What a weird game. I saw something in baseball i'd never seen before. Josh Hamilton tried to tag-up and score from third on a ball that was popped up towards the dugout. It was a gutsy play, but Hamilton was thrown out and broke his arm on the play, which will sideline him for 6-8 weeks.
We saw Brayan Villarreal get a hold without throwing a pitch. By picking off Julio Borbon in the sixth inning with two outs, he got the Tigers out of an important jam.
Rangers reliever Darren O'Day walked Austin Jackson and Ryan Rayburn in the bottom of the ninth, allowing Miguel Cabrera to single in the game-winning run. If I am Ron Washington, i'm telling O'Day to make it his first priority to get the ball over the plate to either of those hitters, especially Rayburn, considering Cabrera was waiting on deck. I don't care if you need to underhand pitch Rayburn softball-style to get it over the plate, just do it, and don't let one of the two most dangerous hitters in the game step in the box. Hopefully this didn't stress Washington out and make him dabble in one of his past hobbies: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000657-504083.html.
Perhaps the two biggest surprises of the day: The Tigers got a win against a superior opponent with a bad pitching matchup, and being fundamentally better on the base-paths allowed it to happen.
I am down on the Tigers this year. I can't help it. I do not like the composition of the roster, I don't like the way they've played so far this year, and I find myself expecting the worst when they face adversity. In the first few innings, The Rangers were threatening constantly, and their stacked lineup was killing every mediocre Brad Penny fastball and slider. I kept waiting for the floodgates to open and for the Tigs to slide to 3-8 on the year.
Somehow, the Tigers managed to get out of their jams with minimal damage, partially because of good defense, and partially because of Texas' mishaps running the bases.
When Hamilton took off for home and was tagged out on a close play, they left a potential run on the field. Ryan Rayburn made a great grab at the left field wall, saving two more runs. Adrian Beltre was thrown out trying to stretch a triple in the fourth; C.J. Wilson made a terrible attempt to field a slow-roller by Ramon Santiago, in one of those 'there's no way that should be ruled a hit but it was for some reason' plays. Santiago came around to score, and it extended the inning, allowing the Tigers to add another run with two outs. Borbon was picked off first to end the sixth inning. Then, O'Day could not locate his pitches to two average players in order to keep the best hitter in the AL from getting a chance to end the game.
Plain and simple, the Tigers STOLE a game they probably had no business winning. In fairness, some Tigers line-drives found gloves late in the game, and the team made some great defensive plays to keep it close in crucial moments. Texas gave them a small window of hope, and Detroit capitalized it, so you have to give them credit for it.
Considering how badly this season has been going, something needed to happen to spark a turnaround. Today, luck broke the Tigers way, and they took full advantage of it. I do not want to read too far into one game, but this is the type of game that can inspire confidence in the clubhouse. They need to come out tomorrow with a similar sense of urgency, and sustain the momentum they got today. A series win here and a 4-3 road-trip turns a 3-7 start into a much more manageable 9-10.
Max Scherzer needs to prove his worth as a #2 pitcher tomorrow. A top-of-the-rotation guy has to impose his will on an opposing team in this type of game, and make sure his team gets out of the hole they started the season in. Lets see if this game was an aberration, or a sign of things to come.
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