That made it 7-5, because the Tigers had wisely added on runs in the top of the frame. Unfortunately, he came back out in the eighth and ultimately surrendered a two-run bomb to Sano. You don’t see that often.įarmer must have appreciated this extra special challenge, because he got Polanco to pop out to escape the jam. Cisnero missed up with his first pitch to Jorge Polanco, and Ron Gardenhire came flying-relatively speaking-out of the dugout to make the pitching change in the middle of the at-bat. The Tigers were caught off-guard, desperately trying to get Buck Farmer warmed up in the bullpen. Jose Cisnero got two quick outs, but then melted down rapidly into a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh, and things got weird. Ronny Rodriguez hit a grand slam for the Tigers. Travis Demeritte worked a tough count into a walk, and Ronny Rodriguez then hooked a missile around the foul pole in left field for a grand slam that made it 5-3 Tigers. The Tigers responded to this performance by getting the lead back before VerHagen exited.ĭawel Lugo came through with a line drive to right field to score Harold Castro in the top of the sixth inning. VerHagen did allow a solo home run by Jake Cave- Caveman, of course-in the fifth, but that was the only blemish the rest of the way as he punched out the side twice in the contest. He’d never recorded more than six in any start in the majors. Bending his 85 mph slider and 77 mph curveball out of the same slot, with similar break, the tall right-hander turned into an ace for the next four innings, ending his night with 11 strikeouts. However, from that point we saw the best version of VerHagen that has ever existed. He was more recognizable in the early going, as Nelson Cruz doubled in a run in the first, and Miguel Sano mashed a laser of a home run to left center field in the second inning. Ol’ Dutch was on the mound for the men in black tonight, which is to say that it’s Players’ Weekend, and Drew VerHagen got the start for the Tigers. Friday’s matchup with the Twins combined both elements in delightful fashion as the Tigers won convincingly by a score of 9-6. We’ve seen the feeble 2019 Tigers rise up and play some better baseball lately. TIGERS NEWSLETTER: Who is to blame for this June swoon? Live updatesĬan't see the chatter? Refresh the page or check it out on Twitter.Ĭontact Ryan Ford at Follow him on Twitter Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter. The Twins, meanwhile, will host the AL East’s cellar dwellars, the Boston Red Sox (at 35-35), for a four-game set beginning Monday. After that, the Tigers will zip home to Detroit to host the Kansas City Royals - who have the worst record in MLB at 18-51 (a 42-win pace) - for a three-game set beginning Monday. Duran has been a buzzsaw for the Twins, striking out 35 over 26 innings while allowing just 13 hits and four earned runs, for a 1.38 ERA.Īfter today’s matinee, the Tigers and Twins wrap up the series with another 2:10 p.m. That includes hard-throwing right-hander Jhoan Duran, who’s in the 100 th percentile in velocity his four-seam fastball (which he throws 40.5% of the time) is averaging 101.9 mph, while his splitter is averaging 98.8 mph. That’s not ideal for Tigers hitters, though: While the Twins entered Friday with the majors’ fourth-best starting ERA (3.56), they also had the seventh-best relief ERA (3.62). The Twins haven’t announced their starter, so we should probably expect a lot of calls to the ’pen from both sides. “I Just want to help the team I think we have - y’know, all the guys just want to do what they can to, y’know, help the team be in a good position and, certainly, I fall in that category.” “I would say that I haven’t thrown the ball well enough to have a preference,” Wentz said Sunday. So which does Wentz prefer - starting, or serving as the supplier of “bulk innings?” He walked the first batter he faced, allowed a home run - gulp - then settled in and retired the next 12 batters he faced, departing the game in line for a win. Wentz did the heavy lifting in Sunday’s game, entering in the second inning and lasting 4⅓ innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Comerica Park. Then again Wentz hasn’t reached five innings of work since early May, so this could be something of a “bullpen game,” too. Game notes: It’s a start for left-hander Joey Wentz sandwiched between Friday’s and Sunday’s “bullpen game” plans.
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