I'm going to have to put this loss to the Dodgers directly at the feet of starting pitcher Armando Galarraga. As solid as he was in his first start back in the bigs, Galarraga's latest outing was all too similar to those in 2009. He was totally and utterly ineffective.
A stat line of 6 runs, 5 earned, 8 hits, 2 home runs allowed (to Matt Kemp and Tiger killer Casey Blake) from your starting pitcher in 4.2 innings is not going to win many games. Worse, after the Tigers opened the game with a pair of runs, Galarraga immediately started giving the Dodgers back the runs, wasting a rare early lead.
Performances like this are why the Tigers must get Max Scherzer's mechanics sorted out ASAP.
Not needing to be sorted out is the Tigers' bullpen, as once again, they shut down the opposition bats. Fu-Te Ni and Joel Zumaya combined for 3.1 innings of shutout baseball. The pen has been an absolute wonder this season.
As for the offense, they almost pulled the game out late...coming up just short.
One man wrecking crew Brennan Boesch did his damnedest to make it a ballgame in the late innings. Boesch hit a solo shot to dead center in the 8th, then ripped a ground rule double in the 9th, getting the Tigers to within 6-4.
But once the Tigers get past the 5th batter in the order (in this case, Boesch), rallies tend to die.
Die it did.
.222 hitting Brandon Inge couldn't come through with men on 2nd and 3rd, as he struck out looking to end the game.
Different game, same story form the bottom of the lineup.
It was nice to see Boesch play so well in front of his friends and family. FOX showed their celebrating (with a few Dodger fans joining in) after he went yard in the 8th.
Jim Leyland could be questioned as to why he let Galarraga, who was visibly struggling on the mound, bat for himself in the top of 4th inning, after back to back singles from Gerald Laird and Adam Everett (something we'll never see again in our lifetimes) with 2 out. The decision blew up, as Galarraga grounded out to 2nd to end the threat, then gave up 3 more runs in the bottom of the 4th. I really hate the lack of a DH in NL parks.
I really, really hate Casey Blake. His 9th inning diving stop, turning what looked to be a Miguel Cabrera run scoring single into a fielder's choice and the 2nd out, was a big reason a comeback wasn't in the cards.Good thing Blake is no longer in the AL, where he would torture the Tigers far too often.
Carlos Guillen played his first game with the Mud Hens tonight, as both his injury rehab and acclimation with playing 2nd base began in earnest. Guillen was 0-3, with 2 strike outs and a run scored. On the plus side? No errors, broken bones or muscle tears!
Sparky Anderson visited his old team this afternoon, and talked about Tom Brookens having potential as a big league manager, saying...
"You walk down that road, and most people in baseball don't understand the road."
The old manager hasn't changed a bit, still obtuse as ever! Even at 76 years of age, Sparky turns speaking to the media into an art form.