Detroit Tigers defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 – MLB Update
After suffering a 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last night, the Detroit Tigers struck back with their full batting strength and launched four home runs to clinch rubber game of the three-game interleague series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, on
Wednesday, June 22 to avoid their series sweep.
The Tigers took the game into their hands right from the first inning with a dazzling homer by Casper Wells off the Dodgers’ starter Ted Lilly. Then they blistered one homer each in the next two innings. Magglio Ordonez hit a 414-feet long huge two-run homer
to the left side of the field in the second inning while Miguel Cabrera launched a 381-feet long homer for same amount of runs in the third inning to take their team to 5-2 lead.
The Dodgers keep on struggling throughout the game as they managed to take the lead in the bottom of the first inning due to some beautiful line drive singles by Matt Kemp and James Loney. When they went down under a 5-2 deficit in the third inning, their
slugger Marcus Thames made an RBI single to reduce it to 5-3.
However, the Tigers were in complete control to take this game as they again widened the lead by three runs in the fifth inning when their catcher Victor Martinez contributed his part with an RBI single off Ted Lilly. This run led to the end of Lilly’s game.
Until now, Lilly has given six runs on six hits, walked one and has also taken eight batters but he could not prevent his seventh loss in his 16th start of the season.
The Dodgers were trailing 6-3 before the start of the fifth inning but they gave strong resistance and swung their bats with full strength to take the game near to their side. Andre Ethier drove in the fourth run while James Loney made his second RBI of
the game to reduce the lead to 6-5 until the end of the sixth inning.
As both starters were having issues, their managers feel it reliable to replace them with some fresh arm. The Dodgers’ manager Don Mattingly employed his strongest reliever Mike MacDougal while the Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland brought Charlie Furbush, who
has popularity of saving the game in the last moments.
Both relievers acted as per the expectations of their managers, as they both escaped the fifth inning by tossing five strikes of seven pitches each.
Furbush’s relievers Al Alburquerque, Joaquin Benoit and closer Jose Valverde carried the same path set by Furbush and remained scoreless in their short spells. MacDougal however did not receive full back up. Though his reliever Jansen tossed just over one
no-score inning but when he handed the ball to Matt Guerrier up the middle of the eighth inning the game went out of their range.
Guerrier allowed a devastating homer to the Tigers’ pinch hitter Don Kelly. After this hit, the Dodgers were unable to make up the difference losing the gamed in the end.
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