Tigers 4, Indians 1. [Boxscore]
Summary: Alvarez and The donkelly power Tigers to a sweep of the Tribe, extending their lead in AL Central to 5.5 games.
Pitching: Alvarez certainly made a huge impression in his debut! The youngster went a solid 6 innings for the win, surrendering just a solo homer on 3 hits and a walk while punching out 7 Indians. [
Video of his performance]
He will either pop up in the Tigers rotation in a year or two, or become trade bait.
Smyly took over for the 7th and 8th innings, and he performed brilliantly, going 2 innings, surrendering 2 hits, and getting 2 strikeouts for his 6th hold of the year. His stats: 2-0, 1 save (1 blown), 6 holds, 1.93 ERA, 1.04 WHIP.
Benoit slammed the door to earn his 3rd save, whiffing 2 and giving up a double. His record stands at 1-0, 3 saves (0 blown), 7 holds, 2.00 ERA, 1.04 WHIP.
Offense: Well, now. The donkelly was the offensive star in this one, going 1-2 with 2 walks and dinging the Tribe for a
356-foot, 3-run shot to RF (.198, 3 HR, and 10 RBIs on the season) to score Miggy and the Prince.
The only other Tiger to perform well was Prince, who went 2-4 with 2 singles (.289, 12 HR, 51 RBI, .902 OPS).
Next game: Tigers (35-26, 13-16 away) @ Royals (28-32, 15-15 home), 8:10 Eastern. TV: FS-D. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket.
Projected starters:
Fister (5-3, 3.27) vs.
Guthrie (6-3, 3.66).