The good news: This game was televised on Fox Sports Detroit! It even resembled a real baseball game because the start time at 6 p.m. So that was pretty cool.
The game itself was a bit less cool. Brennan Boesch hit a 3-run home run to put the Tigers on the board in the third inning. That came after Andy Dirks singled and Ryan Raburn walked. Before that, the first seven Tigers to step to the plate made outs -- half of those by strikeout. It was Boesch's sixth homer of the spring, by the way.
The Tigers did not score again the rest of the night and were held to just four hits for the game. Detroit had two walks and nine strikeouts. Dirks had half his team's hits. Meanwhile pinch-hitters Brandon Inge and Clete Thomas each went 0-for-1. Inge hit into a double play to end the game.
It's possible that manager Jim Leyland came pretty close to putting his opening day lineup on the field for this game. You never do know, but it sure looked like a viable option and he kept his regulars in for at least seven innings. Obviously Miguel Cabrera will be in the game opening day, but the rest of the batting order looked about right to me.
Max Scherzer gave up three runs on 10 hits and two walks. FSD analyst Rod Allen seemed to think Scherzer was working on a few pitches -- such as his changeup. So that might explain a pretty mundane game otherwise.
The game turned in the eighth inning when Josh Wilkie, who joined the Tigers from minor-league camp for the day, allowed two runs on three hits.
But it was baseball, on our TVs, during the evening hours.
The great news is, the Tigers are now less than seven days from opening day against Boston. Bring it on!