This one wasn't looking good for the Detroit Tigers all day. Events conspired, shall we say.
Tonight's scheduled starter, Armando Galarraga, came down with a flu bug yesterday. The pitcher who probably would've started in his place, Chris Lambert, was not only used last night when Rick Porcello was ejected. But he was so terrible that he was sent back to the minors immediately after the game.
As a result, there was talk that Galarraga would try to tough it out and make his scheduled start, but about three hours before game time, he was scratched due to a severe sore throat. Enter Zach Miner, who pitched two innings on Monday night.
Considering the presumably spontaneous nature of his spot start, Miner actually didn't pitch that badly. No, he wasn't great. But he was also one out away from giving up three runs in five innings, which is a respectable performance. Oh, that third out can be so important.
David Ortiz singled, putting two runners on for the Red Sox. That ended Miner's night, and brought in Freddy Dolsi, who proceeded to do an excellent Aquilino Lopez imitation. The next five Boston batters reached base, thanks to two singles, two walks, and an error by Brandon Inge. Five Red Sox runs scored (one of them on a passed ball), turning a two-run margin into a seven-run deficit.
The joke of it all is that Dolsi was only charged with one earned run, since two of those baserunners belonged to Miner and one of those runs scored on Inge's error. Dolsi gave up three hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. (Okay, he was squeezed badly for one of those walks.) Seriously, this is the best pitcher the Tigers could call up from Toledo to replace Lambert?
Oh, and did we mention Josh Beckett allowed only three Detroit hits in seven innings? The Tigers didn't get their first hit (a Carlos Guillen homer) until the fifth, either. Yep, it was just that kind of night.
Comment of the Night:
Lowell with another bomb??
Can we let Youkilis back in the game?
by ahtrap