Justin Verlander, Jose Valverde reach milestones as Tigers finally beat Indians
by Kurt Mensching on Aug 11, 2011 10:46 PM EDT
in Detroit Tigers News
Email
PrintKEY MILESTONES
Justin Verlander earned the 100th win of his career -- 17th of the season to lead the MLB if you like that sort of thing.
Jayson Stark on Twitter noted: Besides winning his 100th, Verlander up to five 17-win seasons by age 28. Only others to do it in last 30 yrs: Roger Clemens & Dwight Gooden
Papa Grande Jose Valverde recorded his 33rd consecutive save, passing the 32 recorded by "Willie" Hernandez in 1984.
KEY STAT
Justin Verlander, 7 innings, 3 runs, 10 strikeouts. Not a lot of stats stood out, but there's seldom a game where Verlander doesn't have the gaudy ones.
KEY PLAY
Austin Jackson dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt successfully for the game-winning run. Sure it came in the second inning, but those are always cool. Runner-up: Austin Jackson had another great catch at the wall. This actually has a video to link to.
KEY THOUGHTS
Contrary to popular opinion, this wasn't a must-win game. What are we watching, the NFL in December? It was a "I'd feel a hell of a lot better if they won" game, to be sure. But a must? No. Get your football out of my baseball. The Tigers needed this. It was probably the biggest game of the season so far in 2011. But they didn't need this, you know? There will be bigger games to come. Anyway, Justin Verlander was on the mound. So they were going to win.
Speaking of Verlander, this marked the second start he wasn't especially sharp. Fortunately that's better than most pitchers on most days. Also, fortunately, it was better than Fausto Carmona's first two innings. Those were pretty awful. Detroit scored all four runs. Then Carmona shut them down pretty well and stayed in the game through seven innings. Not an unfamiliar plot.
Jim Leyland's decision to pull Verlander after seven wasn't awful. I know, he's Verlander. But Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde are pretty good at protecting leads, too. They worked a smooth 1-2-3-4-5-6 final two frames without stress. So it was fine.
A Jim Leyland quote about holding his breath on the suicide squeeze, via CBSSports' Danny Knobler on Twitter:
"I think some people wish I would hold it for a long time."
Next time the teams meet, it will be in Detroit. Win that series 2-1 and everything is even-steven.
49 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Biggest win of the season
JV’s 100th career win
Valverde’s 33rd consecutive save
13 game streak over
and the suddenly resurgent Indians are slapped down in their yard.
They were .388 since May 23rd starting this series, but they just won’t die!
Gotta just kill em our selves.
Nice win. Nice hold for Benoit. Nice save.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
hoping for them and the white sox to kind of cancel each other out
of course the tigers have to play better than 500 during that time
by Kurt Mensching on Aug 11, 2011 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions
they'll eventually go away
i’m still betting they finish below .500 and Chicago will be the biggest threat. it’s Detroit’s division to lose.
[insert signature here]
by Mark in Chicago on Aug 11, 2011 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Even before this series I said that they just needed one
And they got that one. Get 2 of 3 in Baltimore and it’s a road trip above .500.
better have a winning road trip,
these are probably the 3 weakest teams in the American League. After Verlander and Scherzer I am not optimistic. The rotation 3,4 and 5 are coming off bad outtings. A 3.38 ERA in Seattle needs a run added for Detroit. As for the Offense; Guillen and Ordonez are slumping, Caberra is relatively cold (probably worried about the court date), Martinez is dinged up with Adam Everett like power, and Boesch is out. Casper Wells is getting the job done…for Seattle.
Chicago is hot as usual this time of year, and Ozzie needs a contract. Wonder if JL is missing his wife in Pittsburg? Even with the win tonight, i am disappointed with the play.
"Always 1984"
by Hack Johnson on Aug 11, 2011 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions
the indians are one of the three worst teams in the AL?
by Kurt Mensching on Aug 11, 2011 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Remember Kurt,
he did support Grosberg often.
"What's a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?" the Waco Kid
by 77bestrookieclassever on Aug 12, 2011 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Requesting Banhammer.
Thank you for your consideration.
by rook34 on Aug 12, 2011 12:01 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Cabrera is cold?
If you’re going to throw at statements that aren’t true please support it with SOME type of fact.
I guess that sentence doesn’t really make sense… Kind of like half of your paragraph.
He who laughs last didn't get it.
Over the last 24 games
Cabrera’s line is .323/.374/.525
Over the past week he’s .348/.348/.565
If that’s relatively cold, I’d love to see what warm to hot looks like.
I'm more concerned about Boesch
.211 .283 .389 .672 since the break. BB has been a big key to the Tiger offense. If he pulls a fading act like last season, that leaves a big hole in the offense.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
Boesch, Maggs, Guillen
That’s a lot of power we’re hoping comes back.
Maggs and Guillen have been AWOL at the plate recently and there comes a point where we have to start considering Raburn1, Dirks or even Rhymes2 as more-regular offensive and even defensive upgrades.3
While I still support the trade with Seattle, this is a situation where I wouldn’t mind having Casper to slot into right field on a more regular basis.4 I like Dirks, but he’s not an answer to anything but a very, very specific set of questions.
I’m hoping, for no rational reason, that the process of recovering from Boesch’s thumb injury helps him break out of his second-half slump. But you’re right, if he becomes a second-half wilter again maybe we start considering a sort of season platoon in left field with Boesch playing the first half and Raburn playing the second half.
1 – I never, ever thought I’d type this
2 – Or this
3 – Yes, I know that Dirks and Rhymes and Kelly and the like are not everyday MLB players. However, at this point, neither are Maggs and Guillen apparently, so we have to go with what we’ve got.
4 – Pause for wail of sadness from Houston. I love that Alli sponsors his page on Baseball Reference.
I've given up looking for power from Maggs and los Carlos
With the uncertainty surrounding BB after last season, the Tigers signed Maggs to a one year deal to be the No. 3 hitter. He hasn’t been a legit 3 hitter all season. This time, the power outage looks like it’s permanent. The most we can hope for from either of our fading stars is some timely hitting down the stretch. In truth, they’re not every day players if there was anyone remotely capable of filling their roles in the organization. But there isn’t. (Free Timo Perez?) I don’t see the Tigers sending any infielders down the rest of this year. Rhymes and/ or Worth may get a call on 9/1 and Inge is sure to return by then. It is what it is, and it ain’t what it ain’t. Just keep an eye on Boesch down the stretch and see if first half BB returns. If not, we’ll need another 3 hitter in the winter, and we’re in trouble in the mean time.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
hopefully
Guillen’s BABIP is this low because of bad luck and not because he is old, and slow. Judging from the swings he has taken I am leaning toward the latter. His IFFB% and GB% is really high, and his LD% is pretty low compared to career averages. This may just be the Carlos we have now as he just doesn’t seem to be able to catch a fastball. Pitch type values support this assessment as his wFB has dropped precipitously over the last few years. A guy with his skill set cant succeed putting half his balls in play on the ground. I am bracing myself to be one of the very few voices in support of giving Rhymes PT when he comes back up (under the assumption that he does get the call)
He was talking about Caberra
Which I’m assuming is Canberra, Australia without the ‘n.’ Considering it is winter in the southern hemisphere right now, Canberra probably would be pretty cold. Typos happen.
by Rob Rogacki on Aug 12, 2011 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Going to be a tight battle all the way to the end.
But I’d rather have our guys and our schedule than the other two teams, for what it’s worth.
Not sure I’d rather have this panicking fan base and media, though. Seems an awful lot of people are actually cheering for another collapse out of spite for the extensions.
Lose two out of three in Cleveland
And jump on a plane to Baltimore with a 3 game lead in the central….like Kurt said; not a must win, but a really awesome victory. Definitely still voting a strong 80% in the poll.
God ain't got no use for a 180 lb bag of sugar.
first place is first place
So stfu and enjoy a first place team…
by BeardedPlayoffJesus19 on Aug 12, 2011 12:18 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 3 recs
by and inch or a mile..
how do you spell smooth? For me its V-E-R-L-A-N-D-E-R
The normal make a living, the deranged make history.
by sactwnsteelr on Aug 12, 2011 1:12 AM EDT up reply actions
this a million times
"I'm a simple man. I like pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast food" - Ron Swanson
by rock n rye on Aug 12, 2011 9:24 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Verlander is like our security blanket.
Not another pitcher like him in our division.
The Tigers have a team that’s capable of winning the next 9 games in a row.
Verlander
Isn’t it time for Verlander to enter not just the Cy Young conversation, but also the MVP one? I know the arguments about only everyday players should be the MVP but – Name another player who carries his team on his back like JV.
Like to hear everyone’s thoughts on this
Im not saying I disagree
But I think it’s almost set in stone that pitchers win Cy Youngs and hitters win MVPs. For a pitcher to win the MVP, he would have to have crazy good numbers. I’m thinking a 1.45 ERA or less combined with at least 30 wins would get pitchers the MVP, but even then, voters might still vote for the best hitter.
"Goaltending is a normal job, sure. How would you like it in your job if every time you made a small mistake, a red light went on over your desk and 15,000 people stood up and yelled at you."
-Jacques Plante
by DetroitSports on Aug 12, 2011 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions
For what it's worth
Remember Willie Hernandez won the Cy Young and AL MVP in ’84 (32 SV, 1.92 ERA).
Clemens won both in ’86 (24-4, 2.48 ERA), Eckersley both in ’92 (58 SV, 1.91 ERA). No NL pitcher has won the MVP since Gibson in ’68 (22-9, 1.12 ERA).
Right, and
you would need a year when hitters are really failing, clearly not the case this year. You can make a case for three Red Sox alone.
No way a pitcher gets the MVP
"i think it will be mostly feast the rest of the year,"
The "stopper"
don’t hear that term as much any more these days, but JV stops a losing streak like no other pitcher.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
hats off to leyland
He gets a lot of slack, but it was a great move to move him up in the rotation and pitch yesterday against Cleveland.
Holy Cow
The rare, nice-move-Leyland post. I thought it was extinct in these parts.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
I like that move, big time.
But JL won’t be skipping anyone to get JV in the rotation for the next series vs Cleveland. He’ll get an extra day off due to the off day on the 18th, and JV will not be pitching against the Indians next weekend in Detroit.
The Tigers have five total series against Chicago and Cleveland left on the schedule. Barring any further changes, JV will miss the next Cleveland series, miss the first series at home vs Chicago, pitch one game in the next series in Cleveland, open the series in Chicago, and be on schedule to pitch the last game of the season at home vs Cleveland. Hopefully, he’ll get that day off so he can pitch the opener of the LDS!
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
Verlander getting half a ball is justifiable
considering that’s all the hitters seem to get when he’s pitching
God ain't got no use for a 180 lb bag of sugar.
If anyone happens to run into any mouth-breathing
MLiver’s in their daily life herp-derping about the Tigers not playing well and collapsing.
6-4, 11-9, 17-13, which is the Tigers record in the last 10, 20 and 30 games respectively.
Then combine those records with these numbers:
5-5, 7-13, 12-18 and 6-4, 11-9, 15-15 – which is the records of the Tribe and White Sox in those same time periods.
So, exactly when is this “BIG RUN” that the White Sox have supposedly been due to go on for the last 2 months going to come?
Sox have won 6 of their last 7.
And are opening up at home vs. KC today. A legitimate shot to go 9-1 in 10 games. The Tigers just have to keep pace and Chicago will cool down at some point.
I hate Jonathon Ericsson.
I like our chances against Baltimore
God ain't got no use for a 180 lb bag of sugar.
Sox struggle at home
they actually have a better road record, so hopefully that continues and KC takes 2 of 3.
[insert signature here]
by Mark in Chicago on Aug 12, 2011 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
KC isn't playing badly either
God ain't got no use for a 180 lb bag of sugar.
Some Tigers Musings --
I really disagreed with that squeeze play, although it worked and, in fact, won the game for them. Why send Avilla? He is slow and I think beat up already. Why risk injury to any of our big, great but slow, players? Especially Avilla. If he gets hurt, we don’t have a catcher (Kelly for that game and then have to call someone up, I bet, as VMart cannot catch righ now). Bad play, even though it worked.
If Ron W. says “slow the game down” one more time…
He didn’t do it yesterday, but I’ve heard it enough.
Pauley is looking like Purcey.
Why haven’t they been playing Betemit? They finally did last night. He is a big upgrade. He has done okay (far from great, but not bad) defensively and he can hit.
Mel
In that case, why do they even let him play.
Every activity in baseball is an injury risk. Should we pinch run for him every time he gets on base?
And Avila is really not that slow.
Our first three batters all have miserable BAs, such that Miguel almost always comes up with no one on base. Note the low (for him) RBI’s this late in the season. Note also that he seldom hits HRs now and when he does there is generally no one on base. Why not change the order; e.g., Betemit first (nice BA), then Jackson (he can bunt to advance runners), then Cabrera followed by Martinez, Peralta and Avila. I would lower Odonez and Guillen in the order and not play them regularly. The current lineup has five low 200 hitters…
actually
Cabrera comes up to bat with runners on base more than any other Tiger, and 11th most in the MLB. Now VMart comes up to bat with runners on second or third more often, but he’s the only one.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/sortable/index.php?cid=1043327
You’re correct in saying Cabrera had more opportunities last year. He actually had the 5th most in the majors. None of the four players who had more opportunities in 2010 have had more opportunities in 2011.
by Kurt Mensching on Aug 12, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
there you go again
pointing out actual facts, what are all the people to want to “feel” like we suck supposed to do?
Passan's on a role
He wrote a nice article yesterday too where he was looking at the CY race using about 10 or 15 different angles. Pretty thorough and he came up with Verlander, easily. He also actually suggested that JV is begging to deserve some MVP votes.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
Yep....that really was a well-written piece yesterday.
Yahoo Sports is turning inot a real solid site. They’ve broken a number of big stories in the past few years and I like a few of theiir columnists.
"i think it will be mostly feast the rest of the year,"
Passan is a dbag
i don’t think I can ever take him seriously again after the article he wrote when Miggy got his DUI.
God ain't got no use for a 180 lb bag of sugar.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bless You Boys
Related FanShots on Bless You Boys
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Keeping good company: Albert Pujols becomes fourth-youngest player to hit 450 home runs
- Giancarlo Stanton misses cutoff man, and Logan Morrison is thankful he did (Video)
- Snoop Dogg delivers memorable first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field
- The Juice: Mesoraco’s grand slam helps Reds complete four-game sweep of Braves
- Please hold: Indians’ Joe Smith jumps the gun on relief appearance
