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The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 6-2, as Max Scherzer once again struggled with his command, the Tigers' offense struggled with hitting ball, and home plate umpire Rob Drake struggled with the dynamics of the strike zone.
In the post game presser, Jim Leyland refused to blame umpiring for the loss, instead choosing to call out Scherzer for his lack of command. The money quote being pitchers who don't have good command pay the price. They won't get the benefit of the doubt on strike calls. As to why Scherzer only allowed 3 runs, Leyland again blamed his command, saying pitchers who are wild are also harder to hit.
This stat won't make anyone feel better about Scherzer's day. He became the first AL pitcher since the immortal Victor Zambrano in 2004 to throw 119 or more pitches without getting through the 5th inning.
Scvherzer really has become the most consistently frustrating member of the Tigers. He has absolutely huge upside, top of the rotation talent. Unfortunately, Scherzer also has pitching mechanics which require more hands-on tinkering than a rusty '59 Studebaker. When Scherzer has everything working, he's a sight to behold. When he doesn't, he's just a sight, as reflected by his current ERA of 7.77 and disturbingly high WHIP of 2.05.
Max Scherzer isn't a pitcher. He's a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
In case you missed it:
Brandon Inge to Oakland Athletics, Ken Rosenthal Reports
For the nuts and bolts recap:
Yankees 6, Tigers 2 Snap Reaction: You can't beat both the Yankees and the umpires
I can't place all of the blame for the loss on Scherzer or the umpiring. The Tigers only had 4 hits against CC Sabathia, who entered the day with an inflated 5.37 ERA.. 4 hits are not going to cut it against anyone. Period.
The talent and track records are there, so I'm sure the offense will finally come around. It did show signs of life in the first 2 games of the series. But at the moment, watching the Tigers' offense flail away is almost as frustrating as watching Scherzer intimate a shotgun.
Since sweeping the Royals, reaching a season high 6 games over .500 at 9-3, the Tigers are 2-8, having lost 3 consecutive series. They've dropped back to the pack with a mediocre 11-11 record. But -- and there's always a but -- the Tigers are doing just fine in the standings. They remain in 2nd place, only 1 game back of the Cleveland Indians in the Central.
Keep in mind we're still in April, and the Tigers have wrapped up one of the toughest stretches of the schedule they'll see all season. Even better, tomorrow the Tigers start a 3 game series at home against the 6-15 Kansas City Royals.
The sky may be cloudy, but it sure as Hell isn't falling.
3 ROARS
Prince Fielder: Hit his first home run over 3 weeks, a no-doubt shot into the upper reaches of Yankee Stadium. HR, RBI.
Miguel Cabrera: Knocked in the Tigers' only other run with a double. 1 H, RBI.
Brennan Boesch: The only other Tiger to get a hit, the only Tiger to get more than one. 2 H, 1 R.
3 HISSES
Max Scherzer: Got badly squeezed, but it still doesn't excuse his lack of command. 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 7 BB, 4 K
Home plate umpire Rob Drake: A strike is a strike...unless Scherzer was the one who threw it.
Curtis Granderson: Just kills his former team, had 5 hits, 2 home runs and 4 RBI on the weekend.
GAME 21 PLAYER OF THE GAME
It couldn't be anyone other than Drew Smyly, could it? No, it couldn't. Smyly received 90% of the vote from the BYB community.