Justin Verlander is going to be a great major league pitcher. This was the first time I was able to watch him on television and his stuff is amazing. One of his pitches was clocked at 101 mph on the gun and he throws so effortlessly. The final score of this game is not indicative of the great performance turned in by Verlander against fellow young phenom Felix Hernandez. Verlander only allowed one run in seven innings of work to earn his second victory of the season. He didn’t allow a run until the fifth, which extended the Tigers’ starters scoreless streak to 23 innings. Unlike the previous game the Tigers’ offense took advantage of opportunities scoring 2 runs in the first on only one base hit. Sloppy play by the Mariners’ back-up catcher including a throwing error and a passed ball created the damage. The Tigers’ added another run in the fifth to open a 3-0 lead. Craig Monroe blasted Detroit’s first 3-run homer of the year to open a 6-1 gap heading into the bottom of the 8th. In addition to the power of Monroe, the Tigers got two hit games from Granderson, who is now batting .292 on the year, and Vance Wilson catching for the second game in Seattle.
Zumaya took over in the eight and couldn’t get out of the inning. He began the inning with a 6-1 lead, which is the first time this year he has pitched in a situation with such a large cushion. Zumaya didn’t deal well with the situation allowing the M’s back into the game and making things interesting. Rodney came in with the tying runs aboard and walked the bases loaded before striking out Petagine to end the threat. Once again Rodney came up huge in a clutch situation for the Tigers. Todd Jones came on in the 9th to get his second save of the series. This time Jones got the save without the drama of his previous outing.
So Detroit sweeps the three game series from Seattle extending their winning streak to five games. They are now 12-7 on the year. Amazingly, going into the game yesterday the Tigers’ pitching staff led the AL in ERA and batting average allowed. It all starts with pitching, which is allowing Detroit to stay close to the World Champion White Sox who are on an incredibly hot streak of their own.
*** OEs 3 Stars of the Game ***
#3 Fernando Rodney – Hold (1), .1 IP, 0 Hs, 1 BB, 1 K
#2 Craig Monroe – 1-4 with a HR and 3 RBI
#1 Justin Verlander – Win (2), 7 IP, 4 Hs, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks, 4.18 ERA
On Tap – Game 20 (12-7) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (10-9) April 24th, 10:05 ET
Kenny Rogers (3-1, 3.38) v. Ervin Santana (1-0, 3.93)
