I feel like tonight's recap could almost be a recap of last night's.  Two previously injured and slumping batters continued their resurgence.  And a struggling starting pitcher threw the sort of game that should hush any questions and doubts.

Not that this game played out in exactly the same way.  For one thing, Jeremy Bonderman pitched deeper into the game than Kenny Rogers did last night, giving the bullpen a break on a night when they were one reliever short (thanks to the Jason Grilli trade).  And he did it throwing 10 fewer pitches than he did in 4 2/3 innings last week. 

But ¿quien es mas macho?  Bondo or Placido Polanco?  Could the Tigers really lose a game in which a guy not known for his power hit two home runs?  And in a ballpark whose dimensions make it tougher for right-handed hitters to reach the seats?  Had I not watched the game, I'm not sure I would've believed the box score.  Along came Polly, jacking two pitches over the left field fence.  Do we think this guy's slump is over?  Polanco's hit 6-for-10 against Yankees pitching the last two nights.

Others Who Get to Roar:

• Is Clay Rapada the team's new designated left-handed reliever?  Taking over for Bonderman at the end of the eighth inning, Rapada retired all four hitters he faced, all of them batting lefty.  And he even ended the game with authority, striking out Melky Cabrera.
• Marcus Thames just hasn't played this much this season, totaling 33 at-bats coming into tonight's game.  But he tends to make it count when he's in the lineup, and his two-run homer in the fifth gave the Tigers a lead they kept the rest of the night.  Thames' two home runs this season have been hit in Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, respectively.
• There's been a lot of talk about how comfortable Miguel Cabrera looks at first base, and he made three nice picks in the dirt tonight, saving throws by Rapada and Carlos Guillen to get outs.
• That Curtis Granderson (one walk, one double) sure is good, ain't he?

Remember what you thought the Detroit Tigers might look like before Spring Training began?  Remember that buzz of anticipation you had in your chest, waiting to see this team play?  This lineup was going to knock the ball all over the field and out of the park.  And on most nights, quality starting pitching would keep the other team in check before handing it over to a dependable, albeit not spectacular, bullpen. 

Yes, it was just one game and the Tigers still need to prove they can put a consistent streak together.  But tonight, that vision was almost realized.  Any lingering worries about Placido Polanco could be put to rest with his 4-for-5 night.  And maybe we should still worry about Gary Sheffield, but he showed what he's still capable of and why Jim Leyland keeps him in the lineup with a decisive two-run homer.  Curtis Granderson also provided another reminder of just how much this team missed him, batting 2-for-3 and crushing a ball over the center field fence.

But the guy who may have settled the most fears and temporarily shut down the talk that he was toast was Kenny Rogers.  No, he didn't face the regular Yankees lineup, with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada sitting out.  And with four walks, Rogers wasn't exactly dominant.  But he was certainly good enough, giving up two runs in six innings.  That, combined with the way the Tigers hit tonight, will lead to plenty of wins this season.

Yes, even when Todd Jones closes a game as only he can, allowing the first two hitters he faced to reach base, throwing a wild pitch, giving up a run, and generally making the ninth inning far more anxiety-inducing than it needed to be.  Just bite down on something soft and it goes away soon enough.

Walking the Bases Loaded is No Way to Get Through Life, Son

Not everything was clicking, however, as Denny Bautista did his best to walk the Yankees into tying the game.  After Bobby Seay gave the Tigers a scoreless seventh inning, Bautista walked Shelley Duncan to begin the eighth.  It didn't look like that walk would haunt him when he got the next two batters out, but then Bautista lost control, figuratively and literally.  Suddenly, all of his pitches veered way outside to the left-handers and far inside to the righties.  Bautista walked the next two hitters to load the bases, and then hit Derek Jeter to walk in a run.

Leyland got Bautista out of there before he could completely melt down, bringing in Clay Rapada to do what he apparently does best: get out left-handed batters - in this case, Bobby Abreu. 

It's surely unfair to penalize Bautista for allowing runs in two straight appearances, but that's a way to lose Leyland's confidence fast.  And with Francisco Cruceta almost certain to join the Tigers soon, Bautista might want to start pitching better if he wants to hold onto that eighth inning set-up role.

After last night's Grilli-esque (which is almost an insult to Jason Grilli) eighth inning, Yorman Bazardo might have already packed his bags for Toledo.  If not, he's probably the only one who didn't think he would be sent down to the minors.  The Detroit Tigers designated Bazardo for assignment this afternoon, and he'll hand his roster baton to Clay Rapada, who comes up from the Mud Hens.  This gives Jim Leyland the second left-handed reliever he's wanted since Tim Byrdak was released.

Maybe it's the impending NFL Draft that makes me want to use the word "upside," but I think there was definite hope and curiosity from both the Tigers and fans about Bazardo's talents, and his ability to contribute to a bullpen in need of good stuff.  He had a rough spring, coping with the death of his father and nursing some tightness in his forearm. But if Byrdak hadn't been released and Francisco Cruceta's visa not kept him in the Dominican Republic, Bazardo probably would've begun the season in Toledo, anyway.

My theory, of course, is that "Bazardo" sounds just a little bit too much like Bizarro, whom we all know as one of Superman's arch-enemies.  Bizarro is known for doing everything the opposite as we would do it, saying goodbye instead of hello, or "me hate you" when he means "I love you."  So I think this was Bazardo's way of pitching well.  It's the way he was taught on the Bizarro World.

Me am Bazardo!  Me have bad game to Red Sox and make Tigers lose!  Bazardo am sad with lack of success!

Oh, I was just waiting to make that joke again this season.  And I regret that I probably won't be able to anymore.

(via The Detroit TIgers Weblog)

UPDATE:  Aaron Fultz apparently didn't like that Rapada got the nod over him.  After Rapada got the call up to Detroit, Fultz asked for his unconditional release.  Fultz looked like the guy who would replace Tim Byrdak in the Tigers' bullpen after he signed with the organization.  Four walks in 5 2/3 innings might have changed that opinion.

Whatever bad juju the Detroit Tigers seem to have picked up at the beginning of this season may have found its way down I-75 to the top farm club, as well.  Pitcher Macay McBride, whom the Tigers were converting from reliever to starter, left last night's game against the Durham Bulls after the first inning with pain in his elbow.  And today, the Mud Hens placed him on the 15-day disabled list. 

The Freep's Jon Paul Morosi reports that McBride will undergo a MRI exam today or tomorrow in Detroit to determine the extent of the damage.

One possible bit of good news from the game, however, was reliever Clay Rapada pitching three hitless innings (striking out three batters in the process).  Rapada dealt with his own injury troubles during the spring, nursing a sore shoulder.  In just 1/3 of an inning, he allowed two hits and two walks.