Detroit Tigers 2012 regular season – MLB Review – Part 7
Detroit Tigers annihilated the Kansas City Royals in first two games of the series. Full of confidence, Jim Leyland and company were looking to grab their second series sweep in the finale and that is exactly what they did in the finale at Kauffman Stadium
on April 18.
Starting pitcher Max Scherzer put up a decent show, allowing just seven hits and three runs in six solid innings. Striking-out batters at regular intervals, he helped the Tigers stay in the game. Relief pitchers Phil Coke, Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde
combined to pitch three shut-out innings to help the Tigers come back from behind to steal a thrilling series win.
After Jhonny Peralta gave Tigers the early 1-0 lead, Royals fought back strongly to claim a 3-1 lead in the fourth innings. But the Tigers were not prepared to give up without a fight. Slugger Prince Fielder doubled to deep right centre in the fifth to bring
his team back into the contest.
"Miguel was the batting leader," Fielder said. "We're trying to be good hitters in that situation. That's what the situation was. That's just being a baseball player."
"It's always good to get a win here," Scherzer said. "I was able to work around some trouble. I executed some pitches and they were hitting them. They have a good hitting lineup. The offense gave us a lead and the bullpen got some key double plays. That's
what those guys do. We've got four or five guys who can come in and give you a quality appearance and get some guys out when you need it. That's big."
Gerald Laird and Fielder made valuable contributions in the seventh inning to help the Tigers complete a deserving series sweep.
With three straight wins against their American League Central Division opponents, the Tigers improved their record to 9-3 and they aimed to continue the good work in their next series against the Texas Rangers.
However, the Tigers were unable to give similar results against the inform Texas Rangers, who humiliated the Tigers in the opener 10-3.
Rangers’ starter Yu Darvish played a big part in deciding the outcome of the clash as he gave up just two hits and one run against a strong Tigers’ batting line-up. His counterpart from Detroit, Adam Wilk allowed ten hits and three runs to take his first
loss of the season.
Relief pitcher Daniel Schlereth had a forgettable time on the mound as he gave up five hits and five runs in just one inning of relief. Mike Napoli homered in fourth straight game to help the Rangers put up a big total on the board. For the Tigers Don Kelly
drove in crucial runs but his effort did not prove to be enough.
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