Detroit Tigers defeat Texas Rangers 5-4 – MLB Update
Doug Fister tossed seven effective innings on Wednesday, August 3, to help secure 5-4 victory for the Detroit Tigers against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park.
For the Tigers’ manager, it was about time Fister did something. "He did exactly what we expected him to do," Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland said. "He's going to give up some hits, because he throws so many strikes, but he gets the job done. He gets outs."
Fister was having a bad season so far with ten consecutive losses that he needed to compensate here."I don't look at the big picture," said Fister, who hadn't won since May 30. "The only thing I'm focused on right now is my next start."
Other than Raburn and Avila’s homer, Fister’s pitches held sway on the Rangers whose offence had recently been resurging with ever more aggression. "He goes out there, he pitches a smart game, and he does his job," Leyland said. "But he does it in a fun
way that I really like."
After pitching the first two innings as shut-out, Doug Fister had paved the way for the Detroit Tigers’ hitters to create some space for stronger offence, as it came from the bat of Ryan Raburn who singled to right to score the first run for the Tigers.
Before Harrison could wrap up the second inning, Alex Avila had another single score to double the lead for the Tigers. Fister, on the other hand, with a relatively comfortable position kept pitching strong enough innings to keep the lead intact for the
Tigers.
Miguel Cabrera doubled to left, enabling Austin Jackson to score the third run for the Tigers, a lead that was brought down quickly by the resurgent Rangers’ offence in the fourth inning.
Nelson Cruz earned an RBI single and Mike Napoli also scored to bring down the lead to 3-2 for the Rangers. Josh Hamilton levelled the score for his team in the fifth inning which also saw two hits that Doug Fister gave up.
While Harrison was able to pitch two good innings after giving up three runs, he could not stop Avila from hitting a homer that gave the Tigers an irreversible 4-3 lead by the end of the sixth inning. Having had the 4-3 lead, Phil Coke pitched an effective
eighth inning to keep the Tigers floating.
Ryan Raburn scored a single in the eighth to make it 5-3 for the Tigers. Coming into the ninth inning, the closer Jose Valverde allowed a run to Mike Napoli but sent other hitters packing to wrap up the game with 5-4 victory for the Detroit Tigers.
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