Everybody needs to get away from home once in a while. Hit the road, try something different, shake up the routine a bit. Maybe that's all the Detroit Tigers needed after 10 days at home.
After a two-game slumber, the Tigers bats roared back awake and pummeled the Royals' pitching staff like a dirty rug. In Gil Meche's case, maybe you could blame some of his performance on what appears to be a still wonky back. He's pitched pretty well against the Tigers. But Detroit still hung another nine runs on three other Kansas City pitchers. (Perhaps they spared Roman Colon on account of him being a former Tiger.)
To steal a line from The Daily Fungo on Twitter, perhaps the Tigers thought the Royals - with their red hats, powder blue jerseys, and white pants today - looked like Bomb Pops and acted accordingly. Everyone in a Tigers uniform who had an at-bat got a hit. Rockets away!
Justin Verlander, meanwhile, continued his dominance over the Royals. In 11 career starts vs. K.C., seven of which have been at Kauffman Stadium, he's only lost once. This afternoon, he pitched effectively and efficiently, going seven innings and allowing no runs on five hits, with eight strikeouts. All in 96 pitches. And the lineup made sure that effort wasn't wasted.
Roar:
Fans have the option of voting for every Tiger on the All-Star ballot, obviously. If you had to choose just one, however, Detroit's top candidates each made a good case today.
Of course, Verlander pitched well, as mentioned. But Miguel Cabrera had an outstanding day at the plate, going 4-for-6, with three RBIs and two runs scored. Brandon Inge had a 3-for-6 day of his own, with two RBIs that really broke the game open in the third inning. And Curtis Granderson broke out of his slump (1-for-19 in his last five games) with a 3-for-5 performance.
But if you were wearing a Tigers uniform today, and you had an at-bat, you got a hit. How about a collective roar?
Comment of the Day:
by wepri31I’m going to start wearing my Miggy shirt more often if this is how he hits on the days I do.
And here's how the AL Central looks, after the first-place team beat the second-place team: