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(How's that title for some alliteration?)
KEY PLAY
With runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs in the 5th, Elvis Andrus popped out on a bunt attempt. The Rangers had already scored a run in the inning, but the out took the wind out of their sails a bit. Max Scherzer then got Josh Hamilton and Michael Young out to end the inning, keeping the score at 3-2.
KEY PLAY #2
Brennan Boesch properly welcomed Mike Adams to the AL with a mammoth solo home run amid heavy rain in the bottom of the 8th to give the Tigers a 6-5 lead.
KEY STAT
Brennan Boesch: 13-for-30, 3 HR, 8 RBI against the Texas Rangers this season, including 3-for-4 tonight.
KEY THOUGHTS
Max Scherzer’s outing was as disappointing of a quality start as you could imagine (unless your name is Doug Fister). Scherzer absolutely scorched through his first three innings, allowing just one hit. Mad Max struggled through the 4th and 5th, throwing quite a few pitches in those innings to get out of jams. While he gets plenty of credit for working out of said jams, a lot of fans were hoping for a special kind of night out of Scherzer early on. Still, it’s encouraging that Scherzer was able to work through a couple rough innings and still deliver a quality start.
Want more proof that wins aren’t an accurate assessment of a pitcher’s performance? Joaquin Benoit got the 'W' tonight despite giving up 3 runs (and the lead) in an inning’s work. Commenter Rock n Rye coined a new term that isn’t quite appropriate for the front page (and then johnmoz SABRized it) for Benoit's efforts. Fans booed him as he walked off the field, but I’m not worried about Benoit’s ugly performance tonight. He only gave up one run in the entire month of July, so he was due to get touched up at some point. Thankfully, he decided to do so on a night where the offense was willing to bail him out (though they did go 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 runners on base).
Austin Jackson went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. Despite complaints that Jackson had been struggling at the plate recently, this snapped a 7-game hitting streak. He still has yet to put together an extended run of success this year, however.
Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, and Alex Avila all had two hits apiece tonight. Peralta added a couple sparkling defensive plays to his highlight reel, while Avila gave his father a birthday to remember with a solo home run in the 3rd inning.