bid, stole second and third base and distracted Cashner enough for Ian Kinsler to draw a walk. Up came Cabrera in a situation where he normally thrives.

It was a first-pitch fastball from Cashner, but instead of catching the outside corner, it caught the plate. It's the kind of pitch that Cabrera at his best would have lined to right field with authority, testing the new dimensions in the recently reconfigured park.

His swing, however, wanted to pull the ball.

"He threw me a good pitch to hit," he said. "What can I say, man? The way I'm swinging, I can't do too much. I'm not swinging good right now."

Cabrera grounded it to third base, where Chase Headley started an inning-ending double play. Cashner, the Padres' ace acquired from the Cubs a few years ago while manager Brad Ausmus was a special assistant in San Diego's front office, didn't allow another baserunner the rest of the way.

Cashner completed his second career shutout with a strikeout of Cabrera, seemingly caught debating whether to swing or take a pitch. By that point, the outcome was no longer in such dispute.

"He pitched extremely well tonight," Ausmus said. "He's always been a hard thrower. His slider was obviously effective, his changeup. I know he's not a household name, but he's somebody I'm familiar with. I know what he's capable of. He was outstanding."

Ausmus also knows what Cabrera is capable of doing, which is why he's unconcerned.

"I mean, hitters are going to go through periods of time where they hit the ball, they don't hit the ball well, they get hits, they don't get hits," Ausmus said. "I realize it doesn't happen to Miggy as often, but it's still going to happen."

It's a tribute to Cabrera's production, especially over the last few years, that an eight-game stretch looking mortal can cause such surprise. For all the praise he earned during his Triple Crown season of 2012, he endured an 0-for-21 slump in April that had some fans wondering if Cabrera needed to sit for a day or two to regroup.

There are plenty of struggling hitters who would take an 8-for-32 start with three extra-base hits. It's in the look of Cabrera's swing, often with both hands on the bat following through, and the look of his approach. The opposite-field opportunism isn't evident at the moment.

It's not his health, he said. He went through Spring Training feeling fine coming off core muscle surgery, and he had his usual approach at the plate. His movement around third base confirms his health, including a mobile play to his left on a ground ball Friday night.

Sometimes, though, habits can be tough to break. Cabrera isn't sure whether he's stuck in habits from last season, when he played through injuries down the stretch, but he knows he's having a tough time correcting himself.

"I'm feeling good, but my swing is not right," he said. "In BP and when I work in the cage, I feel normal. When I come into the game, I see how I pull a lot of balls to third base and shortstop."

History shows he'll get his approach where he wants, but it's a process. The swing, even for a future Hall of Famer, can sometimes take on a personality of its own.

"My swing, he wants to pull the ball right now," Cabrera said.

His swing wasn't the only one that couldn't do much Friday night.

Not only did Cashner hold the Tigers hitless for the first 5 1/3 innings, a walk and a Chase Headley throwing error comprising the lone baserunners in that stretch, Detroit hitters had few if any quality swings off him. That went especially for Cabrera, who hit three ground balls to the left side against him. Headley's error put Cabrera on base and continued the inning for Victor Martinez, who walked. But Cashner overpowered Austin Jackson for a strikeout to end the threat.

Cashner not only went two trips through the lineup without a hit, but allowed just two balls hit out of the infield. He struck out five of Detroit's first 11 batters, sending the side down in order in the third inning on three fastballs on the outside edge. It was the workhorse pitch for him in a place he could consistently pinpoint, drawing the call from home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher.

It's the location, Davis said, more than the movement.

"I just think he spotted it really well," Davis said. "It was really a tough pitch to hit, and he stuck with it."

The ball that broke up the no-hitter, too, was about location. Davis came up with one out in the sixth and belted a line drive through the middle, just out of second baseman Jedd Gyorko's grasp.

Tigers starter Rick Porcello tried to keep pace, but struggled to keep his pitches down for most of his 6 1/3 innings. Five of the 10 hits off him went for extra bases, all hit in the air. Two of them came from Headley, who doubled in Gyorko in a two-run first before sending a hanging slider out to right for a two-run homer in the sixth.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSun Apr 13, 2014 1:49 am

Verlander ends hitless streak in first '14 win
Tigers starter pitches seven frames while belting first two MLB hits

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/13/2014 2:28 AM ET

BOX SCORE

SAN DIEGO -- Justin Verlander has been able to call himself a pitching Triple Crown winner, Rookie of the Year, All-Star starter, Cy Young Award winner and MVP. Finally, he now can say he helped his own cause at the plate.

It is an oft-used cliché for pitchers in the National League who provide offensive support for themselves, and a tongue-in-cheek statement for pitchers in the American League who get a hit. It had never been used for Verlander until Saturday's 6-2 Tigers win over the Padres.

He isn't entirely comfortable using it even now.

"Nah, my job is to pitch," Verlander said Saturday after his first two Major League hits and his first run scored supported his seven quality innings. "Don't get me wrong, it feels great to get a hit."

His teammates weren't buying the modesty.

"We're not going to hear the end of it, that's for sure," his catcher, Alex Avila said. "We've got no more leverage."

Verlander's hitless streak had gone on for eight years of Interleague Play and 26 at-bats of futility, the second-longest slump by a Tigers player to begin his Major League career. It had endured a handful of near-misses, from the ball that landed just foul down the right-field line at Miami last September to the well-struck line drive that Joey Votto snared in Cincinnati two years ago.

Verlander remembers those, and plenty others before.

"I think it's kind of been an anomaly that I hadn't had one yet," Verlander said. "I hit one down the right-field line off [Tim] Lincecum in '07. I came close in Colorado. I lined out in Cincy. I hit one an inch foul in Miami last year. I hit one an inch foul down the third-base line -- I forget where that one was, but it was a long time ago."

His streak had reached the point where teammates like Rick Porcello had given enough ribbing, and were pulling for him to get a hit so they wouldn't have to hear about it anymore. They got their wish soon enough.

Verlander came up with a runner on first and two out in the second inning and Ian Kennedy hoping to end a rough first turn through the Tigers' lineup. Verlander took a first-pitch fastball over the outside edge, then got another fastball over the middle of the plate that he couldn't pass up, lashing a ground ball through the middle.

The smile on Verlander's face after he rounded first base showed how much it meant to him. The standing ovation from the large contingent of teammates in the dugout and Tigers fans behind it reflected their appreciation back. Even Verlander's new manager, who hadn't been around for the hitless streak, knew what it meant.

"He'd been talking about it since Spring Training, so I was happy he got his first hit," Brad Ausmus said.

In fact, it came in the one National League ballpark Verlander might have been able to call home. The Padres had the first overall pick in the 2004 Draft, and they used it on a high school shortstop named Matt Bush. The Tigers had the next pick and selected Verlander.

On Saturday night, Kennedy struck out Rajai Davis in the second to strand Verlander on first base to keep the game at 1-1. Verlander returned to the dugout to a showering of high-fives and some hugs, a celebration long enough to forget that he still had a game to pitch.

He had used 31 pitches to get out of the previous inning with one run allowed, stranding two others. The Padres were running up his pitch count by shrugging off his secondary pitches and focusing on the fastball.

"Early in the game they were taking a lot of offspeed," Verlander said. "As the game went on, I realized if I could just throw it for strikes, they'd probably continue to take it."

The second inning was the only one in which Verlander retired the Padres in order, and it was the bottom third of the lineup at that. Still, it gave him a chance to get his pitch count under control.

"He knows how to pace himself," Avila said. "He knows how to pitch. Over the course of the next three innings, if you can make two, three, maybe four quality pitches early in the at-bat, you can get a quick out."

Though the Padres had baserunners the rest of the way, their only other run came when Chase Headley doubled and scored in the fourth. By then, the Tigers had four runs, one of them from Verlander.

Verlander, again facing Kennedy, had a three-ball count in his favor with one out in the fourth, prompting Ausmus to try to tell him to take pitches and try to draw a walk.

"He asked me before he went up what the signs are, and I said, 'Don't worry about it, just do this,'" Ausmus said. "I didn't anticipate wanting to get him to take."

Verlander smiled when told that.

"Nah, I was in the zone," he said.

His liner to right got to Chris Denorfia so quickly that Denorfia nearly threw him out at first, forcing him to pick up speed.

Davis' ensuing single and a Kinsler groundout moved Verlander to third before Torii Hunter's two-run single through the middle plated him for the first run of his career and built a 4-1 Detroit lead.

Not since Porcello in his rookie season of 2009 had a Tigers pitcher posted a multi-hit game. Verlander had a chance at the first three-hit performance by a Tigers hurler in 45 years when he stepped to the plate in the sixth, but Kennedy retired him on a groundout to second.

Verlander (1-1) allowed two runs on eight hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out eight in his first win of the season. Ian Krol struck out two in the eighth, including Yasmani Grandal as the potential tying run, before Austin Jackson's two-run double put the game away.

Kennedy (1-2), part of the three-team trade that brought Max Scherzer to Detroit after the 2009 season, allowed four runs on eight hits over six innings despite seven strikeouts.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSun Apr 13, 2014 11:39 pm

Scherzer remains winless after loss to Padres
Cy Young Award winner fans 10 but allows four runs, and bats are quiet

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/13/2014 9:13 PM ET

BOX SCORE

SAN DIEGO -- Max Scherzer has been known to get fired up in the midst of a game, slamming his pitching hand in his glove after a big out. The slam of his fist into his glove as he returned to the dugout at the end of the second inning wasn't one of those.

It was an angry slam, and it pretty well summed up his Sunday afternoon in the Tigers' 5-1 loss to the Padres at Petco Park. He wasn't angry about the Jedd Gyorko home run he gave up that inning, but about the three-ball count that set it up.

"The result isn't what I'm frustrated by. That happens when you don't do the process right," Scherzer said. "The process is to constantly be attacking, constantly be ahead."

The process was a pretty wild ride Sunday.

Scherzer was ahead in enough counts to rack up two-thirds of his outs by strikeout, becoming the first Tiger since at least 1914 to strike out 10 batters or more in five innings or less. On the flip side, he was behind enough to last just five innings with that kind of stuff.

That's why, when asked how he would assess his outing, he wasn't looking at the strikeouts.

"Just inefficient," Scherzer said with a heavy sigh. "I just didn't feel like I was efficient out there. But I also have to give them credit as well. I'm not going to sit here and ignore what they did. They battled me. They made me work. But I also felt like I just didn't consistently pound the strike zone the way I'm accustomed to."

When Scherzer was seemingly unbeatable for much of 2013, he kept saying that wins and losses aren't good signs of a pitcher's performance. By the time Sunday's outing was over, his pitching line wasn't great with indicators, either.

He prides himself on his last 15 pitches, and he needed just 12 to strike out the middle of the Padres' lineup in order in his final inning, part of five strikeouts over his final seven hitters. Three of the four hits he allowed, however, brought in runs, including two runs that reached on walks ahead of Will Venable's two-run double.

That's why he returned to the dugout so frustrated with himself that he forgot he was due up to bat second in the next inning.

"I said some colorful words to myself," Scherzer said. "They had to tell me I was on deck, so I was literally grabbing my bat as I ran up there, took three practice swings and tried to get a fastball."

Not only did he get one, he hit it well, smacking a sharp ground ball up the middle. Gyorko's diving stop and throw to rob him of a single was another sign that it wasn't Scherzer's day.

For that matter, it really hasn't been his season thus far. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, who won his first 13 decisions last season, is winless through three starts in 2014. He hasn't pitched with a lead since his eighth and final inning two starts ago at Comerica Park, before a blown save by Joe Nathan.

Detroit's offense, which helped Scherzer to baseball's highest run support last year, has scored one run in each of his last three outings while he has been in the game. On an afternoon when Tyson Ross gave up a lone run in seven innings and allowed just two other Tigers into scoring position, Scherzer didn't have much of a chance.

"Just one of those games where we couldn't really get anything going," manager Brad Ausmus said. "We got some hits and we were able to outhit them, but we just couldn't get any runs. I don't know how to describe it, but it was kind of a blah day for us."

Scherzer strung the game along, trying to keep them in it long enough for the offense to ignite. Back-to-back walks and Venable's double in the fourth put the Padres ahead for good.

It was an example of how a long at-bat and a walk can set up quick damage afterwards against a pitcher looking to get ahead. After Chase Headley drew a five-pitch leadoff walk, Yonder Alonso battled Scherzer for 10 pitches, fouling off six of them, including four with two strikes.

With the count full, Alonso fouled off three consecutive fastballs on the outside corner to keep the at-bat going. Scherzer, hoping he had sped up Alonso's bat enough, threw him a changeup on the 10th pitch and missed well off the outside corner.

Up came Venable, who entered the day 3-for-7 with two doubles and two RBIs off Scherzer from their days as National League West opponents when Scherzer pitched for the D-backs. He got a first-pitch strike and pulled it into the right-field corner.

"I'm aware he's aggressive and willing to attack me," Scherzer (0-1) said. "Sometimes in that situation, you have to go with your best pitch and believe in that pitch. I believe if I threw a fastball down and away, I could have success. Unfortunately, left it over the middle of the plate and got beat."

While Venable and Scherzer were familiar foes, Ross (1-2) did not resemble the wild young right-hander the Tigers remembered from their previous meetings in Oakland in 2010 and '11. Torii Hunter's leadoff double in the fourth was Detroit's only extra-base hit, and four of the other six hits were ground-ball singles.

Hunter scored in the fourth on a Victor Martinez single, and he had a chance to rally Detroit back an inning later. A hit-by-pitch to Rajai Davis and an infield single by Ian Kinsler started a two-out rally for Hunter. Ross threw him three sliders for a strikeout to end the threat.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedTue Apr 15, 2014 11:31 pm

 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS 10178132_10154033294865521_864726300704587164_n

Weather causes Indians-Tigers game to be postponed
Makeup date to be determined later but contest won't be rescheduled for this week

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/15/2014 5:21 P.M. ET

DETROIT -- The wintry weather system that put metro Detroit over the top for its snowiest season on record put a stop to the latest AL Central clash between the Tigers and Indians. Tuesday night's series opener at Comerica Park was postponed due to inclement weather.

No makeup date was announced Tuesday, but it won't be made up this series, which will now be a two-game set with games Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. The Indians return to town after the All-Star break for a three-game series July 18-20 and another three-game set Sept. 12-14. Both teams have two days off after the All-Star break.

Tickets for Tuesday's game will be honored for the makeup date, which no ticket exchange necessary.

Anibal Sanchez, who was scheduled for Tuesday, will instead start Wednesday night's game against the Indians. Justin Verlander remains on schedule to start Thursday's series finale. That means Drew Smyly, Wednesday's previously scheduled start, will be pushed back by a weather postponement for the second time in two weeks.

Tigers players and coaches had been looking at Tuesday's game with unease since last weekend, when they were still basking in the warmth of the West Coast. A storm system of cold and snow lived up to forecasts, dropping 2-3 inches of snow across the area overnight and covering the field at Comerica Park.

The bigger concern, however, might have been the temperatures, which barely crept above freezing during the day. The hourly forecast from weather.com called for temperatures in Detroit around 33 degrees at first pitch with a wind chill of 22, dropping further as the night went along.

Tuesday was the first scheduled night game of the season at Comerica Park. The Tigers opened the season at home with five afternoon games. They lost a game from that homestand, too, to a postponement, with rain washing out an April 3 game against the Royals. That game will be made up June 19.

Smyly is the Tigers' fifth starter, but hasn't made a start yet this season. Between two postponed games and four scheduled off-days, the Tigers have played just 10 games in 16 days since the season began. Barring another postponement, however, Smyly will have to start at some point this week, because the Tigers have games scheduled for the next 12 days.

The Tigers will need a fifth starter by Sunday at the latest, meaning Smyly will have to make a start against the Angels this weekend. He'll face a much more right-handed lineup than the Indians club he was slated to face, but the Angels have nearly identical batting averages and OPS against right-handed pitchers and lefties.

Tuesday's postponement also pushes back the Tigers' celebration of Jackie Robinson Day, honoring the anniversary of Robinson becoming the first African-American player in the Major Leagues. Players and coaches on both teams will all wear Robinson's number 42 on Wednesday. Tuesday's scheduled pregame ceremonies honoring winners of the Tigers' 18th annual Jackie Robinson Art, Essay and Poetry Contest will be rescheduled for the makeup game.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedThu Apr 17, 2014 1:54 am

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Anibal recovers, but Tigers' bats remain cold
Righty allows three runs before getting things under control

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/17/2014 12:55 AM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- The temperature felt like one last round of winter in Michigan, and the Tigers and Indians struggled through it. The game itself felt like a preview of what's to come in the American League Central this summer.

"They always feel like playoff games, and that's the way it should be," catcher Alex Avila said of this rivalry after Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Tribe at Comerica Park. "The reason why we've won three straight division titles is because we've been able to play really well against our division and beat our division. That's important. It's extremely difficult to win our division and not play well against your own guys."

This one had a little more of an October feel than others just because of the weather. If the Tigers are going to get back to October, they're going to have to get through the Indians again -- maybe not at the same rate as last year, when they won 15 out of 19 from Cleveland, but they'll need wins.

"If you can beat the teams in your division, you're setting yourself apart a couple games," Avila said. "We've played these guys really well but maybe had a .500 or sub-.500 record against somebody else."

They had their chance Wednesday, even after Anibal Sanchez walked his first three batters, even after Zach McAllister flummoxed them for six innings of one-run ball, even after Torii Hunter was called upon for a sacrifice bunt with the tying run on and grounded into a double play.

The Tigers had just two runners in scoring position against McAllister, but they put the tying run in scoring position in the eighth and ninth. The run was 90 feet away in the ninth via slumping Avila's double and Michael Bourn's error, with Don Kelly -- author of four sacrifice flies and seven RBIs with a runner on third and less than two outs last season -- pinch-hitting for Alex Gonzalez.


It was the kind of game the Tigers pulled out against Cleveland last season, whether it was an Avila home run or another set of heroics from Miguel Cabrera to get them through. Seven of their 19 games last year were decided by two runs or less, and three went to extra innings.

This time, it didn't happen. Instead of beating Chris Perez, who's now pitching setup for the Dodgers, they fell to John Axford, who struck out Kelly and retired Rajai Davis.

"He made some really good pitches to Kelly," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Kelly's a guy that's hurt us in the past, and he made some real good pitches."

By that point, the temperature had dropped from 42 degrees at first pitch -- an appropriate number for the Tigers' Jackie Robinson Day celebrations -- into the mid-30s. The way the game unfolded made it hard for many to tell.

"There wasn't going to be much offense today, as cold as it was," Avila said. "It was a good baseball game. All the games against the Indians are going to be a fight to the end."

Wednesday, incredibly, was one of those games, despite a near-disastrous opening two innings from Sanchez, who was struggling mightily to find his grip on the ball on a cold Michigan evening. He walked the bases loaded from the outset, drawing a swing from an Indians hitter at only one of his first 19 pitches.

"As soon as you step on the field, it's really cold," Sanchez said. "I think by last inning, my body's shaking from the cold weather. I just tried to make adjustments, pitch by pitch. I know the situation's going to be hard after three walks in the first inning, and I was behind in the count to [Carlos] Santana.

His 20th pitch, and just his sixth strike, was a godsend, bringing a swing from cleanup hitter Santana and a double-play grounder to slow the rally. Bourn scored on the play, but that was all the Indians got. By inning's end, Ian Kinsler's leadoff double and run in the bottom half had essentially erased it.

Not until Yan Gomes' second-inning triple into the gap did the Indians have a base hit, but it was big, scoring Asdrubal Cabrera and David Murphy after they reached on a Miguel Cabrera error and another Sanchez walk, respectively.

"That was my third fastball that I throw in the same spot," Sanchez said, "and I think he was looking for the pitch after the swing and miss on the second strike."

That was the Indians' only hit with runners in scoring position. They went 1-for-13; the Tigers went 1-for-9, with Cabrera's eighth-inning RBI single their only damage. That, essentially, was it.

Sanchez retired the next nine Cleveland hitters after Gomes, striking out six of them with a cocktail of breaking balls and offspeed stuff, but the gapper held up. McAllister had some of the same problems with gripping the ball in the cold that Sanchez did, but he also had half the walks.

"I know I struggled against them last year, too," said McAllister. "It wasn't just one of us. It was all of us. To be able to go out there and put together a good game, and also for us to get a win, is the most important thing."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedThu Apr 17, 2014 7:04 pm

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Kinsler's huge day leads Tigers over Tribe
Three-run blast helps Detroit break through in big inning

By Matt Slovin / MLB.com | 4/17/2014 7:15 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- The Tigers had already shown they have the ability to win games pretty this season.

Take Justin Verlander's previous start for example, a 6-2 victory over San Diego last weekend when everything seemed to be working -- even the ace's bat.

On Thursday, in a 7-5 win over the Indians at Comerica Park, they showed they can win ugly, which they may have to do often if they are going to capture a fourth consecutive AL Central title.

In beating Cleveland and splitting a shortened series, Detroit overcame command issues on Verlander's fastball, leading to four innings of hold-on-to-your-seat relief pitching. Verlander's pitch count climbed to 113 by the end of the fifth inning, signaling an end to his day that came much quicker than desired.

"Justin wasn't himself in the sense that he didn't go very deep in the game," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "But he obviously still kept us in the game."

Though he ended up with the win, Verlander's string of quality starts that dated back to Sept. 27, 2013 came to an end because he didn't last the requisite six innings. He struck out seven, walked four and surrendered six hits in his fourth start of the season and shortest since Aug. 27.

"It's nice to be on the other end and pick him up," said Joba Chamberlain, who played an important role in what Ausmus described as a "patchwork of relief pitchers" that was called upon to slam the door on the Indians. "He gave us a chance to win. It was our job to come in and hold it down for him."

Chamberlain pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings at arguably the game's most crucial juncture. He helped out Ian Krol, who needed a strong gust of wind to keep a potential game-tying shot off the bat of Asdrubal Cabrera foul in the seventh inning. In the previous at-bat, Michael Brantley knocked a two-run blast to right field to cut the Detroit lead to one.

Perhaps the only aspect of the Tigers' win that wasn't ugly was the performance of second baseman Ian Kinsler, who built the Detroit lead. Kinsler further endeared himself to his new home fans and continued his fast start with a three-run homer off a fifth-inning Danny Salazar fastball. His four-RBI performance provided a sizable jolt to the Tigers offense, which entered Thursday in desperate need of one, having scored just nine runs in the previous four games.

Salazar retired the first eight Tigers and limited damage until Detroit's four-run fifth.

"He lost his control a little that inning," Kinsler said of Salazar, who threw 4 2/3 innings of six-hit, five-run ball. "Just a really good pitch to drive there."

Kinsler also ripped a run-scoring single in the sixth, doubling his season RBI total Thursday.

With the Tigers ahead by a run in the top of the eighth, Cleveland's Michael Bourn attempted a steal of second off Chamberlain, who Ausmus said is often slow in his delivery. Instead of allowing the tying run to reach scoring position, Chamberlain kept Bourn near the bag, allowing Detroit catcher Alex Avila to throw him out.

"He's fast, and you know he's probably going to get into scoring position, especially in that situation," Chamberlain said. "It's just being able to hold and give Alex a chance. That's all we can do as pitchers, being able to execute a pitch and give him a chance."

Sloppy defense on the part of the Detroit infield, which made three errors, forced the Tigers to play from behind twice and did little to prevent the excess work for Verlander. Though all three runs scored on Verlander were unearned, he failed to help his own cause.

Verlander's throwing error on a fourth-inning bunt single by Cabrera set up the Indians' first run. The following batter, David Murphy, blooped a single to left that a diving Rajai Davis barely missed securing, giving Cleveland an early one-run lead.

The heart of the Detroit order quickly responded off Salazar in the bottom of the frame. Consecutive singles by Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez put runners on the corners, and Austin Jackson delivered a sacrifice fly to center that tied the game.

Thursday was just the second multihit game of the season for Cabrera.

With two men out in the fifth, Mike Aviles' grounder right at Tigers' third baseman Nick Castellanos passed right under the rookie's glove, extending the frame. Two batters later, Brantley singled home a pair of runs and Cleveland led, 3-1.

That's when Kinsler took over, and the Detroit bullpen survived a significant test. Closer Joe Nathan, who has already blown two saves, got back on track with a perfect ninth inning.

"Great location today," Ausmus said of Nathan. "He was hitting the corners today, which is what he did so well last year."

The Tigers hadn't won since Saturday, and off-days and weather postponements have thwarted any momentum the team could yet put together. Asked if a game like Thursday's -- in which Detroit won despite not firing on all cylinders -- could start a streak, Kinsler was cautiously optimistic.

"You never know in this game," Kinsler said. "This game humbles you very quickly, so you have to be prepared to win every day. One's a start."

Matt Slovin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSat Apr 19, 2014 1:08 am

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Smyly struggles, knocked out early by Angels
Left-hander allows four runs over three innings in first start

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/19/2014 1:03 AM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- Drew Smyly waited nearly three weeks to get his first start of the season in the Tigers rotation. His start lasted just three innings, and felt like three hours.

"I was out there forever," he said, "and I was in the dugout for like 10 seconds."

That's what the Angels do to Tigers pitching, and Smyly wasn't the only Tigers pitcher they did it to on Friday night. By the time the Angels were done scoring in the 11-6 Detroit loss at Comerica Park, they had put up four runs on Smyly and seven on Luke Putkonen, the long reliever the Tigers had set to piggyback Smyly's start.

Though the Tigers rallied late to close the gap a bit after Jered Weaver was done with his six innings of one-run ball, a 10-run deficit was too much to erase, leaving the Angels to count down outs toward their 10th consecutive win over Detroit.

Three of the Angels' six wins over the Tigers last season came by six runs or more. This one wasn't quite that large by the end, but add in a series sweep from August 2012, and the Angels have outscored the Tigers by a 67-28 margin over those 10 games.

They've roughed up Rick Porcello and toppled the Tigers bullpen. With Smyly shaking off rust, even a lineup without injured Josh Hamilton and David Freese had a chance to capitalize if it could make Smyly throw extra pitches. Once they did that in the second inning, the Tigers had nothing keeping them close.

As Tigers outfielder and former Angel Torii Hunter put it, "We got our butt whupped."

The Tigers didn't have a set pitch count on Smyly, the fifth starter whose previously scheduled outings had been pushed back by rainouts. Manager Brad Ausmus said before the game he'd keep an eye on Smyly and make a move when the lefty showed signs of tiring. That came far earlier than expected.

It wasn't a lack of command. He got to two strikes on 12 of the 13 batters he faced, and he threw a nasty breaking ball on Albert Pujols on his way to strand a runner on third base in the opening inning. Even that out, however, took six pitches out of him.

He made another quality pitch to end the next inning, getting Mike Trout to chase a fastball off the plate and strand runners at the corners. The problem was, it was his 45th pitch of the inning, and two runners had already scored.

"For whatever reason, when I got later in the count, they just started fouling a lot of pitches off, making it tough on me -- foul, foul, ball, ball, foul, and then a basehit or something," Smyly said. "They were just making me work, man, and then my pitch count in the second."

Seven pitches went to ninth hitter Ian Stewart, a last-minute addition to the lineup when Freese was scratched. Stewart swung and missed at a cutter over the plate to fall into a 1-2 count, but shrugged at one off the plate. He fouled off a fastball, then a slider, staying alive for when Smyly made his mistake.

"I thought our guys did a good job of showing some patience," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

It was a cutter up and just over the plate, and Stewart crushed it to the depths of Comerica Park, toward the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center field for a triple to give the Angels the lead for good.

"Once Stewart got that triple, I was gassed after that," Smyly said. "That was a tough inning, just couldn't really recover."

If there was a time of possession in baseball, that inning tilted it in the Angels' favor. Weaver (1-2) used 14 pitches to dispatch the Tigers in the bottom half, sending Smyly out for the third with barely enough time to catch his breath.

"Honestly, I went out in the third inning trying to just let them hit it and hopefully get three quick outs," Smyly said. "[I'm] just trying to help the team save the bullpen, but I think they went double, home run, double, and that didn't really work out the way I planned."

The home run came from Howie Kendrick, the first of his two on the night.

That was the last of Smyly (1-1), who allowed four runs on six hits over three innings. If his 82 pitches in that stretch wasn't a sign of his fortunes, the fact that he threw all but 24 of those with runners on base was.

"It's tough to get upset with Drew," Ausmus said. "He hasn't started in three weeks. He's kind of bided his time, helped us out in the bullpen and finally got his first start. You really have to kind of cut Drew a little bit of slack in that sense."

Like Smyly, Putkonen had been dealing with a lack of work, having thrown just two-thirds of an inning all season despite being in the bullpen since Opening Day. The rust showed in his outing, from another Kendrick home run off the top of the fence in right-center field to a Trout double ripped into left-center field.

Putkonen exited after Pujols' 497th career home run, a three-run drive to left with nobody out in the sixth inning.

"Just like Drew, it's kind of tough to be upset with a guy who's pitched once since Opening Day," said Ausmus. "Unfortunately, we had to send him out there for three innings today because of the state of our bullpen. Again, I can't really blame Luke for not being sharp."

Detroit's offensive damage came in the seventh off Josh Wall, including a two-run single from Ian Kinsler and a pinch-hit RBI single from Nick Castellanos.

Kinsler led the Tigers offense with two hits. Kendrick had four RBIs, while Stewart fell a home run shy of the cycle.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSat Apr 19, 2014 6:49 pm

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Scherzer notches first win with seven-inning gem
Right-hander fans nine, limits Angels to one run in impressive outing

By Matt Slovin / MLB.com | 4/19/2014 6:02 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- Max Scherzer had settled in nicely following a leadoff home run, but he found himself on the verge of letting Saturday's game get away from him in the fourth inning.

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner's afternoon was in limbo after the Angels challenged the ruling that Ian Stewart was caught stealing for the inning-ending out. Video review overturned the call, giving Los Angeles runners on second and third with two outs.

Scherzer bore down on the batter, Erick Aybar, and came up with one of his nine strikeouts at the perfect time. The Tigers hung on for a 5-2 win, their first over the Angels since Aug. 26, 2012. Since then, Los Angeles had won 10 straight in the series -- the longest streak in baseball by one team over another.

Detroit manager Brad Ausmus called the Aybar at-bat "the turning point in the game." The way Scherzer approached it, with the Tigers ahead 3-1 at the time, may have saved the day.

Because Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia was willing to part with his challenge on that particular play, Scherzer took that as a pretty strong indicator that the call would be overturned.

Rather than opt for wishful thinking and trot back into the dugout, hoping that the third out would stand, Scherzer simulated the ensuing at-bat with catcher Bryan Holaday.

"I knew it was probably going to be overturned, and it's going to be second and third with a 3-1 count against Aybar," Scherzer said. "I went through the whole scenario. Said I'm probably going to need to execute a changeup. Got [Angels catcher Hank] Conger on deck -- the whole nine yards.

"I didn't go in the dugout because I didn't want to give myself a chance to mentally come down. I wanted to stay 100-percent focused on what I needed to do."

With the count at 3-1 after the reversal, Scherzer indeed went to the changeup for a strike. After a fastball that was fouled off, Scherzer again gave Aybar the changeup, and he whiffed.

Crisis averted.

All afternoon, Scherzer used his fastball to get ahead in counts and then went to his offspeed pitches to record outs. He made that adjustment soon after the game's first batter, Angels outfielder J.B. Shuck, homered to right for his second career leadoff blast.

"For some reason, I was never concerned about the home run," Ausmus said. "Max looked, from that point on, like he was in control the entire game, really."

Considering Scherzer struck out two of the most feared hitters in the AL in Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, the attitude seemed to work. A night after Trout reached base three times in Los Angeles' series-opening win, he had likely his worst performance at the plate, striking out a career-high four times. Three of those strikeouts were Scherzer's; closer Joe Nathan took care of Trout in the ninth.

Scherzer and Ausmus both acknowledged how important it was for Scherzer to last deep into Saturday's game, given the bullpen's workload of late. No Detroit starter had lasted beyond the fifth inning in a week, but Scherzer made it through seven after gaining momentum from the momentous Aybar at-bat. He induced groundouts of the last four batters he faced to pick up his first win of the season.

The Tigers had built their lead in the second and third innings by playing long ball and small ball off Angels starter C.J. Wilson, one of five lefties Detroit is scheduled to see in a span of six games.

Austin Jackson began the bottom half of the second with a single up the middle. Rookie Nick Castellanos followed with his second home run, a towering shot to left off Wilson's knee-high offering.

"He kind of just left it over the plate, and I put a good swing on it," Castellanos said.

Detroit showed its ability to manufacture runs in the next frame. Miguel Cabrera reached on an error by Los Angeles right fielder Brennan Boesch, a former Tiger who was called up this week. After a walk was issued to Victor Martinez, who later homered in the fifth, Torii Hunter moved Cabrera to third on a flyout to center. Video review overturned the initial call, which was that third baseman Stewart put the tag on Cabrera before he reached the base. Jackson then hit a deep sacrifice fly to right to score Detroit's third run.

Scherzer tapped out for Joba Chamberlain, who came on to pitch a perfect eighth, including two strikeouts. He extended his streak of scoreless appearances to five games.

"Joba's been good the last few outings, but that's by far the best we've seen him," Ausmus said. "If he keeps throwing all strikes, he'll pitch a lot."

In the ninth, despite it being a non-save situation, Ausmus turned it over to Nathan who, after striking out Trout, served up Pujols' 498th career home run. The solo shot cut the Tigers' lead to three, but a groundout and the Detroit pitching staff's season-high-tying 13th strikeout ended it, making Sunday's game the rubber match.

Matt Slovin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSun Apr 20, 2014 7:09 pm

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Porcello's redemption leads Tigers to series win
Righty deals seven strong innings against Angels in series finale

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/20/2014 6:53 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- A year to the day after the Angels knocked out Rick Porcello with a nine-run first inning, he finally got his revenge with one run over seven.

He insists, though, that Sunday's 2-1 Tigers win wasn't about payback, just like it wasn't about flashbacks when he was staring at another potential big inning, with runners on second and third and a run in on three two-out singles.

"I didn't think about it," he said. "I think I'm a different pitcher now than when they got to me. Nine runs in one inning, it's one of those days where you just kind of don't even remember that. I know I'm better than that, so I just went out here and tried to give us a chance to win today. …

"The one thing special about it is we got a win and it's my third start of the season. That's it. What they did to me last year, that's over with and done. We're in a new year, and my focus is beating them today, not worrying about what happened in the past."

It's far enough in the past that he was able to joke about it. When a reporter asked him if he was aware of it, he joked that he had completely forgotten about it.

Likewise, when catcher Alex Avila was asked if there was a different game plan, he said half-joking that they actually got to use the game plan this time.

"I think the difference was, obviously, he got out of the first inning," Avila said, "so you're able to try to execute the game plan."

For one batter, at least, that possibility looked shaky on Sunday.

The Angels roughed up Porcello twice in as many meetings last year, scoring nine first-inning runs last April 20 in Anaheim and five fifth-inning runs June 25 in Detroit. The damage in the earlier matchup was mainly a combination of infield singles and ground balls up the middle until Mike Trout hit a hanging curveball for a grand slam.

When Porcello fired four fastballs past Trout for a first-inning strikeout, he seemed to be past it. Albert Pujols' line drive to left, however, started a rally that included Ian Stewart's bunt single against the shift and Howie Kendrick's single through the right side for an early run.

David Freese wasn't part of last year's onslaught; he was a St. Louis Cardinal last year. But he had a chance to recreate it with runners at second and third and Porcello searching for an out. After peppering him with inside fastballs, however, Porcello got him with a secondary pitch, a slider outside that Freese rolled over for a groundout to third.

He didn't get out of sorts with runners on, something that happened to him the last couple years. With that, Porcello could settle down.

"Last year's game was just a bizarre first inning," Avila said. "There were a lot of infield broken-bat hits, something that I had never seen, a bizarre inning. In a situation like that, you're trying to figure out something to do. What you're doing is working, but you're not getting the result.

"We didn't go into today thinking about last year. I don't think that ever came up. We just attacked them how we tried to play them."

Add in ex-Tiger Brennan Boesch's double down the right-field line in the second inning, and four of the first eight Angels hitters had base hits off Porcello. He retired 15 of the final 17 hitters he faced from there, nine on groundouts, allowing only another Kendrick single leading off the fourth and a Trout walk leading off the sixth. Both were erased on the bases -- Kendrick caught stealing, Trout on a Pujols double play.

It was a classic Porcello style of performance, quick outs included. Just two of his outs escaped the infield, and the only extra-base hit was Boesch's ball that kept just inside first base.

"When he commands his fastball, he's as good as anybody," second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "He did today. When you have a guy like that on the mound, you always have to be ready on defense. He induces a lot of ground balls."

At the same time, Porcello said, he gave them different looks, changing his style to keep them from sitting on pitches.

"I really threw everything to righties and lefties today," mixing the curveball, changeup. That's part of keeping them off balance and not just feeding them fastballs all night and letting them get their timing down."

Angels lefty Hector Santiago did his part to keep up, allowing only two hits over his 5 2/3 innings. If five walks didn't sufficiently hurt his case, though, four Angels errors did. Three of them came on one play to allow Ian Kinsler to score the tying run from first base on a first-inning walk.

Kinsler took off on a full-count pitch to Miguel Cabrera, a pitch that was close enough for Hank Conger to throw to second, possibly anticipating a strikeout. The throw sailed into center field, sending Kinsler to third before Trout's errant throw and Santiago's wayward relay allowed him to score.

Santiago (0-3) stranded three runners in scoring position from there, ending each of the next four innings with strikeouts, before Austin Jackson's two-out walk in the fifth chased Santiago at 119 pitches.

Anticipating another stolen-base attempt, the Angels tried a pitchout on Jackson. He wasn't going, but he was far enough off the bag for Conger to throw to first. The throw went wide, moving Jackson to second base ahead of Nick Castellanos' RBI single to center.

Porcello (2-1) allowed a run on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Al Alburquerque stranded the tying run at second base in the eighth by retiring Trout, then Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his third save.

After an Angels outburst in Friday night's series opener, the Tigers won back-to-back games on the strength of back-to-back starting pitchers delivering seven innings of one-run ball. For Max Scherzer on Saturday, it was expected. For Porcello, given the history, it was another story.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedTue Apr 22, 2014 1:16 am

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Anibal's luck turns south in seventh
Right-hander tosses six one-hit innings before running into trouble

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/22/2014 12:33 AM ET


BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- Anibal Sanchez had a one-hit shutout going through six innings and just 72 pitches, a mid-90s fastball and good movement. He had comfortably warm weather and dry conditions over Comerica Park. In other words, he had all the ingredients to put together a shutout.

Before he could think about the ninth inning, he had to get through the seventh for the first time this season. That's where the rainouts and pushbacks that marked Sanchez's Spring Training might have haunted him once again.

"I don't know if he was getting tired. I don't know if he would say he's getting tired. But he really hadn't pitched past the fifth inning [this season]," manager Brad Ausmus said after a three-run White Sox rally sent the Tigers to a 3-1 loss Monday night at Comerica Park.

Sanchez didn't say he was tired. Even if he wasn't tired, he wasn't in a routine.

"I think it affected him," pitching coach Jeff Jones said. "It's nice for guys to get on a regular schedule."

Sanchez hadn't had that, either. His previous start came a day late thanks to a game postponed by freezing weather. Likewise, his first start was pushed back by a rainout.

Aside from a gorgeous night in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, Monday was the first time the weather actually worked in his favor. For six innings, he treated a crowd of 24,997 to a gem of an outing.

Then came the seventh, and Sanchez's command seemingly deserted him. Three doubles later, so did the lead. The White Sox, seemingly helpless against Sanchez for most of the night, struck big when the opportunity arrived.

"Everything happened so fast," Sanchez said. "I felt good today. I held the ball better than the last time. ... The seventh inning, for me, was just a couple of mistakes, high balls. They were aggressive all night. They swung at a lot of first pitches. They found a hole."

It was a different fate for him on a night when the first-pitch temperature was 77 degrees. It was no less cruel considering the outing he had going.

"It has happened many times," catcher Alex Avila said. "He was pitching really well. Nice location on a couple of pitches there, left them up and they made him pay for it."

Sanchez didn't allow a hit until Marcus Semien doubled down the left-field line to lead off the fourth inning. Instead of breaking out Chicago's offense, the hit just made Sanchez nastier, retiring the next nine batters while allowing only one ball out of the infield.

Most of those outs, too, were quick, allowing Sanchez to get through his second turn at the White Sox lineup efficiently. Though the rainouts and dearth of Spring Training work had limited his pitch count for most of the season, he had plenty of pitches left to at least think about eight innings, if not nine.

At this point last season, however, Sanchez already had two seven-inning gems on his record, delivering 113 and 114 pitches in those. He threw 110 pitches in that April 9 game against the Dodgers, but lasted just five innings because 63 of his pitches came in the first two frames.

Until Monday, efficiency hadn't been his strong suit.

"His pitch count wasn't high," Ausmus said, "but he hadn't been past the fifth inning, and [getting] up and down, up and down, can make a difference at times."

His margin, meanwhile, was thin. Though the Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out against John Danks in the second inning, they managed only one run from the rally, that coming on Alex Avila's groundout against the shift to score Torii Hunter.

Danks allowed only one other runner to reach scoring position, keeping the pressure on Sanchez to post zeros.

"He had a great changeup tonight just keeping guys off balance," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "That's the biggest thing --- he can locate better now and longer than he did before.

Once Conor Gillaspie doubled into the right-field corner to lead off the seventh for the middle of the order, the White Sox pounced.

Jose Abreu's double off a high full-count fastball wasn't the hardest-hit ball of his impressive rookie campaign, but it was placed about as well as he could've hoped, sending Hunter sprinting toward the right-field line to try to run it down.

"When I was sliding, it felt like I was across the foul line and the ball dropped in front of my glove," Hunter said. "It did, but I wasn't at the foul line, so I don't know if it was fair. Looked like it could've been fair, looked like it could've been foul by some angles."

A replay review proved inconclusive, leaving the call of a ground-rule double to stand.

Sanchez (0-2) recovered from a 2-0 count to strike out Adam Dunn, but Viciedo jumped his next pitch, a high sinker, sending it off the center-field fence on a hop to easily score Abreu and put Chicago in front, 2-1.

"I was trying to keep the ball down and see what happens," Sanchez said. "But they're hitting a lot, they swung all night, so they found my pitch in that inning."

Viciedo reached third on Alexei Ramirez's single and scored on Rajai Davis' errant throw home -- on a play that, originally ruled an out, was overturned by a crew chief review initiated by Ventura, who had lost his challenge in the fourth inning.

That was it for Sanchez, who allowed three runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out five.

Danks (2-0), meanwhile, improved to 5-10 lifetime against the Tigers with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. The Tigers put the tying run on base in two out of three innings against the White Sox bullpen, and brought it to the plate in the other inning, but never found the big hit.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Apr 23, 2014 12:46 am

 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS 10250069_10154062130750521_8474379326526519473_n
Tigers break out the bats in support of Verlander
Miggy homers, drives in three; right-hander fans seven over seven

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/23/2014 12:44 AM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- The much-anticipated pitching duel between Justin Verlander and Chris Sale didn't happen Tuesday. The much-expected breakout of Miguel Cabrera did. So did the breakout of Alex Avila.

"That's nice," Cabrera said. "That's what we want to do."

By the time the Tigers were done with the White Sox pitching staff, they had three-hit games from Avila and Cabrera, the latter with three RBIs, and at least one hit from everyone else in the starting lineup. With a five-run third inning, meanwhile, Verlander had more than enough run support for his third consecutive win, cruising for seven innings before the Tigers bullpen survived an Adam Dunn home run for an 8-6 win at Comerica Park.

Bullpen struggles aside, for the first time in a while, it was an example of how this team is supposed to look. It continued the early trend for this Tigers offense: When they don't struggle to score, they tend to score big. The same lineup that has produced two runs or fewer in eight games churned out its seventh game with six runs or more.

"We've had flashes a couple of games in the first couple weeks," Avila said. "We've been playing OK baseball. For the most part these couple weeks, we've been doing a decent job. I don't think we're tapping into our complete potential yet or know just how good we are yet, but on a night like tonight where up and down through the order we put up tough at-bats, it's nice to see.

"Including myself, we've had a few guys struggle recently, but now we're kind of starting to pick it up a little bit."

They picked it up enough that the Tigers hit that six-run mark by the end of the third, all of it off fill-in starter Charlie Leesman. He was summoned from Triple-A Charlotte when Sale, Tuesday's originally scheduled starter, went on the disabled list with a left forearm flexor strain. Leesman was pulled with two outs in the third, having given up nine hits and a walk through 17 hitters.

None might have been as important as the four hits between Cabrera and Avila, two hitters who had been struggling through much of April. While slow starts aren't foreign to Avila, having gone through a deep one last season, they were a surprise for Cabrera coming off three straight batting titles.

Both showed better swings Monday with little to show for it, save for an Avila ninth-inning double to the depths of right-center. They got their rewards Tuesday.

"I thought Alex took some good swings yesterday. I thought Miggy took some great swings yesterday," Verlander said. "I know Miggy was still a little upset yesterday because he didn't have anything to show for it, as we all are. You like to see results. That was just a precursor to today, and hopefully that gets him jump-started. Same with Alex."

Though winds blowing out to left-center carried more than a few drives, including Jose Abreu's first-inning homer to straightaway center, Cabrera's two big hits actually went to right field, where the wind was no help. The way Cabrera was swinging, it was no match, either.

"That's the approach I want to be able to take," Cabrera said.

After hitting two fly balls that died near the warning track Monday night, Cabrera's first hit Tuesday was his classic opposite-field gapper on a line, deep enough to easily earn him an RBI double and score Ian Kinsler from second. It was his first RBI hit since last Wednesday against the Indians.

Cabrera came back up two innings later with Leesman reeling, having endured a 10-pitch battle with Kinsler that ended with a two-run double just inside third base. Leesman tried starting him off with a fastball down and in, but Cabrera powered it to right. The ball hung up in the wind, but had just enough to clear the fence for a two-run home run, just the second homer for the two-time 44-homer slugger, and the third multi-hit game of the season for him.

"A lot of us have said we weren't worried about Miggy," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He looked good again tonight."

By contrast, Ausmus had said repeatedly with urgency that they needed to get Avila going offensively. Ausmus admitted that he nearly sat Avila on Tuesday against the lefty to get right-handed Bryan Holaday a start. The swings he saw from Avila on Monday night convinced him not to do it.

"I thought about not playing him today, but I've said all along we need to get Alex going," Ausmus said. "So if he's swinging the bat well, let's try to get him on a roll if we can. That was the reasoning for putting him back in."

Avila had only one two-hit game previously this season, but enjoyed three-hit and four-hit outbursts during his late tear last September. After escaping an 0-2 hole with a single up the middle with two outs in the second, he chased Leesman in the third with a line drive to left following Nick Castellanos' sacrifice fly.

Avila added an RBI double in the fifth, when he pulled a liner through the infield shift that had confounded him Monday night.

"I think when you're able to put quality at-bats consecutively, you gain a little confidence and then you're able to just repeat it," Avila said. "Like I said yesterday, for the most part, I've been feeling pretty good. I've had some bad at-bats, but for the most part, I've been feeling good. Just a matter of making some solid contact."

That made the job of Verlander (3-1) a little easier. He gave up two runs on eight hits over his seven innings, walking two and striking out seven, before leaving with an 8-2 lead.

By the time left fielder J.D. Martinez found the track of Alexei Ramirez's line drive through the lights for the final out, the tying run was at the plate. Phil Coke struck out the first two batters of the ninth before Marcus Semien's double and Paul Konerko's RBI single brought up Dunn. He fell into an 0-2 hole before Coke threw a slider that dove back over the plate.

"It was like I threw an incidental two-seamer," Coke said. "It was an incident, because he hit that a long way."

By the time closer Joe Nathan was warming up, Ramirez was up after Joba Chamberlain's four-pitch walk to Dayan Viciedo. Chamberlain regrouped for his first save as a Tiger.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedThu Apr 24, 2014 1:23 am

Tigers bullpen unable to protect Smyly's lead
Reed loads bases, Krol gives up grand slam in decisive seventh

By Matt Slovin / MLB.com | 4/24/2014 12:04 AM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- With two outs in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday, and the bases loaded for the White Sox, the fans at Comerica Park began to do the wave. It was an odd juxtaposition to see during the tensest at-bat of the game.

Lefty reliever Ian Krol served up a grand slam on a fastball to Chicago's Marcus Semien, and the wave suddenly took on new meaning. The Detroit bullpen said goodbye to the two-run lead that Tigers starter Drew Smyly had exited with, and the White Sox secured a 6-4 victory.

"I kind of just laid it in there, and it was up," Krol said. "What every hitter's looking for 3-1, to be honest with you. Made a mistake there."

Evan Reed relieved Smyly in the seventh and gave up two singles and a walk, before exiting for Krol. With one out and the bases loaded, Krol got Jordan Danks to foul out to third, holding the runners. But Semien knocked a 3-1 pitch over the left-field fence, stopping the wave before it made it twice around the park.

Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said he didn't consider bringing in a righty to face the right-handed-hitting Semien, citing an insignificant difference in his splits. He also noted that Chicago still had Adam Dunn on its bench from the left side of the plate, should the Tigers have gone to a righty.

"It stinks, absolutely. Also, I grew up a Cubs fan, so that's kind of a downer," Krol said of blowing the game against the Cubs' crosstown rival.

The first inning of Smyly's night looked hauntingly similar to the beginning of his first start. His pitch count again climbed quickly as he threw 30 pitches in the first inning. He served up another two-run homer, a monster blast to center by Chicago slugger Jose Abreu. But, whereas fatigue set in during his loss to the Angels last week, Smyly grew more comfortable as the game wore on Wednesday.

Ausmus said he and pitching coach Jeff Jones had decided on about a 100-pitch cap for Smyly. After the first inning, it looked as if he might be in for another short night, but Smyly lasted by throwing 62 pitches from the second through six innings. Ausmus said Smyly was "outstanding" in his final three frames.

"It's tough when they get you in the first, especially after my last start," Smyly said. "I thought I did a pretty good job after giving up that home run of settling down and keeping it under control."

The difference for Smyly was his breaking ball. The lefty's ability to keep his curveball down in the zone and in on the White Sox righties contributed to his solid night

"That's the pitch I really needed," Smyly said, adding he threw the curveball "efficiently ... Tonight, I thought I, for the most part, kept it down, kept them off balance and it was pretty sharp for me."

Twice, Smyly even managed to strike out Abreu, who also homered to the center-field bushes off Justin Verlander in the first inning of Tuesday night's game. Smyly struck out seven over six innings. He allowed no more runs after Abreu's shot and, unlike his first outing, looked worthy of the fifth spot in the rotation.

The White Sox helped Smyly by running themselves into a couple of outs, potentially sparing the Tigers an even larger early hole. Danks was caught stealing second in the second inning, and Leury Garcia was caught swiping third in the third. Smyly really began to gain confidence, however, when he pitched out of a fourth-inning jam.

Chicago put runners on second and third with one out, threatening to add on to its 2-0 lead. Alejandro De Aza hit a soft liner that Smyly snagged before throwing over to third and catching Dayan Viciedo off the bag to complete the inning-ending double play.

"That was great timing," Smyly said. "I needed that one."

The twin killing seemed to put some life into the Tigers offense, which needed to play comeback as the opponents scored in the first inning for the fourth time in five games. A single by Miguel Cabrera, his fourth hit in the past two games, helped Detroit place two men in scoring position. J.D. Martinez, fresh up from Triple-A Toledo, knocked a single up the middle, tying the game at 2. Then Austin Jackson took the first offering from White Sox starter Andre Rienzo and put it in the Chicago bullpen for his second homer.

Trailing, 6-4, in the ninth, the Tigers put runners on second and third with two outs. But Alex Avila lined out to first on a 3-0 pitch to end the game.

Ausmus said his catcher had the green light despite the count.

"He took a good swing at it," Ausmus said. "It was an aggressive swing. He hit a line drive. Sometimes you hit it hard and it gets caught. But I felt the way he's swinging, he had a chance to win the game right there."

Matt Slovin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedThu Apr 24, 2014 6:02 pm

Miggy's hot bat backs Scherzer over White Sox
Reigning MVP, Cy Young lead as Tigers earn series split

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/24/2014 6:37 PM ET

BOX SCORE

DETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera had seen enough fly balls falling at the warning track at Comerica Park for his liking. He stepped to the plate against the White Sox on Thursday with a simple approach, to take what the White Sox defense gave him.

"Believe in my swing, believe in my hands and find a hole," Cabrera said. "Find the pitch and find the hole."

No matter where the White Sox lined up their infielders, he found the hole and poked a ball through it. For one day, at least, he left the extra bases to Rajai Davis, who homered and doubled for two more runs.

It was a reversal of roles, but it helped the Tigers wrap up their homestand with a familiar result against the White Sox. They needed a few rounds of scoring to wrap up a 7-4 win, despite 10 strikeouts over six quality innings from Max Scherzer, but they salvaged a four-game series split.

It wasn't necessarily pretty, certainly not once the Tigers' bullpen got involved, but it was effective. In Cabrera's case, it might well end up getting him back to his more familiar form. The Tigers' fortunes, after a 5-4 homestand, could follow.

"It's always good when your reigning MVP gets rolling," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He got a couple hits with some big RBIs, so we hope to keep Miggy rolling as we go into this road trip."

Considering the three-time defending AL batting champion ended Monday with a .206 average, it's a roll. He had finally swung himself out of his pull tendency and two-handed follow-through that had seemingly plagued him, but he was struggling to get the results. The fly balls to right field and right-center weren't carrying far enough for this park in April, and the approach wasn't getting him much of anything better to hit.

He went 6-for-13 over the three games after that, including a pair of three-RBI games. Three hits came in a Tuesday night barrage that included one of his usual opposite-field home runs and a double deep into the gap in right-center.

Thursday, obviously, was different. He hit four balls on the ground to different parts of the field. Two of them got through a defense that played second baseman Gordon Beckham close to the middle of the diamond and shaded rangy shortstop Alexei Ramirez closer toward the hole.

If he were going to hit the ball on the ground, they figured, they'd take their chances if he didn't pull it. He took advantage in two situations when the Tigers needed him to most.

It took a diving stop from rookie first baseman Jose Abreu to keep Cabrera from a poking a ball through the right side his first time up, getting starter Jose Quintana through the first inning unscathed. Cabrera came back to the plate in the third with a runner in scoring position -- after an Ian Kinsler two-out single and a wild pitch -- and tried it again.

With Beckham closer to the bag, Quintana tried using fastballs to speed up Cabrera's bat and get a ball to the left side. Instead, Cabrera went opposite field with a breaking ball and sent a ground ball through the hole and into right field, allowing Kinsler to score without much trouble.

"In that moment, I think I want to throw something soft, because the count is 2-1, but he [hit] the ball in the space between first and second," Quintana said. "I think it was a good pitch in this moment, but he can hit."

It was the second two-out rally in as many innings for the Tigers, and it set a theme for the day. Detroit went 6-for-9 with runners in scoring position, four of those hits in two-out situations, and scored six two-out tallies.

That included Cabrera's next hit. He greeted White Sox relief prospect Daniel Webb with a grounder through the middle, just out of Ramirez's reach, with the bases loaded in the sixth.

"We had a good approach with two outs, and we put the ball in play," Cabrera said.

The way the game unfolded, they needed pretty much all of them. Though Scherzer (2-1) worked ahead in counts to overpower White Sox hitters with his fastball, setting up his 20th game with double-digit strikeouts, he used up pitches in the process. Foul balls kept White Sox hitters alive until he needed a third strikeout of Beckham to get through the sixth inning with 110 pitches.

"The White Sox are always a challenging team," Scherzer said. "They're always going to compete against me and grind out at-bats against me. I felt like they did that today. They were able to put runners on base, but I did a good job of pitching with runners on base, and I was able to rack up strikeouts when I needed to."

Though Al Alburquerque fired sliders for back-to-back strikeouts in a shutout seventh, three straight hits off Joba Chamberlain fueled an eighth-inning rally that brought the potential tying run to third base.

But Chamberlain struck out Tyler Flowers to end the threat, then Detroit's offense restored the three-run advantage for closer Joe Nathan. Davis doubled in one of the runs with a drive off the left-field fence, the same fence he cleared for a solo homer in the fifth.

Davis moved to third among Tigers regulars in slugging percentage at .459. Only Austin Jackson (.541), who tripled and scored in the second inning, and Victor Martinez (.464) have slugged better.

"It looks like he's come back around," Ausmus said. "He started off hot, cooled just a little bit, and now he seems to be in a groove again. We're hoping we can just keep him there."

Cabrera will probably get there and beyond soon enough.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSat Apr 26, 2014 1:24 am

 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS 10171122_10154073729380521_326666790257595874_n

Tigers ride seven-run frame to win over Twins
Porcello gains from third-inning uprising; Castellanos hits two-run HR

By Patrick Donnelly / Special to MLB.com | 4/26/2014 1:35 AM ET

BOX SCORE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Rick Porcello said he wasn't at his best on Friday night, but thanks to the Tigers' bats, it didn't really matter.

Rajai Davis and Torii Hunter each had three hits while Nick Castellanos homered and drove in three runs as the Tigers started an eight-game road trip with a 10-6 victory at Target Field.


Porcello (3-1) earned the win despite posting his shortest start of the season. He cruised through the first five innings, allowing just one earned run, but he gave up a home run, single and a walk to the first three batters of the sixth and got the hook.

"I just couldn't find a rhythm. I was a little out of sorts there [in the sixth] and I just couldn't rebound from it," Porcello said. "I actually felt like I was battling myself the whole game. I really struggled getting ahead of guys throwing first-pitch fastballs for strikes."

Porcello had to shake off the effects of a second-inning comebacker off the bat of Josmil Pinto. The ball appeared to hit his glove and then connect with his right elbow, but after the game, Porcello said he was just a little stiff. Manager Brad Ausmus wasn't so sure.

"He said it wasn't bothering him. He said he was fine. He said he was just scuffling a little bit," Ausmus said. "He may not admit it, but I'm sure it had some affect on him."

Fortunately for Porcello and the Tigers, the offense had already done enough to put the game out of reach. In the process, they scored more than seven runs in a game for only the second time this season.

Castellanos got the Tigers on the board in the second inning with a two-run opposite-field home run off Minnesota starter Kevin Correia. Austin Jackson led off the inning by reaching second base on an error by right fielder Chris Colabello, who dropped his fly ball after a long run. Castellanos then drove a first-pitch fastball over the limestone overhang in right field for his third home run.

Minnesota got one back in the second, but the Tigers responded in a big way, knocking Correia out with a seven-run third. Hunter started the rally with a double and capped it with a two-run single off reliever Anthony Swarzak. In between, the Tigers strung together five other hits and two walks in sending 11 to the plate.

"The guys up and down the lineup drove the ball pretty well. Everyone contributed and it was nice to have a bust-out offensive inning like that," Ausmus said. "They teach that in baseball -- the most important inning is the inning after your team scores. We were able to bounce back and score, not just a few, but seven."

Throughout the game, especially during Correia's abbreviated outing, the Tigers put on a clinic in hitting to the opposite field. Their right-handed bats had five hits to right or right-center in the third inning alone, which was a function of their approach against the Twins' starter.

"Correia likes to throw that cutter away and we just wanted to stay on that ball today," Hunter said. "For most of the righties, it's keep the shoulder in there and stay on the ball because he's one of those pitchers, he'll come in occasionally just to show you, and then [throw] cutters away."

The Tigers hadn't had much success previously against Correia, who had a 2.36 ERA four career starts against Detroit at Target Field. After the beating they handed him on Friday, the right-hander said he knows it's time to go back to the drawing board.

"The majority of the balls they hit went the other way so that'll be an adjustment I'll have to make," Correia said. "We face these guys a lot, and they have a new lineup. I have to figure out how to get those guys out."

Strangely enough, Miguel Cabrera was responsible for all three outs in the third inning; he grounded out after Hunter's double, then grounded into an inning-ending double play. But Cabrera got into the act in his next at-bat. After Hunter doubled to lead off the sixth, Cabrera hit a booming drive to right field. Colabello played the carom off the wall perfectly and held Cabrera to a single, but Hunter scored easily and the Tigers led, 10-1.

Brian Dozier's seventh homer of the season started a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth, and the Twins kept chipping away against the Tigers' bullpen. An Ian Kinsler error led to a run in the seventh, cutting the lead to 10-6, but Joba Chamberlain stranded two men in the eighth, and Joe Nathan gave up a harmless single in the ninth to close it out.

Patrick Donnelly is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedSat Apr 26, 2014 7:11 pm

Tigers lose control, lead after Anibal's injury
Bullpen walks six, can't hold off Twins; Sanchez exits with blister

By Patrick Donnelly / Special to MLB.com | 4/26/2014 7:50 PM ET


BOX SCORE

MINNEAPOLIS -- It's not often that one pitch in the third inning can radically change the course of a game. But when that one pitch sidelines a pitcher who was dominating the game, it can happen, and it happened to the Tigers at the worst possible time on Saturday.

Phil Hughes threw seven strong innings, and the Twins took advantage of an injury to Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez in a 5-3 win at Target Field.

The Tigers had the upper hand early, with a 2-0 lead and Sanchez cruising into the third inning. But Sanchez developed a blister on his right middle finger and had to leave the game with two outs in the third.

"It looked nasty. As soon as I went out there and saw it, I was caught between throwing up and pulling him out of the game," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "As soon as I saw it, I knew he couldn't pitch. It wasn't like, 'Could you make it through the rest of the inning?' I'm surprised he threw another pitch."

The injury forced Ausmus to turn to his overworked bullpen even earlier than usual, with disappointing results. Jose Ortega -- called up from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday morning -- faced nine batters, walking four and hitting one. The Twins rallied for four runs in the fifth on five walks, an error and one base hit, their first of the game.

Ortega (0-1) was called up Saturday in part because the bullpen needed a fresh arm. Tigers relievers have thrown 22 innings in the last seven days and Ausmus was at a loss for what to do next.

"I didn't want to use [Ian] Krol, but we could have," Ausmus said. "I didn't want to use Joba [Chamberlain], but we could have, and he started to just kind of toss there at the end in case we tied it. I certainly wasn't going to use Joe [Nathan] unless we got a lead. I didn't want to use [Evan] Reed. I used everybody that I could have used. ... Half of our pen, I basically wanted to stay away from."

After Ortega struggled, Phil Coke walked in a run and allowed a two-run single to Trevor Plouffe, but after he walked Chris Colabello to reload the bases -- still with nobody out -- he finally restored order by striking out Jason Kubel and getting Josmil Pinto to hit into a double play.

"We're just trying to make the pitchers work," Plouffe said. "There's the old saying, 'You're not going to hit a three-run homer with nobody on base.' So we're just going up there trying to keep the line moving, and we did that today."

Coke did bail out the bullpen by throwing two more scoreless innings, allowing Ausmus to breathe a little easier regarding the state of his bullpen going forward.

Though the Tigers couldn't get much going against Hughes, they did make things interesting again in the eighth against reliever Jared Burton. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with one out, but Miguel Cabrera grounded into a double play to end the threat.

"We couldn't draw it up any better, having Miggy up with the bases loaded, but he can't be the hero every single day," Ausmus said.

Hughes held Detroit to two runs (one earned) on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts. The Tigers' only run-scoring rally came in the first inning, and it was ignited with a single by Torii Hunter, who has worn out his ex-teammates with six hits in the first two games of the series.

Cabrera doubled home a run and Victor Martinez delivered him with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead. But that was the start of a string of 16 consecutive batters retired by Hughes (2-1). Hunter broke the streak with a two-out double in the sixth, and Austin Jackson singled and stole a base in the seventh, but Hughes stranded both runners at second base.

"He threw first-pitch strikes from the get-go. We scored those two runs, but he was still pounding the strike zone," Ausmus said. "He's got good ride on his fastball, he gets guys to swing and miss, he uses his cutter and curveball effective. So he pitched well for them."

Pinto gave the Twins an insurance run with a towering solo homer into the second deck in left in the eighth, but Martinez launched a solo shot of his own in the ninth. It was his fourth home run of the season.

After surrendering the homer and a double to Jackson, closer Glen Perkins retired the side for his sixth save.

Patrick Donnelly is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Apr 30, 2014 2:21 am

Tigers' finale with Twins postponed by rain

By Patrick Donnelly / Special to MLB.com | 4/27/2014 1:30 P.M. ET

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Tigers' game on Sunday against the Twins was postponed due to rain. No makeup date has been announced. The Tigers return to Minnesota two more times this season -- Aug. 22-24 and Sept. 15-17.

With an off-day scheduled for Monday, Sunday's scheduled starter, Justin Verlander, will be pushed back to Tuesday in Chicago. Verlander will be followed by Max Scherzer, assuming there are no weather concerns in Chicago -- not exactly a safe assumption given the forecast, as well as Detroit's luck with the elements so far this season.

The Tigers have already had two other postponements due to weather this month. This will be their second stretch of consecutive days without a game. They previously had a day off on April 14, followed by a postponement due to cold weather on April 15.

By May 1, the Tigers will have had six scheduled days off and three postponements in 32 days -- and that, again, is assuming the weather cooperates in Chicago this week. Add it all up, and it's one big headache for Tigers manager Brad Ausmus and his staff.

"The off-days and the rain days have killed our rotation," said Ausmus. "No one can get in any type of rhythm. Guys are going on five days' rest, four days' rest, six days' rest. The off-days and the weather have been brutal on the rotation."

While extra time off is beneficial for the Tigers' bullpen, it hasn't exactly been a picnic for the position players, either.

"I don't think it's helped them at all," Ausmus said. "The idea of being in a comfort zone and getting into a rhythm applies to hitters as much as it does to pitchers."

The players were already at Target Field on Sunday when the game was postponed, so instead of flying immediately to Chicago, the team stuck around to get some work done in the Twins' indoor facilities. The Tigers can't work out at U.S. Cellular Field on Monday because the White Sox have a game there against Tampa Bay.

Moving forward, the rotation tentatively plays out with Rick Porcello, Drew Smyly and Verlander pitching next weekend at Kansas City. With Anibal Sanchez going on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday, the Tigers will need to figure out their fifth starter for May 6 against Houston.

But again, that's all weather permitting, a phrase Ausmus is already getting tired of hearing.

"Overall," said Ausmus, "the weather has been a hindrance."

Patrick Donnelly is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Apr 30, 2014 2:27 am

Holaday outsmarts White Sox for a Tigers victory
JJackson reaches on three-base error to set up game-winning bunt

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/30/2014 1:35 AM ET

BOX SCORE

CHICAGO -- Tigers ace Justin Verlander and White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana essentially battled to a draw Tuesday night. Their matchup came down to a battle of late-inning bunts.

The White Sox didn't get theirs down against Verlander in the seventh. Tigers backup catcher Bryan Holaday did in the ninth off Ronald Belisario.


"I knew that it was going to be decent," Holaday said of his go-ahead bunt single with two outs in the ninth inning, scoring Austin Jackson with the deciding run in a 4-3 Detroit win. "I was just trying to run as fast as I could."

Holaday didn't know he was going to be playing Tuesday night until just before batting practice, when Alex Avila came down with back spasms. He didn't know he'd be laying down a bunt in the ninth inning of a tie game until he saw White Sox third baseman Marcus Semien moving back on him.

He didn't know until later that manager Brad Ausmus, bench coach Gene Lamont and third-base coach Dave Clark were all trying to get his attention to bunt.


"I don't know if he got it," Ausmus said afterward. "I gave it to Dave Clark and I think Clarky tried to give him a sign, and Gene Lamont and I were kind of yelling at him at the bench in code to look at him, but I don't know if he heard us or saw Clarky or just saw it on his own and took advantage."

He didn't see their signs, but he saw the third baseman.

"I didn't hear him," Holaday said. "I was just focusing on the third baseman, seeing what he was doing. I noticed he was starting in and then backed up. That's when I thought I had a good chance to lay it down."

It was the same read he made 10 days earlier for an eighth-inning single against the Angels. In that case, though, there was nobody on base, and the Tigers already had a lead.

"I'm really confident in my bunting ability. At [Texas Christian University], we did it a lot," Holaday said. "I'm confident that I'm able to get it down, so that's not a problem."

In that case, too, he had talked with Ausmus about it beforehand.

"Part of his ability to be successful as a bunter is the sneak attack tactic with the third baseman playing him back," Ausmus said. "If you don't know a player at this level and they're a catcher, you often assume that they won't bunt or they can't run well. And Doc's not a speed merchant, but he's not slow. So if they give him some grass and he can put it in that area, he's got the ability to beat it out."

The days of the sneak attack might now be done, but they got the most out of it.

Jackson reached base with one out in the ninth when his drive to right-center field fell in and out of Dayan Viciedo's glove for a three-base error. Ronald Belisario, who had retired the previous seven batters, struck out Nick Castellanos to take away the sacrifice fly opportunity and bring up Holaday.

After taking a first-pitch ball and fouling off another sinker, Holaday turned and laid down a roller to the third-base side of the mound. Belisario scrambled to retrieve the ball as Jackson scrambled home, but the throw to first was both late and high, pulling Jose Abreu off the bag.

"I mean, it was a perfect bunt," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "Just a smart play, you know, wet conditions. It would have been tough to get him on a night that was dry, let alone the way it was. So it was just a smart play."

Said Verlander: "As soon as he laid it down, I thought it was a great play, especially the way he'd been throwing the ball. Belisario had been obviously making some really good hitters look silly up there, and I think Holly understood the situation and knew it was going to be an extremely tough at-bat. I think it was a really heads-up play.

"If I was pitching, I'd have been [ticked], but that was heads-up and smart and won us a ballgame. I couldn't be happier for him. He did a heckuva job."

Verlander very nearly was that pitcher. The third baseman, Semien, was the batter who tried to lay down a bunt in a similar situation against Verlander with one out in the seventh.

The count was the same. But unlike the sinkerballing Belsario, Semien had to try it against Verlander, who elevated his 1-1 pitch as Semien tried to push it down the first-base line. The ball went foul.

"I actually thought that was a really good idea, because it was first-and-third," Holaday said. "It looked like it was a safety squeeze, like a bunt to first base. It was a good idea. Luckily, it was a tough pitch to lay down a bunt."

Thus came the difference on a night when Verlander and Quintana essentially matched each other, their damage mainly concentrated on one inning. For Verlander, it was a four-hit, three-run third after holding the White Sox hitless through the first two innings. For Quintana, the damage came down to four consecutive two-out singles in the sixth to plate two runs and tie the game.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: 2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS    2014 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS Icon_minipostedWed Apr 30, 2014 7:29 pm

Scherzer stifles White Sox for third straight win
Holaday's two-run double key blow; bullpen continues strong stretch

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 4/30/2014 7:32 PM ET

BOX SCORE

CHICAGO -- And you thought your last quick visit to the Windy City was a boost.

The Tigers' series here began and ended in less than 24 hours after back-to-back days with no baseball. Even after taking both games, capped by Wednesday's 5-1 win behind Max Scherzer's six shutout innings, the traffic jam in the American League Central meant the impact in the standings was small.

Amazing, then, the difference it made in the shape of the club.

For the Tigers' rotation, it was a reminder that strong starting pitching is still going to play a big role in determining the course of the season. With the White Sox scoring in only one of 13 combined innings against Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the course of the series was effectively set.

When Verlander and Scherzer start back-to-back games, no matter what else ails the Tigers, it's still a formidable obstacle for opponents to overcome, and a luxury for first-year manager Brad Ausmus.

"There's 29 other managers that would like to be able to do that," he said.

For Scherzer, it was a reminder that consistently strong pitching is going to win out more often than not, even if it's not going to yield a long winning streak like last year. He won his third consecutive start Wednesday, too late to net him another unbeaten start to his season, but it's just in time for the Tigers to start building some momentum.

It wasn't vastly better pitching than his first three starts to the season, when he took two no-decisions and a loss with little run support. But it was shutdown pitching in the moments he needed it.

"Really, I pitched my best when there were runners on base," Scherzer said. "When it got into situations, I was able to take it up a notch and get my location and execute pitches. That's the reason I was able to keep runs off the board."

For the Tigers' bullpen, it was a reminder that the better the rotation does behind them, the more set their roles, and the more consistent they seem to pitch.

The White Sox sapped 105 pitches out of Scherzer over six innings on a day when his manager didn't want to push him too far past 110. Ausmus decided to give Al Alburquerque a clean start to the seventh inning rather than bringing him in with traffic. He retired the side in order on back-to-back groundouts and a strikeout, then Joba Chamberlain sent down the middle of the order in the eighth.

Not until Dayan Viciedo doubled and scored in the ninth off Evan Reed did Detroit's bullpen surrender a run in the series.

"You get some guys on, you get opportunities and that's when good pitchers really show their stuff," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "[Scherzer] did that today. We at least got him a high pitch count, and he couldn't get eight or nine innings. But, he's just tough."

Scherzer (3-1) retired the side in order in just two of his six innings and allowed a runner to reach scoring position in each of the other four, but he took advantage of four inning-ending strikeouts.

A slider inside on Viciedo spoiled Chicago's chance to build an early advantage, stranding two in the first inning after Jose Abreu's second double in as many games. Scherzer's strikeout of Adam Dunn two innings later, however, might have been the best example.

He had runners at the corners and a 2-0 count to Dunn, who took him deep to right-center field for a home run six days earlier at Comerica Park. From there, however, Scherzer slowed down his bat with a changeup, only to overpower him from there.

"I was able to fool him and then he took a 2-1 fastball, so you know I did something right there to disrupt what he was looking for," Scherzer said. "I was able to get to 2-2 and I had shown him all my pitches and I decided to go with my best in that situation and try to throw a fastball by him. That was a big out in that situation."

Back-to-back strikeouts of Tyler Flowers and Marcus Semien stranded two more in the fourth inning before Scherzer overcame a Viciedo double in the sixth. Add in strikeouts of Flowers and Alejandro De Aza in the second, and Scherzer fanned seven batters for the sixth time in as many outings this year, the longest such streak to open a season in franchise history.

Scherzer took two no-decisions and a loss in the first three of those outings. His three wins have come behind 19 innings of three-run ball on 14 hits with 26 strikeouts.

"But also, realize this is a process," Scherzer said. "You can't just bank on pitching well in certain situations. You have to pitch well from the beginning to the end. That's the part that, even though I was able to keep it scoreless and did a great job of battling, the process of not walking guys always frustrates me. The process of not throwing first-pitch strikes, that's always frustrating. It's refining the process and making sure you're ahead and probability's in your favor, not the other way around."

For the Tigers' offense, it was a reminder that this offense can still beat up a vulnerable starting pitcher.

For one trip through the Tigers' order, Hector Noesi showed some potential for a pitching duel, retiring nine straight batters after a leadoff single to begin the game. Once Torii Hunter led off the fourth with a double to the center-field fence, however, the Tigers made the adjustment and knocked out Noesi before he could get a third out.

Sacrifice flies from Victor Martinez and Nick Castellanos moved the Tigers ahead, but it was Bryan Holaday's line drive into the left-field corner that gave Scherzer complete command. The two-run double made it three RBIs in two games for Holaday, whose squeeze bunt drove in the go-ahead run Tuesday night.

"I wouldn't say there was a big adjustment," Holaday said. "Each time you see a guy, it helps out, and I think that was more the case. First time through the lineup, he did a really good job. We have a really good lineup, and once those guys see you for a second time, they're going to be able to put together better at-bats."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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