M's 7, Tigers 4: Gameflow
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=== Chapter 1: M's take a 4-0 lead ===
The Mariners, coming off a brutal thrashing at home, must have enjoyed their TSA shakedowns. They came out on Tuesday afternoon cool, focused, and apparently on an 8-game winning streak.
Chone Figgins expertly worked a 6-pitch walk off Max Scherzer. Dustin Ackley hawked and spat squarely in BABIP's ugly face, knocking a medium-strength groundball back over second base. Jesus Montero grinned and knocked a medium-strength groundball between short and third.
In the third inning again the Mariners practically swaggered their way to a 4-0 lead. Ackley walked - his 5th, thanks - and then Ichiro (infield hit) and Kyle Seager (seeing-eye grounder) showed BABIP that it hain't seen nuthin' yet. The box score would show 15 hits; SSI's mainframe would see just one more game in which the Seattle Mariners lasered the ball to all corners of the globe.
Michael Saunders took one deep off the left-center wall to make it 4-0. Is he swinging better? Any time Michael Saunders goes 400 feet the other way, you have Dr. D's permission to call it a good swing. But we'll split that out.
The M's came into the game with a .243 line drive rate and a .265 BABIP; the gap is supposed to be 100. The gap won't be 100 on Wednesday morning, but it will be more than 22. As a result, the Detroit Tigers are one loss sadder but wiser.
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=== Chapter 2: Jimmy, Your Payroll is Showing ===
At 4-0, I'm thinkin', huh. (I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before.)
After I thought "huh," I scratched my stomach. After that some other stuff. Then I thought, huh... didn't the Tigers like win 95 last year, and wasn't the ALCS when Verlander threw 183 pitches at 100 MPH? Or was that 2007?
... Prince Fielder hit the pay station. Alex Avila took Vargas downtown. Miguel Cabrera swatted one to left that looked like the old Pay'n'Pak touring softball team. It was 5-4 M's and it felt like we were in Texas: the little engine that could, was going to derail under the weight of actual AL enemy payload.
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=== Chapter 3: Lonnie Mathis sword-swipes an M onto the fabric of the game ===
The M's were out-hitting the Tiggers 15-8, and it felt like we were just waiting around to lose. Then Alex Liddi took one of those little Mike Schmidt half-swings, and hit a ball that ended the game on the spot.
John and I like to guess how many bases a batter would get, if there were no fences and the fielder had to keep running. This was a 6-baser. ;- )
It's bloomin' tough to win a baseball game when they hit 2 or 3 homers and you don't hit any. Alex Liddi's home run told the Tigers it was OVER.
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=== Chapter 4: a little work to do yet ===
We've talked about the back-pressure on the SP's who have to hydraulically pump the ball to Wilhelmsen. This time, with Vargas at only 94 pitches, but with the weak sisters in the Tiger lineup due, Wedge had the luxury of selecting Steve Delabar as the bridge man. 3 up 3 down.
Tom Wilhelmsen, who is a starting pitcher from cradle to grave, took 10-11 pitches to dial in. 10-11 pitches, for a 1-inning reliever, is about four layers of the Grand Canyon in geological terms. But precisely at pitch 12, he transmogrified. The results left me misty-eyed. I could watch the rest of that half-inning a hundred times.
If Liddi's blast "neutralized the target," then Wilhelmsen's terminated it with Extreme prejudice.
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=== Chapter 5: Celebration ===
Michael Saunders doubled in an extra insurance run, about which more elsewhere, and Brandon League gutted out a save.
The Detroit Tigers are 95 wins plus Prince Fielder. Who dat say dey gonna beat dose M's? You're Detroit, you just watched 15 hits, and we'll get 'em tomorrow? Actually you won't. Felix tomorrow to deliver the TKO. Remember when you'd lose one to Boston and it was Pedro the next day?
M's a shade the worse, a shade the better of .500. Baseball's fun again in Seattle. Little Engine That Could tops a hill and goes breaknecking down the incline.
Gimme five,
Dr D