Detroit Tigers beat Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 to win the series – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers beat Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday, May 20 in the decisive finale of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Rod Barajas was absolutely superb for the Pirates as he homered to left in the fifth inning to give his team a crucial 1-0 lead. Jhonny Peralta brought the Tigers right back into the game with a home run in the fifth, levelling score 1-1.
Delmon Young also displayed some high quality hitting skills as he singled to centre in the seventh to tie score. Catcher Alex Avila, once again, made a significant impact on the game with a single to centre in the seventh and the Tigers took a substantial
4-2 lead. Barajas had a sacrifice fly to centre in the ninth for the Pirates but the Tigers hung on to their slim advantage to earn a deserving victory.
Starting pitcher max Scherzer had a memorable time on the mound as he struck out fifteen (the most by a major league pitcher this year) in seven solid innings. Scherzer allowed four hits including two solo home runs and a walk.
"We've wasted a few good performances this year already," Avila said. "Hopefully, that will kind of get us on a roll a little bit."
"Even when I've struggled, I've always believed the next time I go out there that I'm going to have a great start, no matter what," Scherzer said. "That's always been my belief ever since I've been in the big leagues, and today was no different."
Manager Jim Leyland and company will be very pleased to get another series win under their belt. The Tigers have been struggling to give consistent results over the last few weeks.
After they lost to the Pirates in the second game, another series loss looked on the cards but the Tigers up their game play just at the right time to give the home fans something to cheer about.
With their win on Sunday evening, the Tigers also improved their record to 20-21 and it will be interesting to see if they can give similar performances in their next series against Cleveland Indians.
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