Detroit Tigers edge past Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 – MLB news
Detroit Tigers continued to impress the critics as they secured a narrow 6-5 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on Monday, May 27 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2013 Major League Baseball regular
season.
With their win, the Tigers improved their record to 29-20 to consolidate their position at the top of American League Central Division standings table. It will be interesting to see if the Tigers can continue their excellent form throughout this season to
claim their fourth consecutive AL Central Pennant.
Manager Jim Leyland will be very satisfied with what he has seen from his men so far this season but he must have identified areas for improvement for his team. Starting pitcher Justin Verlander finally managed to live up to expectations as he allowed just
three runs in seven solid innings to grab his sixth win of the season. Striking out 13 batters, he created all sorts of problems for Pirates’ batting line-up. Verlander has been the most consistent pitcher in AL Central for some time now but things have not
worked out for him they he wanted this year.
Relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit gave up two runs in just one of relief and closer Jose Valverde pitched the scoreless ninth to save his sixth game of the year, helping his side prevail in a thrilling and nail biting encounter.
“I expect the bar to be high,” Verlander said. “That's where I set it for myself.”
“Better? Yes. Where I want it? No,” he said. “You have a couple bad starts, and the world's on your shoulder -- 'What's wrong? What's wrong?' -- but hey, that comes with the territory. I'm OK with that. I can deal with it.”
“We battled back against the best pitcher in the game, and then we battled back against one of the best eighth-inning men in the game,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “I just didn't plan for Contreras going out there and walking four guys.”
After Pirates took the early lead, Jhonny Peralta singled to left centre in the fourth inning to put Tigers on the board. Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Don Kelly and Prince Fielder also made useful contributions with the bat.
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