Category: Game Preview
Game 2 – Starting Lineup and Thoughts from Opening Day
Today’s game against the Boston Red Sox is nationally televised on FOX at 4:05 PM.
Here is the lineup:
1) Jackson (8)
2) Boesch (9)
3) Cabrera (5)
4) Fielder (3)
5) Young (6)
7) Avila (2)
8) Dirks (DH)
9) Raburn (4)
SP: Doug Fister
As far as opening day goes, the excitement didn’t really start until the late innings, finally giving something for fans to get on their feet for, with the exception of reigning AL MVP Justin Verlander putting on a pitching clinic. He was absolutely lights out for 8 innings and his curveball looks as good as I have ever seen it…and it’s the first day of the year. Bodes well for Tigers fans, as long as Jose Valverde doesn’t blow the gems in future outings like he did Thursday, giving up 2 runs in the 9th to tie the game. But Austin Jackson, who had a solid day at the plate and actually looked comfortable for once, came through with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th for the walk-off win on opening day. There were a lot of positives to take away from the first game of the year, not to mention a record opening day crowd. The city is hungry and I think this team will produce.
Cross your fingers for no repeats of ’08.
ALCS Game 2 – Weather not a factor?
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that I didn’t think weather would be as much of a factor in the ALCS with Texas as it was with New York in the ALDS.
Well, I was wrong.
Two rain delays extended game 1 and the Rangers held on for a 3-2 win, doing some damage to Justin Verlander before he exited after the 2nd rain delay in the 5th.
There is also a threat for more rain in game 2 tonight, when Max Scherzer takes the hill. This is an important game for Detroit as, if necessary, games 6 and 7 will be played back in Texas. Detroit left the bases loaded twice last night and could do nothing against the Rangers bullpen, getting only 1 hit on Ramon Santiago’s bunt single to lead off the ninth.
I thought it was a curious decision to bring in Wilson Betemit in the 9th, who was 0-6 with 3 strikeout’s in his career against Feliz. He walked back to the bench increasing that number to 4 strikeouts. The Tigers outfielders also have to really clamp down on their defense. Magglio just doesn’t have it anymore and Jackson cannot afford mistakes like he made early in the game that extended Verlander’s pitch count. Had the rain not forced him out of the game, Verlander would not have been in the game much longer anyway, having already thrown over 80 pitches through 4 innings.
Look for the Tigers to come out swinging tonight. They cannot afford to not attack tonight and let the Rangers’ dangerous lineup run away with the game. It’s a toss up, but I like the Tigers to take game 2.
EDIT: Game 2 has been postponed until Monday afternoon due to rain in the forecast. Does this benefit either team or hurt one more than the other?
ALCS Opens Tonight in Texas
The American League Championship series opens tonight versus the defending AL Champion Texas Rangers. Justin Verlander will be on the mound for Detroit after manager Jim Leyland opted not to pitch him in the decisive game 5 against the New York Yankees.
In a major blow to the offense, the team announced that OF Delmon Young, who set a club record for most homeruns hit in an ALDS with 3, will not play in the series against Texas. Leyland must now find a viable bat to fill that 3 spot in the order ahead of slugger Miguel Cabrera. One option would be to move Jhonny Peralta, but my instinct says that Magglio Ordonez will be inserted into that spot. We will have to wait and see.
My prediction for the series: Detroit takes it in 6. I think that Detroit’s pitching is too strong and their bats will be alive. Weather should not be as much of a factor as it was in the New York series, and even without Young’s bat in the lineup, I think Detroit poses a major threat to take back the pennant from the Rangers this year.
Game 128 – Detroit Tigers Lineup
It has been awhile, but I have been incredibly busy training for my upcoming year and it leaves me little time to sit down during the day. Tonight, the Tigers look to win their 5th straight contest with Brad Penny trying to follow up another gem tossed by Justin Verlander in last night’s affair.
1. Austin Jackson (CF)
2. Magglio Ordonez (RF)
3. Delmon Young (LF)
4. Miguel Cabrera (1B)
5. Victor Martinez (DH)
6. Alex Avila (C)
7. Jhonny Peralta (SS)
8. Ryan Raburn (2B)
9. Brandon Inge (3B)
Penny is on the mound.
I have a difficult time justifying Ordonez in the 2 spot (1-4 in his career against Ray’s starter David Price). I would actually love to see Leyland try out Peralta in the 2 spot and move Boesch down behind Martinez and Avila. I think it would benefit both parties, but I am not the manager. Delmon Young has been a fine addition to the team and if the Tigers win the AL Central, that move could prove to be a pivotal one, one in which Detroit gave up very little in order to get a player than can produce now.
Game 120 – Detroit Tigers Lineup and Thoughts
The Tigers announced today that the fragile Carlos Guillen would be placed on the 15-day DL with a sore wrist. Will Rhymes has been recalled to take his place on the roster. I LOVE this move. Carlos Guillen, when completely healthy, has a nice bat in the lineup, but he hasn’t hit anything since he showed up Weaver several weeks ago. Will Rhymes has done nothing but hit since he’s been down in Toledo and the guy deserves a shot at playing everyday.
Here is today’s lineup:
1) Jackson (CF)
2) Dirks (LF)
3) Ordonez (RF)
4) Cabrera (1B)
5) Martinez (DH)
6) Peralta (SS)
7) Raburn (3B)
8) Avila (C)
9) Santiago (2B)
Fister is on the mound for Detroit this afternoon. Game time is 1:35 PM ET.
Sounds like a win. Let’s finish off the road trip with twice as many wins as losses (6-3) and head back home. Last night’s game showed the life of a team that is playoff caliber. They fell down early and fought back to take the lead, Scherzer was Verlander-esque nasty in his last inning (he was hitting 98 on the gun), and the bullpen closed the door late. It’s what this team needs to do to waltz into October. They will really be counting on solid, consistent starts from their rotation and be looking at their bullpen to keep runs off the board late in games. We all know their offense is there. The question is whether their pitching can be consistent enough to stave off the charging Indians and White Sox.
Game 115 – Detroit Tigers Lineup
Big series with the Cleveland Indians starting this evening at Progressive Field. Here is Detroit’s starting lineup:
1) Jackson (CF)
2) Boesch (LF)
3) Dirks (RF)
4) Cabrera (1B)
5) Martinez (DH)
6) Peralta (SS)
7) Guillen (2B)
8) Avila (C)
9) Kelly (3B)
Fister is starting on the mound.
I like this lineup against Masterson. Kelly has good career numbers against him, and Martinez appears to be healthy enough to play, which bodes well for Detroit. I’m also excited to see Fister pitch again. I like his stuff and think he can really help this ball club down the road.
It should be a good matchup this evening! Definitely a huge series for both teams.
Game 114 – Detroit Tigers Lineup
The Tigers will be going for the sweep of the Kansas City Royals this afternoon, getting a great start to their road trip and continuing their dominance over KC this year. Here is this afternoon’s lineup:
1) Jackson (CF)
2) Boesch (LF)
3) Raburn (3B)
4) Cabrera (1B)
5) Ordonez (DH)
6) Guillen (2B)
7) Peralta (SS)
8) Avila (C)
9) Dirks (RF)
Scherzer is on the mound.
A few things to note. I am having a hard time understanding why Ryan Raburn is in the 3rd slot against Bruce Chen. He does not have impressive numbers batting in the 3rd spot in the order, nor does he have any spectacular stats against Chen himself. Magglio Ordonez is batting .364 in his career against the Royals lefty, so I just don’t quite understand this move. Austin Jackson is only 1 for 12 lifetime against Chen, but his defense (i.e last night) plays an important role in getting him in the lineup, even if he is struggling at the plate.
Also of note, Victor Martinez is not in the lineup. He left last night’s game with what they are calling a mild sprain of his knee, and Victor said that the tingling feeling he had when it happened started to go away as he was walking to the club house. Let’s hope that this is just a minor issue and won’t hinder his performance the rest of the way, because Martinez has been a huge catalyst for the Tigers offense this year.
Scherzer holds a 1.42 ERA over the Royals this seasons, and has a 2.73 ERA for his career. I like the matchup this afternoon and like the chances of Detroit walking out of town with a victory to complete the sweep.
Their next stop? Cleveland.
Game 113 – Detroit Tigers Lineup
After blowing the lead last night, the Tigers will look to avoid the same tonight when they send Justin Verlander out to the mound. Here is tonight’s lineup.
1) Jackson (CF)
2) Boesch (LF)
3) Ordonez (RF)
4) Cabrera (1B)
5) Martinez (DH)
6) Peralta (SS)
7) Guillen (2B)
8) Raburn (3B)
9) Avila (C)
Starting on the mound is Justin Verlander.
Interesting lineup this evening. Raburn will be playing 3B for the 2nd time this year. I’m having a difficult time understanding why Betemit isn’t playing more than what he is, other than the fact that he strikes out rather frequently. Brandon Inge played more and produced far less than what Betemit has since he has been here. I’ve been one of the strongest critics of Ryan Raburn and I think I have a legitimate gripe – he is not an every day player. I don’t mind seeing him out there as a role player because I honestly think he plays better and thinks less when he isn’t constantly looking over his shoulder at who might take his place the next day if he doesn’t hit a home run that day or commits an error.
Verlander will look to continue his dominance over the Royals. When I say dominant, I mean 1 man wrecking crew: 12-2, 2.31 ERA. 117 1/3 innings pitched, 110 K’s compared to 32 walks. Billy Butler has good numbers in his career against Verlander, but I’m not sure that matters much this year. Verlander is on a mission, and I have already sat both of the Royals I have on my fantasy team for this game.
I’ll sit back with a bowl of popcorn and watch the show.
Game 112 – Tigers Lineup
Here is tonight’s starting lineup:
1) Jackson (CF)
2) Boesch (LF)
3) Ordonez (RF)
4) Cabrera (1B)
5) Martinez (DH)
6) Peralta (SS)
7) Guillen (2B)
8) Avila (C)
9) Betemit (3B)
Porcello is starting on the mound this evening.
Game time is 8:10 PM.
I really like this lineup, and Porcello has been rock solid as of late. The Royal’s starter, Felipe Paulino, will be facing the Tigers for the first time this year after coming over in a trade with Colorado earlier in the year. He pitched six scoreless innings against Cleveland in his last start.
The key to tonight’s game will be Porcello’s ability to keep the ball low and induce groundballs while staying within the zone. When he starts to get the ball up or can’t spot his fastball is when he struggles the most. Hopefully his month of July was a sign of something to come, because it really looked like he was transforming into a more dominant pitcher, one that the Tigers could really use alongside Verlander down the stretch.
Game 111 – Tigers lineup and preview
It’s a beautiful day for baseball, and a perfect day to complete a sweep of the Texas Rangers! Let’s see the lineup Leyland will go with this afternoon.
1) Dirks (CF)
2) Kelly (1B)
3) Boesch (LF)
4) Cabrera (DH)
5) Martinez (C)
6) Guillen (2B)
7) Betemit (3B)
8) Raburn (RF)
9) Santiago (SS)
Starting pitcher is Brad Penny.
Game time is 1:05 PM.
Not exactly the same lineup I would envision to finish off a series, but then again, it makes sense. Rangers starter Alexi Ogando is a tough pitcher (Tigers currently hitting a mere .188 off of him) and Leyland has 5 switch hitters in the lineup. Nobody on the Tigers roster has any outstanding numbers against him, so it really doesn’t matter who is standing in the batters box today. Any advantage Leyland can get while Ogando is in the game, and if the Tigers can get him out, he will take. Tigers starter Brad Penny has been hit around a bit lately, so hopefully he can give the team a solid performance today and at least keep them in the game.
We can only hope the role players come through today and produce, given the opportunity. It would be nice if my prediction about this series was wrong and the Tigers finish off the sweep, completing the season series with an impressive 7-2 record against the AL West leading Rangers.
Go Tigers!
The Optimist Tiger 