BOX
KEY STAT
Brayan Villarreal, 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 K
KEY PLAY
Brandon Inge hits a solo HR to win the game in the ninth inning
KEY THOUGHTS
Two walk-off wins in two days? Very nice! Thanks to that, Jose Valverde now has two wins to lead the team. He also has two saves to lead the team. Ah, first-month leaderboards.
Also this is the longest winning streak of the season for Detroit. And the only winning streak of the season, at two.
Brayan Villarreal's appearance was definitely key. He bridged the gap between the starting pitcher and the best of the bullpen nicely. His appearances have mostly fared well, which is a great relief after the seventh inning problems the team had earlier in the season.
Max Scherzer continues to build a bit of momentum. Six innings, two runs and seven strikeouts is a pretty good appearance in April. You'd like him to be able to go deeper into the game, but the Rangers are no slouches and he walked just two.
The team is obviously playing better, but there's room for improvement. Catching defense remains a bit of a concern, as the Rangers stole three bases and two wild pitches made it past Alex Avila.
I might write more later but Robbie Weinhardt was optioned to Triple-A Toledo. Al Alburquerque will be joining the team for his MLB debut. He has four scoreless innings, eight strikeouts and just one walk with Toledo. Hopefully he continues showing better control than he did during spring training.