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KEY STAT
Jacob Turner: 5 1/3 innings, 6 strikeouts, 3 hits, 3 walks
KEY PLAY
Trailing 3-1 in the seventh inning with runners on first and third, Victor Martinez grounded into a double play at second base when Magglio Ordonez was later tagged out at home.
KEY THOUGHTS
It just seems so ... wrong ... to put the loss on Turner's shoulders. I mean, if you didn't know he was a 20-year-old making an MLB debut, you might not have known he was a 20-year-old making an MLB debut. He doesn't look 20. He didn't look nervous. Hell, he didn't look all that impressed with the fact he was making his debut in front of a sellout house who gave him a standing ovation. It may as well have been a spring training session on a back field.
Of course, he might not have shown much reaction because he didn't have any feeling in his body. He told the media of the ovation:
"My whole body went numb"
So he is human.
For the most part, when he found himself in trouble -- which seemed to happen every inning due to the fact base stealers ran wild for 5 SB on him -- he worked out of it without much worry. Only one run scored on Turner. The second run scored when Phil Coke came into the game in relief of him and exploded shrapnel into Turner's excellence. Plus Coke hit a couple guys and gave up some hits. It was 3-1 after the top of the sixth inning ended, and that it was so close was still surprising.
With Dan Haren on the mound for the Angels, Detroit struggled to even up the game. A good opportunity came in the bottom of the seventh when Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera singled back-to-back to open things up. Ordonez went to third. Victor Martinez was up to bat, so things looked good. Then he grounded into a double play at second base with Ordonez caught for the tag at home plate. Opportunity over.
Coke continued blowing things up in the game until it was 5-1 and quickly growing boring. That was that. Coke stunk, got booed off the mound and chirped back. He and Penny are not endearing themselves to fans.
Turner will head back to the minors now, as the Tigers are keeping an eye on his workload. Doug Fister will slide into the rotation mid week. Turner will probably make his glorious return to Comerica Park next spring, although you have to have a grain of salt with whatever the Tigers tell the media. (What was it, mere weeks ago they said Turner wouldn't pitch in the MLB this year?) Whenever he gets back, Turner will be welcomed with open arms.