Detroit Tigers 2012 regular season review – Part 38
With a thrilling 4-3 win in the series’ opener, Chicago Cubs had dented Detroit Tigers’ confidence levels significantly. Jim Leyland and company, who prevailed against the mighty Cincinnati Reds in their previous series, were looking to avenge their loss
in the opener and that is exactly what they did in Game 2 on June 13, 2012.
In an offensive outburst, the Tigers stacked up a huge total on the board. The pitchers also executed their game plan to perfection to lead the Tigers to a series levelling victory.
Tigers’ starting pitcher Rick Porcello a sensational performances as he allowed just four runs in five solid innings to lay the foundations of an impressive victory. Showing excellent composure on the mound, Smyly struck-out five batters to claim his fourth
win of the season.
Relief pitcher Brayan Villarreal, Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde all made useful contributions as they helped the Tigers hold on to their lead to force the series into the decider. Closer Valverde pitched a scoreless ninth to wrap up an impressive win
for his team
Cubs’ starter Matt Garza continued to struggle on the mound as he gave up seven hits and five runs in six off-target innings to take his fifth loss of the season. Garza looked a bit confused on the mound and the Tigers used that to their advantage, scoring
runs on regular basis.
Relief pitcher Manny Corpas and Jairo Asencio also struggled to put a lid on the runs as they combined to concede three runs on four hits in just two innings.
Ramon Santiago grounded out to second in the second inning to put Tigers on the board. However, following his grounder, the Cubs lifted their game, making the most of available scoring opportunities to claim a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning.
"We bounced back," manager Jim Leyland said. "We had some big hits, timely hits, bullpen did a great job, and a good win for us."
"Tomorrow's a big game for us," Leyland said, "because you go to Cincinnati and Chicago and you've got a chance to win both series. That's pretty good. You've got to try to win each series. If you can do that, then you put yourself back in decent shape."
"I think that's a tribute to Detroit fans," Boesch said. "The road fans are my favorite fans and most of the players' favorite fans because they come and they bring the noise, bring the passion."
Delmon Young singled to right to spark Tigers’ comeback. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta and Santiago combined to level the score 4-4 in the sixth inning. Outfielder Brennan Boesch smacked a solo home-run and rookie Quintin Berry singled to centre in the eighth
inning to leave the Cubs in disarray.
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