Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers
Wednesday, April 5th, 2007
By Cory Smith
What better way to start a Tigers baseball game than
watching the players receive their American League Championship rings from the
Tigers magical 2006 season? How about opening up a game 9-0 in 4 innings? If you asked me, I’d
take both.
Detroit (1-1) roared off to a quick 8-0 lead on Wednesday against Toronto (1-1), all 8 runs scored in the third inning. Curtis Granderson started the inning with a walk, off of Blue Jays pitcher A.J Burnett. But that wasn’t satisfying enough. With Placido Polanco at the plate, Granderson sprinted off of first, successfully stealing second base. One pitch later and Polanco singled to right field, sending Granderson across home plate. The Tigers took the lead 1-0.
Maybe Polanco was jealous of Granderson. With Gary Sheffield at the plate, Polanco followed suit and stole second base in similar fashion. Sheffield was walked three balls later. Then, on a count of 2-2, Magglio Ordonez singled to left field which loading the bases with no outs.
With the bases loaded, Carlos Guillen singled to center field sending both Polanco and Sheffield home to score. With men on first and second, and nobody out, the Tigers took the lead 3-0.
Next up was Ivan Rodriguez who singed out to right field loading the bases for Sean Casey.
With the bases loaded for the second time in one inning, Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons sent in right hander Shaun Marcum to relieve Burnett.
With a chance to crank out a grand slam Casey popped one up, but it was caught in mid center field for the first out of the inning. No worries though, as clutch hitter Craig Monroe was on deck.
Known for cranking out a few homers when the time calls for it, Monroe did indeed send someone home, but I doubt he planned on doing it with a walk. Rodriguez strolled across home plate and put the Tigers up 4-0.
With the bases still loaded Brandon Inge approached the plate, but three strikes later Inge struck out swinging.
If you have been keeping track up to this point, you realize that the batting order has fully cycled, putting Granderson back up to bat.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Granderson stepped up to
the plate. On the second pitch he blasted one out to right field, and with no
power to spare. Granderson’s ball hit the fence just above the right field
wall, clearing the mark by just a few feet. Granderson recorded the first grand
slam of his career, not to mention putting the Tigers up 8-0.
After the bases cleared, Polanco kept the excitement going with a single out to center field, but three pitches later Sheffield struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning Craig Monroe found himself with the bases loaded once again. With one out, Monroe grounded to shortstop, resulting in an out at second base, but that was enough to put the Tigers up 9-0 as Ordonez scored from third.
Nate Robertson pitched 5 2/3 innings without allowing a run, but with a man on third and two outs, Aaron Hill homered over the left field wall, scoring two runs for Toronto. With the Tigers now leading 9-2, Manager Jim Leyland relieved Robertson, sending Jason Grilli to the mound. Robertson, done for the day, allowed 7 hits, 2 runs, and had 4 strike outs.
In the top of the seventh inning, Granderson continued to excel. Granderson tripled to deep right field, sending Brandon Inge home for the score to put the Tigers up 10-2. Unfortunately, the inning ended with Granderson and Ordonez left on base.
As good as the Tigers had been all day, the eighth inning belonged to Toronto.
Grilli loaded the bases with one out to start the inning, and the Blue Jays took advantage. Gregg Zaun singled, sending in one run, leaving the bases loaded once again. Though Jason Smith couldn’t duplicate the efforts of Curtis Granderson, his triple to right field was good for three runs, closing the gap on the Tigers, who now led by just four runs, 10-6.
Without hesitation, Leyland sent in Fernando Rodney to relieve Grilli. Reed Johnson singled off of Rodney sending Smith home for another score, cutting the Tigers lead to three runs. Lyle Overbay then doubled to deep center field, putting two men on base with just one out. Three pitches later Vernon Wells doubled to left field sending Johnson and Overbay home. Detroit’s lead, decimated to just one run, now led 10-9. When it seemed like Toronto was finally going to tie it up, Rodney forced two pop ups, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers managed to put two men on base, threatening to extend its lead once again, but Jason Frasor relieved Victor Zambrano and sent the Tigers next three batters back to the dugout, ending the inning.
The ninth inning began with closer Todd Jones on the mound.
Jones forced Alex Rios to pop up into right field for the first out. However, a
single and a walk later, Jones had two men on with only one out. Lucky for
Jones, pop ups would be the theme of the inning, as Toronto’s last two batters
both popped up for the final outs of the game. And with that, Jones earned his
first successful close of the year.
Tigers escape with the win 10-9 over the Blue Jays.
Players of the Game
Detroit – CF Curtis Granderson – 5 AB, 5 RBI, 2 H (Triple,
Grand Slam), 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R
Toronto – SS Jason Smith – 2 AB, 3 RBI, 1 H (Triple), 1 R
Robertson shined in today’s win, but the Tigers relief pitching struggled for the second straight game, specifically Fernando Rodney. If the Tigers can win tomorrow, without struggling late in the game, it can erase some of the suspicion that the Tigers relief pitching may not be as strong as originally thought.
The Tigers play again Thursday April 5 at 1:05 pm. capping off the three game series against the Blue Jays. It’s Justin Verlander’s 2007 debut, so I suggest you do your best to catch him in action. It should be an exciting, cold, and windy game.
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