Anybody else need to take a long drag on an oxygen tank after that one?  No?  Then a cigarette, perhaps?  Hoo, baby.  Trying to describe everything that happened in this game could take 2,000 words and I'm not sure I have it in me after going from a warm, fuzzy feeling to gut punch nauseous to hug and kiss anyone nearby. 

The sickening gut punch came from Francisco Cruceta who gave up a game-tying, three-run homer to Mike Lowell, turning a sure win into possible tears-inducing loss.  Will it be a while before Cruceta gets to put on his cape again in a key late-inning situation?  Well... Jim Leyland doesn't exactly have a bunch of other guys he can trust right now.  Cruceta will probably be out there again soon.

Actual vomiting may have been induced by Leyland's decision to send Magglio Ordonez running on contact in the eighth inning when the Tigers had men on first and second with one out against Hideki Okajima.  Gary Sheffield neglected to contribute the contact part of the equation and Maggs was mowed down at third for a seemingly morale-crushing double play. 

With the Red Sox having a closer that hadn't blown a save so far this season, it looked like game over, and one seriously bleak 20-hour wait until Thursday night's series finale.  Fortunately for the Tigers, Julio Lugo apparently didn't get the memo.  Even watching on TV, you could feel the air go out of Comerica Park when Edgar Renteria hit a ground ball to Lugo in the ninth inning for what looked like a sure double play ball.

Except Lugo muffed it, giving the Tigers a chance they probably never thought they'd see.  And this time, they pounced on it, moving runners along and driving them in.  Lugo was involved in the final play, as well, with Placido Polanco (who gets The Big Roar with a 5-for-6 night) blooping a broken-batted ball just over his outstretched glove to score Renteria - the runner who never should've reached base to begin with.

Let's go over that ninth inning again, in case you just joined us.  Check-swing bouncer, error, sacrifice bunt, ground-out, broken-bat blooper.  Tigers win.  Tigers win!

Anyone else need some Dramamine?  Whew!

Roll Call

We had a great GameThread tonight, with so many ups and downs.  But these are the men who rode it out.  It's always so much more fun when it's for a winning cause.

Thanks to pfuhrmeister, Germantiger, Zappatista, Fats Fothergill, Tony K, spotstarters, Grant E., Matt in Toledo, miggy4mvp, MackAveKurt, BigAl, rock n rye, ThaWalrus9, SonOfGibby, and Tigsfan, all of whom helped us through suffering and celebration in solidarity.

Clay Buchholz (2-2, 3.71) vs. Armando Galarraga (2-1, 1.88)

Do you think a rainy afternoon in the metro Detroit area compelled Tigers hitters to sit by their window, look outside, and ponder the ineptness of their recent play while the quiet pitter-patter of the raindrops brought them introspection and peace?  Even better, perhaps they contemplated the sound of bat hitting baseball, as opposed to one hand clapping. 

One more loss, and the Tigers will be at that seven-games-below-.500 mark that had all of us shaking our fists at the sky, standing on ledges, and ready to kick small animals.  (Or was that just me?  I can never tell.)

The new, shiny coat of paint that had been Armando Galarraga's first three starts with the Tigers showed some drying and chipping Friday night in Minnesota.  He was bound to give up some runs eventually, and the Twins finally hung four runs on him in six innings.  As has been the problem ever since leaving Yankee Stadium triumphant, however, Galarraga could rightly file for a lack of run support.  His lineup just didn't give him any help. 

On the other side, Clay Buchholz has been fantastic for the Red Sox since getting stomped for seven runs by the Yankees three weeks ago in the Bronx.  In his subsequent three starts, Buchholz has only given up three total runs, while striking out 21 batters in 19 1/3 innings.  That game against the Yankees, by the way, was the only time Buchholz has given up more than three runs in a start this season.  Doesn't he sound like just the sort of pitcher you want to see the Tigers face right now?  Blurgh.

Short Hops:

• The designated hitter wheel of fortune chooses Matt Joyce this evening.
  
• Over at Tiger Tales, Lee analyzes the idea of "pitching to the score."
• Galarraga is one of the candidates for the new MLB Rookie of the Month award.
• Somebody give The Spot Starters' Blake a cool towel for his forehead, after researching the many ways in which the Tigers have stunk in the first five weeks of the season.