Tag: Detroit Tigers

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The Full Count: Garrett Anderson gets a week’s worth of fantasy points in one game


1. One Man, 10 RBIs: Garrett Anderson of the Angels gave one of the greatest single-game performances of the season on Tuesday against the Yankees. Anderson powered the Angels to an 18-9 win with 10 RBIs, tying a franchise record and coming up one shy of the AL record. Anderson’s RBIs came off a three-run homer, and grand slam, and two run-scoring doubles. Ironically, the last person to reach 10 RBIs in a game, Alex Rodriguez, hit two homeruns for the opposing Yankees. That gave him 42 on the year as well as 121 RBIs, both of which lead the majors by a mile. But it wasn’t enough as the Angels put up ridiculous numbers offensively. Howie Kendrick went 4-5, Macier Izturis scored 4 runs, and Vlad Guerrero knocked in his 100th RBI as the Angels won their third straight. They are holding on to a two-game lead in front of the red-hot Mariners, while the Yankees have fallen to six games back behind the Red Sox.

2. Outdueled: The Indians’ Fausto Carmona shut down the Tigers, yet was outpitched by second-time starter Jair Jurrjens in Detroit’s 2-1 win. Carmona went eight innings, with three hits, two runs, and no walks allowed, but it wasn’t enough. The Indians were limited to only one hit by Jurrijens, and the Tigers’ bullpen was perfect. Joel Zumaya returned in his first appearance since May 1. Zumaya will be key to the Tigers’ stretch run, as their bullpen has been one of their biggest issues since his injury. The Tigers got homers from Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen in a game where all runs were scored off solo shots. The Tigers could pass Cleveland by Wednesday, as they are only a half-game back. Both of these teams have fallen behind the wild card leaders New York and Seattle in their recent struggles, so they both need to win the division to make the playoffs.

3. Beltran is Back: After a monstrous 2006 season was followed by an even better April, Carlos Beltran has struggled the majority of this season. He batted under .230 from May through July. However, in the past week alone he has managed to regain his power swing, with 6 homers and 18 RBIs in his last ten games. Beltran’s resurgence, which directly followed a short spell on the DL, has coincided with a dominant run by the Mets. They have won 7 of their last 8 games, giving them a comfortable five game lead in the division. On Tuesday they roughed up MLB ERA leader Chris Young and the Padres, winning 7-6. Beltran went 3-3 with a homer and five RBIs, and a two-run rally in the ninth off Trevor Hoffman gave the Mets the victory. If Beltran can continue swinging at nearly this level, and if Carlos Delgado can play to his potential, the Mets will have a nearly unbeatable lineup to go along with their improved pitching staff.

Player of the Day: Garrett Anderson, Angels: 4-6, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs in an 18-9 win over the Yankees.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Brewers going down the drain


1. Collapse of the Brewers: The Milwaukee Brewers may still lead the division, but at the rate they’re going now, it won’t be for much longer. They lost 8-0 on Thursday to the Cardinals, their fourth loss in a row. Adam Wainwright had one of his best starts of the year for St. Louis, with seven scoreless innings and eight strikeouts. Catcher Yadier Molina pounded two homers, despite coming into the game with one the entire year. The Brewers were swept by the Cardinals, who are now only 2.5 games back. The Cubs haven’t been great recently either, but they trail by only a half game. The Brewers, who have been outscored this season, are only 4-10 in August, and it’s looking like they will give up their division lead in the near future.

2. Desert Dominance: Like the Brewers, the Diamondbacks have been outscored for the season. That is where the similarities end, however. Arizona has the National League’s best record at 69-53, and is 10-4 this month. They have a three game lead over the second place Padres in the division. The D-Backs wrapped up a series win over Florida with a 5-4 victory on Thursday. It was a typical win for them–decent but not great starting pitching, hitting that just gets the job done, and great work by the bullpen. Despite their 22-10 record since the All Star break, the Diamondbacks still haven’t been great statistically in that span. They’re batting .250 with a 4.23 team ERA since the break, in fact. Sooner or later, those poor statistics will catch up with them. For now, though, the Diamondbacks appear to be on cruise control.

3. The Showdown Begins: The Tigers and Yankees hadn’t seen each other all year before Thursday, but they are scheduled to play two four game series in two weeks. The Tigers won the first battle of the majors’ two highest-scoring teams, handing the Yankees their third straight loss. Detroit’s 8-5 win was fueled by six runs in the first two innings, including a grand slam by Carlos Guillen in the first. Justin Verlander pitched well enough for his 13th win. The Tigers and Yankees now have identical 67-54 records this year, with the Tigers a half game ahead in their division and the Yankees a half game behind in the wild card. The Yanks have dropped to 5.5 games back in the division thanks to two inexcusable losses to Baltimore earlier this week.

Player of the Day: Mark DeRosa, Cubs: 5-5, 4 RBIs in a 12-4 win over Cincinnati. DeRosa was one of three Cubs to put up at least four hits in this blowout.

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The Full Count: Tigers claim first place


1. The Rally for First: Once again the Detroit Tigers are the division leaders after beating Cleveland 6-2 in ten innings. They won thanks to four runs in the tenth off Indians closer Joe Borowski. Gary Sheffield started it off with an RBI single, then red-hot Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run homer. Ordonez has re-inserted himself into the AL MVP race with an unbelievable August. Ordonez has 6 homers and 20 RBI this month, both American League-leading totals. He also has a 1.363 OPS this month, which is first in the majors. Starter Jeremy Bonderman broke out of his slump in this one with 7 innings, 2 runs, and 8 strikeouts. It was Bonderman’s first quality start since July 19. The Tigers and Indians will play again tomorrow, then a three-game set next week.

2. Padre Power: The San Diego Padres gained a game on the Diamondbacks after pounding Colorado 8-0. They scored all their runs in the first four innings off Jeff Francis, including a 6-run second inning. Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a homer and three RBIs, and Morgan Ensberg added a long ball as well. Greg Maddux pitched five-plus shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 4.00. The Padres have now won two in a row compared to Arizona’s two straight losses, bringing them within two games in the divisional race. San Diego also leads the wild card by a game over Philadelphia.

3. You’re Outta Here: Yet another record was set on Tuesday. This one has been waiting almost two months to be broken. Bobby Cox, the Braves’ legendary manager, was ejected for the 132nd time in his career, breaking John McGraw’s major league record. He was tossed for arguing balls and strikes after Chipper Jones was struck out looking with the Braves trailing 3-0. The Braves rallied to win 5-4, ironically winning off Jones’ hit in the ninth. It was the first ejection for Cox since June 23, giving him 43 straight games without an ejection before this one. McGraw had been ejected 14 times as a player, so Cox already held the record for managers.

Player of the Day: Jack Cust, A’s: 2-3, 2 HRs (20), 3 RBIs in a 4-3 win over the White Sox. Cust has 12 RBIs in his last six games, and is on pace for 30 homers this season.

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The Full Count: What happened to the Dodgers’ bats?


1. Where’s the Offense?: The Dodgers won’t make the playoffs unless they start hitting the ball right now. They have scored 20 runs their last 11 games, going 2-9 in that span. Roy Oswalt shut them down on Monday, with eight innings, six hits, and one run in the Astros’ 4-1 win. With another loss the Dodgers fell to 6.5 games back in the NL West, a deficit that will be hard to make up with three teams ahead of them. The Dodgers rank 23rd in runs scored this season, 27th in homeruns, and 29th in runs since the All Star break. They are hitting .226 so far in the month of August. If the hitting doesn’t magically improve within the next couple of weeks, the one-time division favorites will be out of the picture.

2. The Mariners’ Magic: Given the tough league they’re in and the teams they’re competing against, the Seattle Mariners should not be tied for the wild card lead right now. But they are at the top along with the red-hot Yankees, despite having scored 130 fewer runs than the Yanks and allowed 15 more. Looking at the expanded standings, two things stand out. The Mariners have the best record in the league against lefty pitchers (22-8) and are among the best against losing teams (39-24). They won in both of those situations on Monday, as they faced lefty Johan Santana and the 58-60 Minnesota Twins. The Mariners blew a lead in the seventh inning, but then won off Richie Sexson’s walkoff homerun. They are 66-50 now with a 12-4 record in their last sixteen games. The Mariners are certainly the surprise team in the American League this year.

3. Another Record Down: On Sunday Placido Polanco tied the major league record for consecutive errorless games at second base. On Monday, he was perfect again, breaking what was a very impressive mark. Polanco is one of three perfect American Leaguers in the field this year (excluding pitchers), along with Kevin Youkilis and Ichiro Suzuki. Obviously, with second base being one of the toughest positions to field, Polanco has been far more impressive than the other two. However, the Tigers still lost on Monday, 7-2 to the A’s. Oakland pitcher Chad Gaudin ended a personal five-game losing streak and set a career-high in strikeouts with nine. The Tigers couldn’t get anything going, besides two more RBIs for Magglio Ordonez (104 on the year). They are tied with Cleveland, but that will change today as the two teams face each other.

Player of the Day: Tim Wakefield, Red Sox: 8 innings, two hits, no runs, six strikeouts in a 3-0 win over Tampa. Wakefield (14-10) has registered a decision in each of his 24 starts this season, which is approaching the top all-time in that category according to baseball-reference.com.

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The Full Count: The Evil Empire is within spittin distance


1. The Comeback Continues: The Yankees proved over the weekend that their recent success has not been a product of a weak schedule. They swept the Indians by a combined 22-6 score, knocking them out of first place. With New York’s 5-3 win on Sunday combined with the Red Sox’s loss, the Yankees drew within four games of Boston for the first time since April. Andy Pettitte pitched 7 excellent innings, and the offense backed him up in the victory. The Yanks now have a 24-8 record since the All Star break, which no other team in the majors is even close to. After an easy series against the Orioles, they will face a murderer’s row of a schedule, with two series against the Tigers and one against the Angels and Red Sox. If they play as they have recently, that series against Boston could send the Yankees to first place.

2. Back at the Top: The Detroit Tigers just finished their worst stretch so far this season, but after two wins in a row, they’re back in first. However, they shouldn’t get their hopes up. They slumped in the easier part of their schedule, and now in the next two weeks they will face Cleveland five times and the Yankees eight times. At least Detroit’s offense is back on track. They’ve scored 26 runs their last three games, including an 11-6 win on Sunday. Magglio Ordonez hit two homeruns in the second inning, in which the Tigers scored eight runs. Ordonez, who has five homers his last eight games, passed both the 20 homer and 100 RBI marks in the same game.

3. Ridiculous Records: In what has been a season filled with milestones and records, two extraordinary but under-publicized records were tied on Sunday. First off, Placido Polanco of the Tigers tied the major league record for consecutive games at second base without an error with 143. He tied Luis Castillo’s mark, which was set earlier this season. Polanco has not made an error since July 1, 2006, and his 104 errorless games this year at second are the new single-season mark. Another, even more amazing record was tied by Bobby Jenks of the White Sox. Jenks has retired 41 consecutive batters, breaking an American League record and tying the major league record. Jenks has 13 2/3 consecutive perfect innings, a simply mind-boggling total. If a starter had set this record, it would be receiving a lot more attention.

Player of the Day: Jeff Weaver, Mariners: 9 innings, no runs, 8 strikeouts in a 6-0 win over Chicago. Weaver’s ERA (5.64) is lower than it has been all season.

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The Full Count: Mariners take the lead


1. The New Wild Card Leaders: The Mariners just keep on winning, and that has put them above the Yankees and Tigers for the wild card lead in the American League. Seattle just swept the Orioles to improve to 63-49, one game above those other teams. They won the series with offense, with 31 total runs and a 13-8 win on Thursday. Ichiro went 3-6 with 3 RBIs and had three hits in every game of the series. Rookie Adam Jones also joined in the fun with 3 hits and 4 runs. Starter Horacio Ramirez won despite allowing seven runs and five walks in five innings. Ramirez is 7-3 on the year despite a 7.12 ERA. Seattle is still close to the Angels, at 2.5 back, though if they make the playoffs it’s more likely they would do so via the wild card. And if the season ended today, that’s exactly what would happen.

2. Willie Saves the Day: The Braves were about to blow another game against the Mets. With a 7-3 lead entering the ninth inning, they allowed a two-run homer to David Wright and another run that put the Mets within one. The Carlos Delgado came up and hit a shot to leftfield that would have been a game-tying homer, but Willie Harris stretched over the wall and made a magnificent catch. The catch saved the game for the Braves, and now they are 3.5 games back in the division and just a half-game back in the wild card race. They continued their dominance of the Mets this season, with an overall 8-4 series lead. Atlanta has won every series against the Mets 2-1 this year. Thursday’s win was also fueled by their potent offense, as Chipper Jones and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back homers in the fifth. The Braves are the third-highest scoring team in the NL, behind only the Phillies and Rockies.

3. What an Embarrassment: The Tigers were supposed to get back on track with a four-game home series against the pitiful Devil Rays. With a 2-0 series lead, they blew the last two games, keeping them behind in both the division and wild card races. Jeremy Bonderman allowed five or more runs for his fourth start in a row, with 7 runs in 6 innings. He lost all four of those starts, and is now 10-5 with a 4.75 ERA. Meanwhile, Scott Kazmir of the Devil Rays shut down the Tigers’ offense, with six scoreless innings and seven strikeouts. Kazmir is now 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA since the All Star break. Also hot on the D-Rays is Carl Crawford, who went 3-4 with a homer and has six straight multi-hit games. The Devil Rays, though, are still far and away the majors’ worst team.

Player of the Day: Jacque Jones, Cubs: 4-5, 4 RBIs in a 10-2 win over Colorado.

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The Full Count: WIld Card race is starting to matter


1. It’s Getting Wilder: Finally we have reached that point of the season where the wild card standings are starting to take shape. Right now, both leagues have wide-open chases, with the American League wild card being the closest. Three teams–the Tigers, Yankees, and Mariners–are separated by just one game. The Tigers ended their losing streak on Monday with a 6-4 win over the Devil Rays. The Yankees kept the heat on Detroit, remaining a half-game back with their fourth straight win. The Tigers are also within a half-game of division leader Cleveland, which means the Yankees might have to deal with the Indians in the wild card chase eventually. In the National League, an incredible six teams are separated by three games. San Diego is leading right now, with Atlanta a close second. The Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, and even the Rockies all are close as well. While last year’s wild card races weren’t very close in September, this year they should go right down to the finish.

2. The Cubs’ Bad Day: It was a bad day for Chicago baseball fans. First, Alfonso Soriano was put on the disabled list due to a tear in his quad. He is expected to miss almost a month of action because of the injury, which occurred while Soriano was running the bases in Sunday’s game against the Mets. To make things worse, the Cubs lost in extra innings to the pitiful Astros. One of Rich Hill’s better starts was ruined as backup catcher Eric Munson hit a game-winning single in the tenth. Houston closer Brad Lidge came off two poor outings to get the win, and starter Wandy Rodriguez continued his up-and-down season with a great effort. The Cubs are still only a game back of the Brewers for the division lead. However, the Cubs aren’t playing nearly as well as they were a couple weeks ago, and now they have lost one of their best offensive players for a while.

3. Who’s #1?: The best two teams in baseball, the Red Sox and the Angels, are playing a series in Anaheim this week. The Angels took the first game, 4-2, after Jered Weaver outpitched Curt Schilling. In Schilling’s return from the DL, he allowed four runs in six innings to raise his ERA to 4.31. Weaver, coming off two outings of six runs allowed, just gave up two as his ERA dipped back to 3.94. The Red Sox and Angels, with 68 and 65 wins respectively, are far and away the best two teams in the majors. They will meet in a couple of weeks for a four-game series at Boston, and there could also be a rematch in the playoffs.

Player of the Day: Paul Byrd, Indians: 9 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs in a 4-0 win over Minnesota. The 10-4 Byrd has the fewest walks among all MLB starters with just 16 in 135 innings this year.

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The Full Count: Milestone Weekend


1. Join the Club: The day after A-Rod’s 500th homer and Barry Bonds’ 755th, Tom Glavine reached yet another milestone. Glavine became the 23rd pitcher to reach the 300 win club, and only the 5th lefty. He joins Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux as the only players this decade to reach the mark. Glavine won his 300th like he won his first 299–by mixing pitches, being efficient, and using off-speed pitches effectively. Glavine has won ten or more games 18 of the last 19 seasons. He has 58 wins in five seasons with the Mets, with all his other wins coming in 16 years in Atlanta. The Hall of Fame lock went 6 and 1/3 innings against the Cubs, with two runs allowed and only one strikeout in an 8-3 win. Glavine even drove in a run for New York, which has the best record in the National League at 63-48. Contrary to widespread belief, Glavine will not be the last pitcher to reach 300 wins. However, it will likely be 10-15 years before another pitcher gets to 300.

2. The New Western Power: For most of this season, the Dodgers and Padres have dominated the NL West. But now, the balance of power in the division has changed tremendously with the Diamondbacks’ claiming of first place. They took the lead last week, then reinforced their position by taking 5 of 6 games from San Diego and Los Angeles in back-to-back series. The Dodgers were the victims over the weekend, with a sweep at the hands of Arizona. On Sunday Brandon Webb outdeuled Brad Penny in a 3-0 win for the D-backs. Webb tossed a complete-game shutout, giving him 23 straight scoreless innings. The defending Cy Young winner has suddenly become a candidate for the award this season as well, especially is he keeps up his post-All Star break pace. Penny lost his second start in a row after a 13-1 start. He allowed three runs in seven innings, and still has an excellent 2.66 ERA. The Dodgers, once the standard in the division, are now four games back. San Diego swept the Giants over the weekend and is just a half-game back.

3. Detroit’s Downfall: Not so long ago, the Tigers had the best record in the majors. But after a 2-11 stretch, they no longer even lead their division. The slump is mainly due to offense–they’ve averaged only 3.6 runs per game their last ten. The Yankees have passed them as the major league run leaders, and other teams aren’t far behind what was once the league’s dominant lineup. They were swept by the lowly White Sox this weekend, though thanks to poor play by the Indians, the Tigers are just a half-game back in their division. The Twins, at 4.5 games back, have played better than any team in the division recently.

Player of the Day: Scott Baker, Twins: 8 innings, 0 runs, 4 hits, 4 K’s in a 1-0 win over Cleveland.

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The Full Count: All-Star Game auditions


This isn’t Guys and Dolls, but if yesterday was an audition for All-Star pitchers to prove they’re worthy of starting next Tuesday in the Midsummer Classic, some passed with flying colors, while others just gave up big flys. And lots of them. Yesterday’s winners were Justin Verlander of the Tigers, Josh Beckett of the Red Sox and Jake Peavy of the Padres; while Brad Penny of the Dodgers and C.C. Sabathia of the Indians should have Leyland and LaRussa screaming “Next!” Verlander beat Sabathia head-to-head, going seven strong innings and striking out seven. Sabathia, on the other hand, was brutal, only lasting four innings and giving up three homers. Beckett dominated the D-Rays, but doesn’t everybody? Peavy, though, was a victim (again) of lack of run support, but still had a great outing going seven innings with 6 K. Penny, who has been the best pitcher in the National League, was a nightmare, lasting only four innings while giving up six runs in his worst outing of the year.

Maybe it’s the beer talking, but how pathetic is the NL Central? The Milwaukee Brewers were enjoying the most comfortable division lead outside of New England, but if they don’t improve their play on the road, they could be crying in their drinks come October. After losing three of four to the pathetic (if they improved) Pittsburgh Pirates, the Brewers road record stands at 18-24, worst of all the first place teams. Lucky for them, they’re 30-13 in the house of hops. It was a rough series for the Crew, as Ben Sheets and the staff couldn’t keep Adam LaRoche and Ryan Doumit in the yard. Those modern day Ruth and Gehrig clones combined for five HR and 10 RBI in the series. Even worse, star outfielder Billy Hall sprained his ankle trying to catch one of them. Hall is out indefinitely. Mmmmmmm….beer.

They like us! They really, really like us. As expected, starting pitcher Chris Young of the Padres and reliever Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox won the online voting for final roster spots on the All-Star team. Over the last few years, the race to be Mr. Irrelevant on the squad has taken on a life of its own. According to mlb.com, over 23 million votes were cast for ten players, with Young and Okajima winning with about 4.5 million each. Even more interesting is the campaigning that goes on for a guy who might not even get into the game. Brandon Webb’s hometown of Ashland, KY held “Vote for Brandon Webb” day and in Pittsburgh, the Pirates set up laptops in the PNC Park concourse so fans could cast an online ballot –or 25– for lefty Tom Gorzelanny. In the American league, Red Sox Nation proved again to be the most nerdy (and far reaching, as we’re sure all of Japan clicked on) as they voted a Sox player in for the third time in five years.

Player of the day: Mike Lowell, Red Sox 5 for 6, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R against the Devil Rays

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The Full Count: Chris Young makes his case

There is a possibility that there will be NO SOUP FOR YOU!! Every year there is that one All-Star snub that just baffles everyone. This year’s candidate has to be Padres pitcher Chris Young. Young will probably make the NL team, one way or the other. He can be voted in in the final online voting, which ends at 6 p.m. Eastern today, or he could replace an injured player, such as John Smoltz of the Braves. However, in last nights game against the Marlins, Young made the proverbial statement that he should’ve already freakin’ been there, LaRussa, with another stellar outing. Young went seven innings, allowing no runs while striking out nine. Like the proverbial broken record, he got a no decision for his effort. It was the seventh time Young has carried a shutout into the seventh inning this season, and the fourth in which he got no decision. In 17 starts, Young has allowed only 23 earned runs. Not to get all editorial after your July 4 hangover, but if the game is going to count as far as awarding home field advantage in the World Series, then managers Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland should be able to pick the best team available, and not be hamstrung by the every-team-must-be-represented rule.

Old Man River does it againThe Tigers snapped the Indians six-game winning streak 6-4, with the help of Kenny Rogers. Rogers won his third straight start since coming of the DL and kept the Tigers two games behind Cleveland in the Central and 1.5 games ahead of the Mariners for the Wild Card. Carlos Guillen led the offense by going 3 for 4 with a run-scoring triple. It was Rogers’ sixth straight win going back to last year’s postseason, and he has allowed only four earned runs this year.

I love New York, it’s the rest of the league that’s the problem. The Colorado Rockies became the first team since 1956 to sweep two New York teams in the same season. The Rock gave the Mets an old fashioned Coors enema, pounding out 20 hits and 17 runs and forcing Mets pitchers to throw 233 pitches (including 107 in 4 innings by El Duque Hernandez). The Rockies swept the Yankees three weeks ago, and outscored the Gothams 47-17 overall. Unfortunatley, they have no more games left against New York teams. Bye bye wild card hopes.

Player of the Day: Garrett Atkins, Rockies. 4 for 5, HR, 5 RBI and 2 runs scored in a 17-7 win over the Mets.