Many runs are scored: most by wrong team

BOX

KEY STAT

9: Rick Porcello got pounded for 9 runs in three innings

KEY PLAY

No one play was key. But walking Victor Martinez in the first sure helped the Rockies escape a tough situation before they went on to blow the Tigers out.

KEY THOUGHTS

Great coogly moogly. Some fans were excited to see what happened when the Tigers headed to the Mile High City where the baseball flies out. Well, the baseball flew out anyway. Mostly for Colorado, unfortunately for fans of Detroit. Jhonny Peralta did exact a little revenge of his own with a too-late grand slam, but that's about the only real highlight from our point of view.

It started off ominously. I swear, with the Tigers you can almost figure out what's going to happen by the end of the first inning. In a game where, say, the bases were loaded with one out for the No. 5 hitter in the first inning, you might expect a normal baseball team to score more than one run. In Detroit's case, despite an offense that can put up some fast runs and good scoring at games, I think we still tend to be thankful when the team at least scores one.

Tonight, with a new-look lineup that saw Brennan Boesch bat second and Miguel Cabrera bat third, the fourth batter of the day was still issued a free pass. This time it was Victor Martinez who received the IBB to get to Magglio Ordonez. Well, Maggs popped out. So I guess it was a smart move. Alex Avila did walk in a run before the squandered opportunity was complete. But you just had to know that missed opportunity would come back to haunt Detroit.

Of course, in some ways, that's not entirely true. When your starting pitcher allows nine runs in three innings and you find yourself down 11-1 by the end of the fourth inning, maybe a first-inning squander wasn't really that big a deal after all.

Speaking of Avila, he did, well, OK at third? He did let a ground ball go between his legs, which is why Porcello allowed six earned runs of the nine he allowed. But other than that gaffe I guess he wasn't awful.

One annoying point that again ultimately didn't matter came when Miguel Cabrera paused to watch his home run to left field. Well, it wasn't a home run. It went off the wall. So it turned out to be a long single when Cabrera could have been standing on second. He was later thrown out at home trying to leg out the extra base. It was a bit annoying, but I'm not going to get in Cabrera's grill over it.

Really, if you want to get right down to it, you'll just notice there was a pattern tonight: A bunch of bad baseball from Detroit added up to an ugly loss. From failing to get more runs home in the first to the catcher making an error at third base to the slugger watching his hit rather than running, the baseball played was not the type a manager should be proud of. The fans certainly shouldn't be. I'm sure it's just a one-game hiccup, but it didn't look good none-the-less.

Since the Indians won, the division is back to a virtual tie. Chicago lost, but Minnesota remains hot.

Strange stat to note: Alex Avila, Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez each finished the day with 39 RBI.