GDT: 9/4/08 - DET (67-72) VS LAA (84-54) - 1:05 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- Mike Hessman got his shot to show what he could do in the Tigers lineup Wednesday night. It was pretty much what was expected, and it was incredibly valuable.

He hits home runs at the plate. He flashes his glove at third base. As a result, he'll likely start again on Thursday in the series finale against the Angels.

"Let him play a game, see what he's got," manager Jim Leyland said before Wednesday's game. "Maybe he'll run into one."

That he did, and it turned out to be critical.

At age 30, Hessman is the classic example of a veteran Minor Leaguer waiting for a chance. His 34 home runs finished second in the International League despite missing three weeks to represent Team USA at last month's Olympics, while his .602 slugging percentage topped the IL. Still, even with the Tigers' roster moves this year, his September callup was his first trip to the big leagues this season.

His first three at-bats were all fruitless with a groundout, first-pitch pop fly and strikeout. After a called first strike and a fouled-off fastball, he seemed headed for the same fate against reliever Justin Speier in the eighth with Gary Sheffield in scoring position. But his two-strike mode proved stingy, working the count full with help from three two-strike foul balls.

"He hung in there with two strikes and he fouled a couple off," Leyland said. "The more pitches you see, the better your chances are. I think that helped him in that at-bat."

On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, he fouled off a fastball to stay alive. On the ninth, he pounced on a slider and launched it to left.

"I got the count to 3-2 and was able to see some pitches from him," Hessman said. "Once Sheff got to third [on a wild pitch], all I was trying to do was just shorten up [the swing] and get it in play and get that run in. Got a good pitch to hit at 3-2."

Said Leyland: "You know this guy's got a lot of power. If he gets it, he can hit it as far as anybody."

He was the star of the game for Leyland, but more so for his defense at third. He started a double play in the second inning, made a solid play on a Vladimir Guerrero hopper in the fourth inning and played solidly all around on his way to a half-dozen assists.

Like his power, it's not a surprise.

"I take a lot of pride in my defense," Hessman said. "You don't see a lot of 6-foot-5 third basemen."

With Kenny Rogers taking the mound looking for ground balls, you'll see one 6-5 third baseman in the lineup again.



Pitching matchup

DET: LHP Kenny Rogers (9-12, 5.23 ERA)
Rogers hasn't fared well against the Royals this season, having allowed 17 runs in the 22 innings prior to Saturday's start. It was much the same the latest time around, giving up six runs in six innings and picking up his 12th loss. He even commented afterward that he is disappointed with his ability level right now. Rogers has faced the Angels once this year and threw one of his better outings. Despite not factoring in the decision, the left-hander threw seven shutout innings and gave up just five hits.

LAA: RHP Ervin Santana (14-5, 3.31 ERA)
Santana pitched brilliantly against the Rangers on Friday as the right-hander allowed just one run on five hits over eight innings. He complimented his fastball, which reached as high as 97 mph on the radar gun, with an assortment of devastating sliders along with an occasional changeup. He struck out seven batters and walked just one. Santana is 4-2 with a 4.62 ERA in six career starts against Detroit.


Tidbits

Leyland said after Wednesday's game that Sheffield was battling a sore shoulder. He'll be a morning decision Thursday. ...

The Tigers extended their working agreement with their low Class A affiliate at West Michigan through 2014 on Wednesday, the day the Whitecaps began their best-of-three Midwest League playoff series against South Bend. The agreement had been set to expire at the close of the 2010 season. ...

Sheffield is 6-for-12 with a home run and two RBIs lifetime against Santana. Matt Joyce has struck out in each of his four at-bats against Santana this year. ...

Torii Hunter is 11-for-31 (.355) lifetime off Rogers with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, eight RBIs and four walks. ...

The Tigers will stay in town on Thursday night and fly Friday morning to Minnesota for a weekend series against the Twins. Normally, the team would fly after the getaway game, but with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., through Thursday, the Tigers couldn't find enough hotel space for that night.

On the Internet

MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• FSN-HD

On radio
• 97.1FM/1270AM

Up next

• Fri., Sept 5: Tigers (RHP Armando Galarraga (12-4, 3.17 ERA)) at Twins (LHP Francisco Liriano, 4-3, 3.45 ERA)), 8:10 p.m. ET

• Sat., Sept 6: Tigers (RHP Justin Verlander, 10-15, 4.74) at Twins (RHP Scott Baker, 8-4, 3.66), 3:55 p.m. ET

• Sun., Sept 7: Tigers (RHP Chris Lambert (0-1, 6.75 ERA)) at Twins (LHP Glen Perkins (12-3, 4.08 ERA)), 2:10 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

LA Angels
Matthews, RF
Quinlan, 3B
Teixeira, 1B
Guerrero, DH
Hunter, CF
Rivera, LF
- Willits, LF
Wood, SS
Mathis, C
Rodriguez, S, 2B

Detroit
Granderson, CF
Polanco, 2B
Ordonez, DH
Cabrera, 1B
Joyce, RF
Renteria, SS
Thames, LF
Hessman, 3B
Inge, C
- Ryan, C

77 degrees on Thursday


Few Showers;


Mostly Cloudy

Winds 5-15 out of the NE

Whoop whoop!!!

Lets go Tigers!!!!

Take the series!

And to see what Leyland says, and is quoted in the Angels Game announcement article:

09/03/2008 11:30 PM ET
An Angels admirer in the other dugout
Los Angeles (84-54) at Detroit (67-72), Thursday, 10:05 a.m. PT
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Jim Leyland has managed two World Series teams, the 1997 champion Marlins and 2006 Tigers, and several near-misses in Pittsburgh in Barry Bonds' early years.

The point is, Leyland knows quality when he sees it -- and the Angels clearly are a club that has the respect of the Tigers' eminent leader.

"This team's got a lot of weapons," Leyland said heading into Thursday's series finale at Comerica Park. "Now they've got another big bat with [Mark] Teixeira. They've got a great late-inning bullpen, and they don't even need early bullpen with their starters."

Teixeira, who homered Wednesday night against Zach Miner, is one shy of his fifth consecutive season with 30-plus homers. He also has five straight 100-plus RBI campaigns. His next homer is No. 200 in his career.

If it sounds as if Leyland envies Angels manager Mike Scioscia, an 18-game gap in the standings can do that.

"Mike does a great job with what he's got," Leyland said. "He uses that speed, starting with Chone Figgins up top, to his advantage. That's a very, very good team, and it's very well managed."

In addition to Teixeira, the July 29 acquisition from the Braves, Torii Hunter's impact on the Angels is visible to Leyland, who became familiar with the center fielder's work when he was with AL Central rival Minnesota.

"Hunter gives them a little extra presence," Leyland said. "He's a dignified vet who knows how to play -- and play the game right. I've had the opportunity to watch him quite a bit in our division, and I've seen what he brings to a club. He's like Figgins; I have utmost respect for Hunter.

"He never seems to lose sight of what's important. He's very bright, and he has that rare ability to slow a game down a little. He gives you what you need every day."

...

Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.



Yea, Leyland is the Tigers worst enemy!

It's lookin' really bad kids. 3-0 now, Kenny really struggling. Now I gotta work, but just thought I'd offer an update going to the bottom of the 4th.

In the 6th, 6-0, Lopez doing better. but Nate is warming up.

My goodness. The game was over at 3:38 PM. A 2.5-hour game. 7-1, Angels win. At least we didn't get swept.
Hessman did okay.
Dusty Ryan played today..didn't do great, but at least he played.

September 4, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
LA Angels	1	1	4	0	0	0	0	1	0		7	14	0
Detroit	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	7	0

LA Angels AB- R-- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Matthews, RF 5 2 4 0 0 0 0 .236 Quinlan, 3B 4 1 2 1 0 0 2 .279 Teixeira, 1B 4 1 2 2 0 0 3 .307 Guerrero, DH 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .294 Hunter, CF 4 2 2 1 0 1 2 .283 Rivera, LF 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 .240 - Willits, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .176 Wood, SS 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .167 Mathis, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .195 Rodriguez, S, 2B 4 1 1 0 0 2 0 .192 Totals 37 7 14 7 0 7 12 BATTING 2B: Matthews 2 (13, Rogers, Lopez), Teixeira (32, Rogers), Rivera (9, Rogers). HR: Hunter (20, 8th inning off Robertson, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Matthews 6; Quinlan 2; Teixeira 3; Guerrero; Hunter 5; Rivera 3; Rodriguez, S. RBI: Teixeira 2 (108), Rivera 2 (38), Quinlan (7), Guerrero (79), Hunter (72). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Teixeira. GIDP: Teixeira. Team LOB: 3. BASERUNNING CS: Rivera (1, 2nd base by Lopez/Inge). FIELDING DP: (Quinlan-Rodriguez, S-Teixeira).		Detroit AB- R- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Granderson, CF 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .305 Polanco, 2B 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .311 Ordonez, DH 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .315 Cabrera, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .290 Joyce, RF 3 0 0 0 1 2 3 .260 Renteria, SS 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .268 Thames, LF 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .234 Hessman, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .250 Inge, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .218 - Ryan, C 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 Totals 33 1 7 1 3 11 17 BATTING 2B: Renteria (17, Santana), Hessman (1, Speier). HR: Granderson (17, 8th inning off Santana, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Granderson 4; Polanco 2; Ordonez; Cabrera; Renteria 2; Hessman 2. RBI: Granderson (54). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Thames; Renteria; Granderson; Ryan 2. GIDP: Ordonez. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Inge (3, 2nd base off Santana/Mathis). FIELDING PB: Inge (9). DP: 4 (Inge-Polanco, Rogers-Hessman, Renteria-Polanco-Cabrera, Inge-Renteria).
LA Angels IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Santana (W, 15-5) 7.1 6 1 1 1 8 1 3.23 Shields 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.72 Speier 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 5.03		Detroit IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Rogers (L, 9-13) 2.0 8 6 6 0 0 0 5.49 Lopez 4.0 4 0 0 0 5 0 3.69 Robertson 3.0 2 1 1 0 2 1 6.30
Rogers pitched to 4 batters in the 3rd. Pitches-strikes: Santana 112-76, Shields 14-8, Speier 28-17, Rogers 39-28, Lopez 57-39, Robertson 31-20. Groundouts-flyouts: Santana 7-7, Shields 0-1, Speier 0-1, Rogers 0-4, Lopez 1-5, Robertson 5-2. Batters faced: Santana 28, Shields 3, Speier 5, Rogers 12, Lopez 15, Robertson 10. Inherited runners-scored: Lopez 2-2. Umpires: HP: Tim Welke. 1B: Chuck Meriwether. 2B: Bill Welke. 3B: Chris Guccione. Weather: 77 degrees, overcast. Wind: 7 mph, L to R. T: 2:33. Att: 37,890. September 4, 2008

I forgot this was an afternoon game We lost, no surprise there.

LA Angels Top 1st
- UMPIRES: Home,Tim Welke; First, Chuck Meriwether; Second, Bill Welke; Third, Chris Guccione;
- Gary Matthews doubled to left. Runner on second with none out and Robb Quinlan due up.
- Robb Quinlan lined out to short. Runner on second with one out and Mark Teixeira due up.
- Mark Teixeira doubled to left, scoring Gary Matthews. Runner on second with one out and Vladimir Guerrero due up.
- Mark Teixeira advances to third on a Brandon Inge passed ball. Runner
on third with one out and Vladimir Guerrero at the plate.
- Vladimir Guerrero lined into a double play, pitcher to third to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 1st
- Pitchers confirmed.
- Curtis Granderson struck out swinging. None on with one out and Placido Polanco due up.
- Placido Polanco grounded out short to first. None on with two outs and Magglio Ordonez due up.
- Magglio Ordonez struck out swinging to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 2nd
- Torii Hunter singled to center. Runner on first with none out and Juan Rivera due up.
- Juan Rivera doubled to left center, scoring Torii Hunter. Runner on second with none out and Brandon Wood due up.
- Brandon Wood flied out to right. Runner on third with one out and Jeff Mathis due up.
- Jeff Mathis bunt foul pop out into a double play, catcher to short to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 2nd
- Miguel Cabrera fouled out to first. None on with one out and Matt Joyce due up.
- Matt Joyce struck out swinging. None on with two outs and Edgar Renteria due up.
- Edgar Renteria doubled to left. Runner on second with two outs and Marcus Thames due up.
- Marcus Thames grounded out third to first to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 3rd
- Sean Rodriguez singled to left. Runner on first with none out and Gary Matthews due up.
- Gary Matthews singled to left. Runners on first and second with none out and Robb Quinlan due up.
- Robb Quinlan singled to right, scoring Sean Rodriguez. Runners on first and second with none out and Mark Teixeira due up.
- Mark Teixeira singled to center, scoring Gary Matthews. Runners on
first and second with none out and Vladimir Guerrero due up.
- Aquilino Lopez enters the game for the Tigers with runners on first and second and none out.
- Vladimir Guerrero singled to center, scoring Robb Quinlan. Runners on first and second with none out and Torii Hunter due up.
- Torii Hunter struck out swinging. Runners on first and second and with one out and Juan Rivera due up.
- Juan Rivera singled to center, scoring Mark Teixeira. Runners on first and third with one out and Brandon Wood due up.
- Brandon Wood struck out swinging. On the play, Juan Rivera was caught stealing second, catcher to second to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 3rd
- Mike Hessman grounded out short to first. None on with one out and Brandon Inge due up.
- Brandon Inge flied out to right. None on with two outs and Curtis Granderson due up.
- Curtis Granderson grounded out first to pitcher to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 4th
- Jeff Mathis struck out swinging. None on with one out and Sean Rodriguez due up.
- Sean Rodriguez struck out swinging. None on with two outs and Gary Matthews due up.
- Gary Matthews doubled to center. Runner on second with two outs and Robb Quinlan due up.
- Robb Quinlan infield single to short. Runners on first and third with two outs and Mark Teixeira due up.
- Mark Teixeira flied out to center to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 4th
- Placido Polanco singled to right. Runner on first with none out and Magglio Ordonez due up.
- Magglio Ordonez infield single to short. Runners on first and second with none out and Miguel Cabrera due up.
- Miguel Cabrera flied out to right. Runners on first and third and with one out and Matt Joyce due up.
- Matt Joyce struck out swinging. Runners on first and third with two outs and Edgar Renteria due up.
- Edgar Renteria flied out to center to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 5th
- Vladimir Guerrero struck out swinging, catcher to first. None on with one out and Torii Hunter due up.
- Torii Hunter grounded out third to first. None on with two outs and Juan Rivera due up.
- Juan Rivera flied out to right to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 5th
- Marcus Thames walked. Runner on first with none out and Mike Hessman due up.
- Mike Hessman flied out to left. Runner on first with one out and Brandon Inge due up.
- Brandon Inge grounded into a fielder`s choice, first to short. Runner on first with two outs and Curtis Granderson due up.
- Brandon Inge stole second. Runner on second with two outs and Curtis Granderson at the plate.
- Curtis Granderson struck out swinging to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 6th
- Brandon Wood flied out to center. None on with one out and Jeff Mathis due up.
- Jeff Mathis flied out to right. None on with two outs and Sean Rodriguez due up.
- Sean Rodriguez flied out to center to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 6th
- Placido Polanco singled to center. Runner on first with none out and Magglio Ordonez due up.
- Magglio Ordonez grounded into a double play, third to second to first. None on with two outs and Miguel Cabrera due up.
- Miguel Cabrera singled to right. Runner on first with two outs and Matt Joyce due up.
- Matt Joyce fouled out to catcher to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 7th
- Nate Robertson starts the inning for the Tigers.
- Gary Matthews infield single to short. Runner on first with none out and Robb Quinlan due up.
- Robb Quinlan popped out to second. Runner on first with one out and Mark Teixeira due up.
- Mark Teixeira grounded into a double play, short to second to first to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 7th
- Edgar Renteria struck out looking. None on with one out and Marcus Thames due up.
- Marcus Thames struck out swinging. None on with two outs and Mike Hessman due up.
- Mike Hessman struck out looking to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 8th
- Vladimir Guerrero flied out to right. None on with one out and Torii Hunter due up.
- Torii Hunter one-out, solo Home Run (20) to center. Juan Rivera due up.
- Juan Rivera grounded out to first. None on with two outs and Brandon Wood due up.
- Brandon Wood struck out swinging to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 8th
- Reggie Willits enters the game in left field, replacing Juan Rivera.
- Brandon Inge flied out to center. None on with one out and Curtis Granderson due up.
- Curtis Granderson one-out, solo Home Run (17) to right center. Placido Polanco due up.
- Scot Shields enters the game for the Angels with none on and one out.
- Placido Polanco flied out to center. None on with two outs and Magglio Ordonez due up.
- Magglio Ordonez walked. Runner on first with two outs and Miguel Cabrera due up.
- Miguel Cabrera struck out swinging to end the inning.

LA Angels Top 9th
- Dusty Ryan enters the game at catcher, replacing Brandon Inge.
- Jeff Mathis grounded out short to first. None on with one out and Sean Rodriguez due up.
- Sean Rodriguez struck out looking. None on with two outs and Gary Matthews due up.
- Gary Matthews grounded out third to first to end the inning.

Detroit Bottom 9th
- Justin Speier starts the inning for the Angels.
- Matt Joyce walked. Runner on first with none out and Edgar Renteria due up.
- Edgar Renteria struck out swinging. Runner on first with one out and Marcus Thames due up.
- Marcus Thames fouled out to third. Runner on first with two outs and Mike Hessman due up.
- Mike Hessman doubled to left. Runners on second and third with two outs and Dusty Ryan due up.
- Dusty Ryan struck out looking to end the game.

LA Angels 7, Detroit 1


Final
- Confirmed
- WP: E.Santana (15-5); LP:K.Rogers (9-13).

LA Angels 7, Detroit 1







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At least :curtis: hit a home run. Not a triple, but I'll take it.

I suspected that this was what would happen in this series. I was not sure if we would win 0 or 1 game. Turned out Tigers won the only game I thought they had a chance to win. Last nights!

Rogers was his old stinkin self! Thank God for :lopez: coming in to stop the scoring!

Then Nate comes in and boom, another Hunter homer!

Rogers' ERA is climbing fast...not that it matters.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Then Nate comes in and boom, another Hunter homer!

Don't be so hard on him - that's one of the best games of his career - 3IP and just ONE ER...that's less than a run an inning

catbox_9 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Then Nate comes in and boom, another Hunter homer!

Don't be so hard on him - that's one of the best games of his career - 3IP and just ONE ER...that's less than a run an inning

True, he did pitch 3 innings.

Wait...there was a game this afternoon?

Dusty Ryan caught for part of the game? I have his autograph

And wow, this game really sucked...

Bye Bye :rogers:

37,000 plus my ass


looked more like 20,000 people


Plenty of room in back of the Mezzainne

Nice breeze up there, too

And no sunburn

gs78 wrote:

37,000 plus my ass


looked more like 20,000 people


Plenty of room in back of the Mezzainne

Nice breeze up there, too

And no sunburn

didja get a bobblehead last night?

Yes!

wahoo! me too! Only $30!

laprimamirala wrote:

wahoo! me too! Only $30!

Should have sent you mine

Could have saved you 30 bucks


Damn Bat is broken on mine

Maybe I can crazy glue it

No prob! I probably saved at least $30 in gas and parking.