The Detroit Tigers were victorious over the Atlanta Braves, 2-1, as a spring downpour forced the game to be called after 6 full innings.Justin Verlander gets credit for a rare spring training complete game win...even if it was rain shortened.
Verlander's final start of the spring showed he is more than ready for the regular season, proven by a stat line of 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K. Verlander finishes spring training with a slick 2,02 ERA.
The only white knuckle feeling I had during Verlander's performance was in his final half inning on the mound, which took place in an increasingly hard rain. You could see the cries of "GET JV THE HELL OUT OF THERE" all over the web. But Verlander pitched an uneventful 1 hit inning, shrugging off the rain as he did Braves batters.
A 1st inning Miguel Cabrera RBI ground out, a run manufactured by Austin Jackson's leadoff single, steal of 2nd base and taking 3rd on a Brennan Boesch ground out, gave the Tigers the early lead. In the 5th inning, Clete Thomas, desperately fighting for a roster spot, drilled a long 2 out solo home run to right to break up a 1-1 tie, which was ultimately the winning margin.
Defensively, we saw the Tigers' infield won't be quite as God awful as the baseball hipsters would have you believe, with Cabrera and Prince Fielder both making nice plays with the glove.
The clock continues to tick toward the end of spring training, as the Tigers welcome the Houston Astros to Lakeland Sunday afternoon. The Tigers have 3 games left to play in Florida, and a Wednesday exhibition with the Toledo Mud Hens in the Glass City, before the regular season finally begins in earnest Thursday against the Boston Red Sox...thank goodness.