Detroit Tigers vs. Los Angeles Angels – MLB Series Review
Detroit Tigers took on Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on Monday, July 16 in the opening game of their four match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
The Tigers entered the series with a decent 47-43 record and they were hoping to beat the Angels to replace Chicago White Sox at the top of American League Central Division.
Using their home condition to great effect, Leyland and company outplayed their opponents in finer details in Game 1, taking a crucial 1-0 series lead.
Angels, on the other hand, made a number of costly mistakes and the Tigers were quick to grab every available opportunity. Miguel Cabrera, Brennan Boesch, Prince Fielder, Quintin Berry and Delmon Young made useful contributions as the Tigers put a decent
total on the board.
The quality of Tigers’ game-play was not so good in Game 2. Los Angeles humiliated them to cruise to a completely one sided 13-0 win on July 17.
Rookie Mike Trout, left-fielder Mark Trumbo and veteran Albert Pujols all homered against Tigers’ starting pitcher Jacob Turner to set up an easy win for the Angels. Overall, Turner gave up six hits and seven runs in just two innings to take his first loss
of the season.
"Jacob is a potential top-of-the-rotation guy who just needs more seasoning," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "I still expect to see him high in a rotation someday, but he's not ready yet."
However, the Tigers were determined to grab the top spot on AL Central Division standings. Doug Fister rose to the occasion to help the Tigers secure an important win, improving Tigers’ record to 48-44.
Striking-out a season high ten, Tigers’ starting pitcher pitched eight effective innings. Allowing just two hits and a run, he put the Angels under immense pressure. Young, Cabrera, Fielder and Boesch drove in crucial runs as Detroit secured a comfortable
7-1 win.
"When you have a good team, at some point they're going to play good," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "And, we're playing pretty good right now.”
Credit must be given to the Tigers for maintaining their excellent form in series finale, handing the Angels a humiliating 3-1 series loss. Max Scherzer was awarded with the win after he gave up just one run, picking up his ninth win of the season.
"The last two nights, we got excellent pitching and you always look like a good team when you do that," Leyland said. "We shut down a powerhouse. They got a lot of nice combinations of power and speed, it's pretty impressive."
Alex Avila and Cabrera homered in the second and the fifth to give the Tigers some much needed confidence.
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