Detroit keeps hope alive after win in Toronto
The Detroit Tiger's playoff hopes might be on life support, but the Tigers have too much pride to quit. Detroit (64-64) currently stands nine games behind the Minnesota Twins in the division and is 14½ back in the wild-card race.
Every game counts if the Tigers want to make it into the post-season. They took care of business in the opener of a four-game road series by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1, on Thursday night at Rogers Centre.
"I feel like we're not out of it yet," outfielder Johnny Damon said. "At least, we can make some kind of run." The Tigers are definitely heating up at the right time as they go in for their seventh win in eight tries on Friday night.
The barrage started after the first three innings, with Detroit busting the scoreless game wide open with a six-run fourth inning, which included home runs from Jhonny Peralta and Gerald Laird.
Ramon Santiago led off the fourth inning assault with a single to left field, while the next hitter, Johnny Damon, reached first base after Toronto starter, Ricky Romero, walked him. Peralta went ahead to put his team in the lead with a three-run home run.
With a commanding 6-0 lead, Detroit’s starting pitcher, Max Scherzer, cruised the rest of the game and played outstanding for eight innings. The right-hander gave up one earned run on six hits and a walk while striking out eight. Only Major League home run leader, Jose Bautista, was able to penetrate Scherzer’s armour by hitting his 41st homer of the season. "I think I threw the ball pretty well tonight," Scherzer said. "I can live with a solo bomb."
Scherzer was clearly the star of the game, but elected to share the credit, lavishing praise to his teammates. “As a whole, we’re putting it together,” Scherzer said. “We’re doing a much better job of not walking people and when that happens, you allow the defense to make plays behind you. Nine times out of ten, they do. When we’re not beating ourselves, we can be a pretty good group. That’s the key to our success right now.”
The Blue Jays (66-61) are twelve games behind the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays, who both sit atop the AL East division at 2-2 on the home stand with three games remaining against Detroit.
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