This just in!

Phil Coke is still no damn good.

1/3 of an inning, 2 hits, 2 runs and walk.

Please buy him that one-way train ticket. Let Martinez come on in relief if you have to.

That was a cheap little hit, should have left Al in.

Holy Hannah, the bullpen is giving me indigestion today:

Coke puts 3 of the 4 batters he faces on base and gives up a run.

Alburquerque gives up a bloop single that should have been caught. Gonzalez and Kelly went for the ball, Gonzo called Kelly off, and then failed to catch it. The guy is starting to remind me of Peralta - okay range, sure-handed most of the time, but just doesn't have the range.

And now Nathan is falling to pieces.

*grinds teeth*

This is and will be the problem boys. Buckle up and get used to it I am afraid.


Where is Todd Jones when you need him?

Tigers 7, Orioles 6.

Summary to follow in a bit.

Tigers unveiled their new mascot today. Sort of a cute little fella.

Time to buy some antacids - in bulk. Some medicinal drink might be in order, too.

This is gonna be a long season.

What's up with Nathan? I expect that from Coke. Al-Al didn't actually do that bad; just a victim of the circumstance. But Nathan? He's supposed to be way better than this. :Grrr:

From what I've seen on TV so far, his velocity is down from when I saw him with the Twins, and his breaking stuff just ain't breaking.

Dunno if age is finally catching up with him, or he's having some physical/mechanical issues.

Either way, this cannot go on. They can survive a few unreliable or bad eggs in the bullpen, but they cannot win games without a reliable closer. He'd best get his stuff working, or Dombrowski really will be scrambling for help.

Great game out of Hunter at the plate, but he looked like a nervous rookie in the field. That 9th was spooky.

Detroit 7, Baltimore 6. [Boxscore]

Summary: Tigers win despite a bullpen train wreck to start the season 4-0.

(Note: Last time they did that was in 2012.)

Pitching: Porcello did an outstanding job, holding the Birds to 1 run on 3 hits (all singles) and 2 walks in a 94-pitch (60 strikes), 6.2 inning effort. He was credited with his first win of the season.

- Season line: 1st appearance.

Reed came on in relief with 2 outs in the 7th and continued through the 8th, keeping the O's off the board despite surrendering a single and triple. He struck out 1.

- Season line: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 1/0 K/BB in 2.1 IP.

Coke started the 9th, and he did a horrible job. He was charged with 3 runs on 2 hits (single, triple) and a walk. Only 7 of his 14 pitches were for strikes.

Good thing the Cats have been stockpiling lefties down at Toledo; they're going to need them.

- Season line: 1st appearance.

Alburquerque was inserted into the game after Coke proved he didn't have the goods, and promptly gave up a bloop single that should have been caught by Gonzalez. He departed at that point, not having recorded an out.

Unfortunately, the guy that got on scored on a ground-rule double off Nathan, saddling him with an earned run.

- Season line: 1-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, with 0/0 K/BB in 2.0 IP.

Nathan was summoned to stem the Birds' surge, and he was just as much a train wreck as Coke, surrendering a run on 2 hits (single and ground-rule double) while striking out 1. Despite his shoddy workmanship, he "earned" first 1st Save of the season.

I think it's safe to say that so far, he's a Todd Jones clone. Let's hope he improves.

- Season line: 1-0, 1/2 SV/OPP, 6.75 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, 1/2 K/BB in 2.2 IP.

Offense: The Boys roared in this one, fashioning a combined attack of power and speed to punish Orioles pitching. All together, they had 13 hits, 2 walks, and 2 SB as they stranded 7 on 3-14 hitting with RISP.

Here's the usual list:

Kinsler: 2-5 (.368), RS (3).
- Single and RS in the 3rd; Single in the 6th.

Hunter: 2-4 (.313), 2B (1), HR (2), BB (1), RS (3), 5 RBI (6).
- 3-RBI Double in the 3rd; 2-run HR to LF in the 5th; BB in the 6th. [Video of Double] [Video of HR]

Cabrera: 1-4 (.375), 2B (2).
- Double in the 5th.

Jackson: 2-4 (.438), SB (1).
- Single in the 2nd; Single and SB in the 4th.

Avila: 0-4 (.083), GIDP.
- GIDP in the 2nd.

(Note: Half of his 12 AB's have resulted in strikeouts, compared with 4 walks.)

Gonzalez: 1-3 (.364), BB (1), 2 RS (2).
- Single and RS in the 3rd; Walk and RS in the 6th.

The donkelly: 3-4 (.750), 3B (1), 2 RS (2), RBI (1).
- Single and RS in the 3rd; RBI triple and RS in the 6th; Infield single in the 8th. [Video of Triple]

Davis: 2-3 (.333), SF (1), SB (1), RS (3), RBI (4).
- Single, SB, and RS in the 5th; RBI SF in the 6th; Single in the 8th.

Defense: Errors, 1: Gonzalez (2), throw in the 9th.

Double plays, 1: 6-4-3 (Gonzalez-Kinsler-Cabrera), 2nd inning.

Outfield assist: Davis (1), throwing out C. Davis at 2B, 1st inning. [Video of assist]

SB allowed: Porcello-Avila. (Avila is 0-4 at throwing out runners.)

Next game: Sunday, April 6th: Baltimore (1-4, 0-2 Away) @ Detroit (4-0, 4-0 Home), 1:08 Eastern.

Starting pitchers: Chris Tillman (0-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Justin Verlander (0-0. 3.00 ERA).

- Baltimore TV: MASN 2, WJZ. Radio: 1090 WBAL, Orioles Radio Net
- Detroit TV: FS-D. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket.
- Subscription TV: MLBN.

I been calling the new manager Capt. Hook jr (in reference to Sparky who likes to pull starters and relievers too soon)

Sunday, April 6th Tiger Minor League report.
 

Saturday's results:

- Toledo: Louisville 3, Toledo 2. (13) [Boxscore]

- Erie:
(Game 1) Erie 2, Altoona 0. (7) [Boxscore]
(Game 2) Erie 5, Altoona 2 (7) [Boxscore]

- Lakeland: Lakeland 3, Tampa 0. [Boxscore]

- Western Michigan: Dayton 3, WMI 1. [Boxscore]

Sunday's games:

- Toledo: Louisville (Cin) (2-0) @ Toledo (0-2), 2:00 Eastern.

- Erie: Erie (2-0) @ Altoona (Pit) (0-2), 1:00 Eastern.

- Lakeland: Lakeland (2-1) @ Tampa (NYY) (1-2), 1:00 Eastern.

- Western Michigan: WMI (1-2) @ Dayton (Cin) (2-1), 2:00 Eastern.

Weekly standings:

- Toledo: 0-2, 3rd place in International League West, 2.5 GB.

- Erie: 2-0, 2nd place in Eastern League West, 0.5 GB.

- Lakeland: 2-1, 1st place (tie with 2 others) in Florida State League North.

- Western Michigan: 1-2, last place in Midwest League Eastern, 1.0 GB.

How appropriate. Cat People by David Bowie

Baltimore 3, Detroit 1.

Summary to follow in a bit.

Well, they can't go 162-0. :(

I'd settle for 161-1. ;)

Baltimore 3, Detroit 1. [Boxscore]

Summary: Lack of offense hands Tigers their first loss.

Pitching: Verlander put forth a solid effort, giving up just 2 runs on 5 hits (2 doubles and a triple) and 2 walks while whiffing 3 over 8 innings, throwing 112 pitches (76 strikes). [Video highlights of outing]

Unfortunately, the ghosts of low-run support from last year seem to be haunting him already, and so he took the loss.

Season line: 0-1, 2.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, with 5/5 K/BB in 14.0 IP.

Aburquerque came in for the 9th inning, and the Birds tagged him for a run on 3 hits (1 HR). He struck out 2.

Season line: 1-0, 6.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, with 2/0 K/BB in 3.0 IP.

Offense: The Bird's Tillman, (with a little help from Tommy Hunter), hamstrung the Tigers, holding them to 5 hits and a walk. The Cats stranded 5 on 0-4 hitting with RISP.

Here's the short list:

Hunter: 1-4 (.304), HR (3), RS (4), RBI (7).
- 387-foot Solo HR to LF in the 4th. [Video of HR]

Cabrera: 1-4 (.350).
- Single in the 6th.

Martinez: 2-4 (.238), 2B (1).
- Single in the 4th; Double in the 9th.

Collins: 0-3 (.000), BB (1).
- Walk in the 5th.

Castellanos: 1-3 (.385)
- Single in the 7th.

Defense: Nothing to report.

Next game: Tuesday, April 8th: Detroit (4-1, 0-0 Away) @ LA Dodgers (4-3, 0-2 Home (pending the results of a night game)), 10:10 Eastern.

Starting pitchers: Max Scherzer (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Dan Haren (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

- Detroit TV: FS-D. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket.
- L.A. TV: SportsNet LA, SNLA Spanish. Radio: 570 Fox Sports L.A., KTNQ 1020 (Sp.).
- Subscription TV: MLBN.

Monday, April 7th, Tigers minor-league report.
 

Results of yesterday's games:

- Toledo: Toledo 6, Louisville 3. [Boxscore]

- Erie: Altoona 5, Erie 1. [Boxscore]

- Lakeland: Lakeland 8, Tampa 5. [Boxscore]

- Western Michigan: WMI 5, Dayton 1. [Boxscore]

Scheduled games today:

- Toledo: Indianapolis (Pit) (4-0) @ Toledo (1-2), 6:30 Eastern.

- Erie: Erie (2-1) @ Binghamton (NYM) (2-2), 6:35 Eastern.

- Lakeland: OFF.

- Western Michigan: OFF.