Thundersticks! Tigers 14, Athletics 1

Clearly, Joe Crede's grand slam on Wednesday night left an impression on the Detroit Tigers.  It looked so nice, they decided to do it twice. 

Ryan Raburn smacked a grand slam in the first inning, and Brandon Inge hit another one in the sixth, giving Edwin Jackson far more run support than he needed.  (Though I'm sure he loved it, considering how few runs have been scored for him this season). 

Jackson pitched what's becoming a typical game for him, going seven innings - three of which were thrown after a one-hour-plus rain delay - and giving up just one run on six hits.  He also had six strikeouts with no walks.  (Actually, Tigers pitching didn't issue a single walk tonight.) 

The Tigers were also aided by a generous Oakland defense, who apparently don't like dealing with wet baseballs.  As Jason Beck posted on Twitter, the A's erred for the cycle, with every infield position booting a play.  Brett Anderson, therefore, was only charged with three earned runs, which might be the most curious stat of the night.

Nothing like some runs and some rain to wash away any lingering bad feelings from that series in Minnesota, eh?

Roar:

RBI numbers are going to look good any time you hit a grand slam, so both Raburn and Inge had some impressive numbers in that column, finishing with five apiece.  Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez also both collected three hits for the night.

And can we now officially stop worrying about Maggs?  He's gotten hits in six straight games, going 9-for-22 (.409) and raising his average from .225 to .258.  Still not where we'd all like it to be, obviously, but it feels like he's beginning to heat up.

Comment of the Night:

God, you gotta love lousy pitching sometimes!

by densogirl