Detroit Tigers crush Atlanta Braves 7-2 – MLB Spring Training
Detroit Tigers crushed Atlanta Braves 7-2 at the Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida on Tuesday, March 20 in their Grapefruit League of the 2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training Session.
The Tigers will be very pleased with their winning effort. The Tigers suffered a 5-7 loss at the hands of Philadelphia Phillies in their previous spring game. Third baseman, Miguel Cabrera was also hit hard by a shot from Hunter Pence during the game.
After having a forgettable time in their previous game, the Tigers were hoping to gain some momentum with a solid performance against the Braves. It will be interesting to see if the Tigers can achieve similar results in the absence of hard hitting Cabrera.
Justin Verlander produced another super performance for the Tigers as he allowed just two runs and four hits in just over five innings pitched to put his team in the driving seat. Verlander won the Pitching Triple Crown Award with 269 strikeouts, 24 wins
and 2.40 ERA.
He was also the American League Most Valuable Player Award winner and Cy Young Award winner last season and he will be looking to continue his supreme in 2012. Walking two and striking out four against the Braves, he is also already showing that he will
be very tough to handle.
"I am the same as I've always been," Verlander said after allowing two runs in five innings as the Detroit Tigers topped the Atlanta Braves, 7-2. "I have never been shy on confidence no matter what. I need my confidence and that's part of my ability to pitch.
I was just trying to get my work in. It was just time to take it to the next level and that's the first time this spring I have had to do that."
"It gears up his intensity," Leyland said. "I don't like to see anyone put runners on base, but there's no problem."
Ryan Raburn played a key role in hitting department of the game, hitting his sixth home run of the spring. At the end of the game, Tigers’ General Manager Dave Dombrowski announced that Cabrera is likely to miss the entire next week to recover from the stitches.
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