Courtesy of Fangraphs
Just as Ian expressed in his post earlier today, we will be attempting to post a WPA chart, such as the one above, after each Tigers' game throughout this season. If you're unsure about what is going on in the above image, please feel free to refer to this link, which is a trusted info source used by both Amazin' Avenue and Lookout Landing -- two SB Nation sites that use these charts in all of their post-game stories.
It's tough to really pay attention to a baseball game when you're at work and watching little circles represent 1.) where the pitches were thrown, 2.) runners on base and 3.) where the ball was hit. While I do appreciate a good gamecast every now and then, it does not hold a candle to actually watching the game on my trusted MLB.tv. Unfortunately for me, the workplace does not appreciate streaming video on the network. Ugh.
Good win today for the Tigers, who were trying to bounce back from last night's whoopin' at the hands of the Mariners. They were beat in every category of the game last evening to end their previous eight-game winning streak, so taking the series today was a big plus.
Earned His Tiger Stripes: Ordonez - 2-4, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 R
A Few Random Things:
- Mike Rabelo got the start in the place of Pudge this afternoon -- picking up his first multi-hit game of his Major League career as well as his first RBI. He also pushed his batting average to a monstrous .185 from his previous number of .087.
- Brandon Inge hit his fifth homer of the season this afternoon, joining Ordonez, Gary Sheffield and Curtis Granderson as Tigers with five or more longballs. Over the past few seasons we've seen no single Tiger as the "power-hitter" of the bunch; It looks like we'll be once again seeing several guys on this team hit a good number of homers.
- Justin Verlander picked up his second straight winning decision today after only earning one win in his first five starts.
- Magglio Ordonez picked up his 30th RBI of the season today with his two-run blast in the first inning. His OPS now sits at 1.062. He's just having a great season right now, and the guys in front of him in the lineup are sure helping the cause.
- The Tigers will face Johan Santana tomorrow night in Minneapolis. The last time they took on the Twins' lefty the Tigers had eight hits and three runs in six innings -- winning the game on an Inge walkoff homer. It's never easy to face this guy, so Mike Maroth better have his best stuff.