CMo slams in 12th for Tigers win
posted in 2007 season, Baltimore Orioles |Game 8: Detroit at Baltimore, 7 p.m., FSN+
RHP Justin Verlander (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Adam Loewen (1-0, 3.60)
Craig Monroe is congratulated by teammates after hitting a grand slam against the Baltimore Orioles in the 12th inning Wednesday. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Pregame thoughts:
I hope I get the game. It says it’s on Ch. 99 in the Upper Peninsula. The 99 part makes me nervous. That’s pretty high up there and HBO fuzzily comes in there normally and not at all on my digital box.
As for the game, Verlander struggled to find the strike zone in his initial start but held the Royals to one run (not earned) with a 1.17 WHIP.
Loewen is a talented young pitcher for the O’s who is coming off a victory against a talented Yankees lineup. So he’s got to be feeling pretty good right now.
Marcus Thames will be getting a start at first base for the first time to counter the lefty pitcher. So — oh man — this could get interesting. I sure hope not.
UPDATE: Because the channel FSN gave wasn’t right for me, this may affect others, too. Here’s an updated list.
Midgame thoughts posted so I don’t lose them:
- This year, Verlander allowed just one run through 13 innings. This would normally net you at least one victory. But run support has been awful in his first two games. In the 15 innings a Tigers run would help earn him a victory — both starts were on the road — the Tigers scored just one run. Tonight, 11 Tigers were stranded during his time on the mound.
- Fernando Rodney rallied nicely after a failed double-play attempt by Inge left two runners on and one out. Rodney, a righty who is successful against-left handed hitters, faced two of them and got them both out painlessly — a popup and a strikeout.
- Loewen pitched great for the O’s. He threw pretty nasty. I lost count of how many check swings he forced. He had nice movement. Got into trouble after he hit Gary Sheffield (on purpose), gave up a single to Magglio and walked Carlos Guillen. But he got Monroe to strike out — a common theme tonight. The O’s bullpen chipped in four scoreless innings as well. John Parrish struck out all three he faced.
- Rodney pitched two scoreless innings and put the first week behind him.
- Inge improved his on base percentage and even picked up a first hit! He walked in his first at bat, singled to left in his second. But that’s where the happy story ends. In the 8th inning, the O’s put Sean Casey on base intentionally to pitch to Inge. He did nothing with it. In the 11th inning with a runner on third and one out, he looked lost as he struck out. His body language looked disgusted, as you’d expect, but rather defeated too I thought. Coupled with the error that fortunately cost nothing, this was an awful game for him.
- Solid relief pitching by both teams.
- Nice to hear “Let’s go Tigers.” Also was nice to hear “Let’s go Baltimore” and “Let’s go O’s” wedged in for a nice fan-chant duel. For a scoreless game in the 12th, in cold, wet weather, that’s pretty cool.
- CRAIGDIDITAGAIN! A grand slam to the deepest part of Camden Yards makes it 4-0.
- Did I mention Craig did it with two outs?
- If you go 11 innings and 2 outs before allowing a run (on a balk! yeesh) is it still a shutout? Officially, no. That’s too bad. They deserve credit.
- Bobby Seay couldn’t close the thing out. (Well, he probably could have, but Leyland didn’t take his changes). Todd Jones got a fifth save. 4-1 Tigers.
Postgame thoughts:
Well, I don’t really know what to add to the above. Forgive the messiness. It was quite a pitcher’s duel. It’s too bad someone had to lose, but it’s good the Tigers weren’t that someone. Uhm, you got me. I don’t know what else to say. Detroit went 2-1 in both of its first two road series, that’s always good. Oh, and the Tigers are in first place by a half game.
Oriole Magic did a post in the similar list format.
It inspired me to see just how good the Tigers pitchers were over the past few games. Before Seay balked in a run (would have scored anyway), the Tigers allowed no runs for 12 2/3 innings going back to Tuesday. With one run in each of the last two games, that’s two runs in the past 21 innings of baseball. Going back to Monday, it’s two runs over the past 24+ innings. Okay, that’s pretty dominant. The O’s did a great job, too, in this low-scoring series.
Around the Central:
L.A. Angels 4, Cleveland 1: Joe Saunders held the mighty Indians to one run, a Jhonny Peralta homer in the seventh.
Chicago 6, Oakland 3: Chicago scored five runs in the final two innings to get by the A’s. Jermaine Dye hit a two-run homer to tie it up in the eighth.
Minnesota 5, New York 1: Ramon Ortiz proved his doubters wrong, holding the Yanks to three hits over eight innings.
Toronto 7, Kansas City 4: Gustavo Chacin allowed five hits and three runs in five innings but picked up the win for the Jays. Jorge de la Rosa gave up five runs for the Royals, a much worse outing than his first one against Detroit.
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