Results tagged ‘ Carlos Guillen ’
Quick Notes (4/23)
4/21: Detroit Tigers 2, Seattle Mariners 1
Mike Maroth rolls Detroit to their 3rd straight victory, taking the series opener against Seattle.
4/22: Detroit Tigers 2, Seattle Mariners 0
Detroit wins their 4th straight game, thanks to a strong outing from lefty Nate Robertson. Despite a shut-out, the game isn’t without blemishes as Tigers’ batters strand 20 baserunners (LOB 20, Team LOB 10).
COMING UP
Justin Verlander (1-2, 5.40 ERA) takes the mound as Detroit aims to sweep the Seattle Mariners in the third and final game in this series. Felix Hernandez (0-2, 6.14 ERA) will pitch for the Mariners. Gametime is 4:05 PM EDT; the contest will be televised both on FSN Detroit and TV 20.
Beck’s Blog: Different Lineup Sunday
Jason Beck reports that lineup changes in today’s game include: Guillen batting fifth at DH, and Omar Infante batting third and playing third base.
Detroit Takes Series from Oakland in the Ninth
Detroit Tigers 4, Oakland Athletics 3
The Detroit Tigers clinched a series win in Oakland on Thursday, coming from behind in the 9th inning for the win. The Tigers entered the ninth inning down by 2 runs in a game that had been scoreless since the first inning. Back-to-back RBI singles from Chris Shelton and Carlos Guillen tied the game 3-3 before Justin Duchscherer, in for injured A’s closer Huston Street, would eventually walk home the winning run.
Brandon Inge kept the threat alive in the 9th taking a walk after a marathon 15-pitch at-bat; a truly impressive feat which, though bizarre, I would call the play of the game.
The offense finally came through for Detroit in the ninth inning, but not without failing to score on multiple opportunities in the middle innings. For example, Detroit had the middle of the lineup at the plate with 2 runners on base and no outs in the sixth, but came away empty-handed. So far, clutch/situational hitting has not been a strong point for the Tigers.
Jeremy Bonderman gave up three runs in the first inning but recovered to turn in a quality start. Over 7 innings, Bonderman allowed 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Though Bonderman was able to hold the A’s to three runs, he still struggled at times with control. In his last two starts, Bonderman has not shown the command and dominance he displayed throughout the first half of last season. Fortunately, his outing on Thursday was good enough.
Fernando Rodney entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and pitched a perfect inning prior to the Tigers’ 9th inning rally. He returned to the mound in the bottom of the 9th, gave up 1 hit and 2 walks on his way to load the bases. The last 2 outs of the game came with the bases loaded; a force out at home followed by a game-ending strikeout. Rodney, who has been filling in at the closer role during Todd Jones’ stint on the disabled list, was brought into the 8th inning with the Tigers’ trailing. I have to question this coaching decision as it is obvious that this was done with no plan, other than leaving Rodney in the game, in the event that the Tigers were able to tie or take the lead.
OTHER NOTES
Pudge Rodriguez Flexible
Pudge will DH tonight and Vance Wilson will start behind the plate. Pudge is also interested in helping out at first base.
Ramon Santiago pinch-ran for Chris Shelton in the 9th inning of Thursday’s game, and later moved to shortstop. Carlos Guillen, who played first base for Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic, moved over to play first base in the bottom of the ninth. Two good moves by manager Jim Leyland as Shelton is not too quick on the basepaths, nor the most experienced at first base; a potentially dangerous liability during a tight game in Oakland, which has no shortage of foul territory behind first base.
SERIES WRAP
4/18: Detroit Tigers 3, Oakland Athletics 4
4/19: Detroit Tigers 11, Oakland Athletics 4
4/20: Detroit Tigers 4, Oakland Athletics 3
COMING UP
Mike Maroth (2-0, 0.73 ERA) will attempt to lead Detroit to a third straight victory as the Tigers open a three game series with the Seattle Mariners. Jarrod Washburn (1-2, 5.00 ERA) will pitch for the Seattle Mariners, who are currently last place in the AL West. The game will be televised on FSN Detroit and is scheduled to start at 10:05 PM EDT.
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
Detroit Tigers 11, Oakland Athletics 4
Kenny Rogers improved his record at Oakland’s McAfee Coliseum to 24-4 on Wednesday night as Detroit rolled to an 11-4 victory to even up the series with Oakland to 1-1. The Gambler scattered 3 hits and as many earned runs over 7.1 innings en route to his third win of the season. In his four starts this season (with the exception of his start against Texas 4/9), Rogers has been effective, collected and every bit the veteran presence the Tigers were seeking when they acquired him in the off-season.
Craig Monroe recovered from his stolid Tuesday performance on Wednesday night, going 2-for-3 with a walk and 3 RBI’s in addition to several solid plays in the field. Recently, Monroe had looked lost at the plate, swinging often at poor pitches and watching too many strikes. Hopefully, this outing will set a new pace for Monroe, who had entered Wednesday’s contest batting .212.
Despite a good show at the plate (3-for-4, 2 2B, RBI) Carlos Guillen posted his second straight two-error game. Thus far, Guillen has looked to have recovered significantly or completely from knee surgery he had following the 2004 campaign, which had him limping his way through the 2005 season. He has showed vastly improved range at the shortstop position and effortless mobility on the basepaths. Despite all of this, Guillen has already posted 5 errors in 15 games this season. For comparison, Guillen errored just 17 times in all of his 2004 season with Detroit.
Placido Polanco hit his 1,000th career hit on Wednesday night in a 4-for-5, 3 RBI performance. Since joining the Tigers mid-season last year, Polanco has been stellar both at the plate and on the field.
COMING UP
Jeremy Bonderman (1-2, 6.23 ERA) takes the hill against his old team to close out this three game set with the Oakland A’s. Lefty Barry Zito (1-2, 7.53 ERA) will pitch for Oakland. Both pitchers have struggled early this season and will look to recover and help their team to take the rubber match of this three game series. Gametime is 3:35 PM EDT and the game will be televised by FSN Detroit.
Swisher Swings Series Opener for A’s
Detroit Tigers 3, Oakland Athletics 4
Mistake pitches made by young Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander were the difference in Detroit’s close loss to the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night. Though Verlander’s heat touched 101 MPH, patience at the plate paid off for A’s first baseman Nick Swisher, whose lead-off solo shot (one of his two homeruns in the game) on an off-speed pitch left over the plate in the 7th inning broke a 3-3 tie.
Despite a quality start from Verlander, who allowed 3 earned runs on 5 hits in 7 innings, the Tigers were unable to come back from the 1 run deficit left by Swisher’s homerun, which became the game-winning run. Verlander, who has shown flashes of brilliance in his 3 starts thus far in this young season, put a handful of mistake pitches over the plate and had trouble locating the strike zone at times, walking 3. Mistake pitches to Nick Swisher accounted for all of the earned runs in the game. An unearned run was also allowed on an error from shortstop Carlos Guillen.
As Verlander progresses through his first full season in a major league starting rotation, his struggle will be to make the right adjustments. Whether between starts, innings, batters or pitches, making the good adjustments is a vital step he’ll need to take in order to live up to the potential that he displays every time he takes the mound.
COMING UP
Kenny Rogers makes his fourth start of the season for the Tigers in game 2 of this 3 game series with Oakland. Gametime is 10:05 PM EDT; the game will be televised on FSN Detroit.
Detroit Splits for the West Coast
Cleveland Indians 10, Detroit Tigers 2
Nate Robertson‘s struggles continued on Monday as he gave up 6 earned runs before being lifted in the third inning. Robertson (1-2) has given up 12 earned runs in 14.2 innings (14 runs if you count 2 unearned runs) and only looked sharp, ironically, in the 4/12 loss to Chicago (his only quality start).
I’m a fan of Nate’s, but he is giving up a lot of runs. I have to wonder how long before Leyland/Dombrowski decide to give someone else a shot? I imagine that he’ll get at least a few more starts before needing to worry, but his performances (or reaction to them) on this West Coast road trip may give us an idea.
Solo homeruns from both Chris Shelton and Carlos Guillen accounted for all of Detroit’s runs in Monday’s loss to the Indians. Batting sixth and seventh, these guys are accounting for a bulk of the runs for the Tigers in this young season. Further, I bet that both Shelton (who has been quoted to this effect) and Guillen would tell you that they’re not trying to hit homeruns. Whether this is strictly true does not really matter to me, since they’re hitting them, but I wonder if Dmitri Young and Magglio Ordonez would say the same thing? Lackluster production from the middle of the lineup so far this season could be a symptom of hitters swinging for the fences too often instead of the grass.
LEYLAND LESS THAN PLEASED
Following Monday’s loss, Jim Leyland was upset with his team (and his post-game locker room tirade was widely reported), and rightfully so. In each of the losses on this homestand, the Tigers failed to execute at the plate when even a single would’ve meant runners scored. The team showed the all-too-familiar lack of urgency which was so noticeable last season.
While the lack of concentration and production at the plate is clearly an issue, I begin to question some of the decisions to leave the pitchers in when they’re taking a beating. Maybe it’s because it is early in the season, but if you ask me, Robertson should’ve been yanked out when the score was 4-1 instead of when it was 7-1 in the 3rd.
Leyland on drubbing: `We stunk. We weren’t ready’
Shelton hits No. 9, but Tigers fall
HOMESICK
Detroit finished their opening homestand 2-5 after splitting the four game series with the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers, now 7-6, have a losing record only against the White Sox (0-3). Though swept by Chicago, the games were reasonably close; the ugliest losses of this homestand were against the Indians. In the losses to Cleveland, the offense was absent and impotent, scoring just 4 runs in the contests combined; a sum insufficient to win either of them. Despite several opportunities with runners on base, the Tigers were unable to take advantage at the plate.
SERIES WRAP
4/14: Cleveland Indians 1, Detroit Tigers 5
4/15: Cleveland Indians 7, Detroit Tigers 2
4/16: Cleveland Indians 0, Detroit Tigers 1
4/17: Cleveland Indians 10, Detroit Tigers 2
OTHER NOTES
If you haven’t been hibernating up to this point, then you don’t need me to tell you that Chris Shelton is off to an amazing start. He has hit 9 homeruns in 13 games this season; an AL record.
Joel Zumaya is off to a great start and looked especially good following staff finesse lefties Kenny Rogers and Mike Maroth.
COMING UP
The Tigers begin a three game series in Oakland with the A’s on Tuesday night. Justin Verlander should get the start, looking to come back from his rough outing on Saturday. After faltering at home, the Tigers need to continue their stellar play on the road (where they are currently 5-1). It will be interesting to see how players react to their first noteable tongue-lashing from Leyland.
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