MLB - Tigers take their good form to the Rogers Centre for Rays demolition
There’s a saying about Baseball that seems to elude many spectators out there. “I don't care how long you've been around. You'll never see it all!” That was a quote by Bob Lemon. Yesterday proved to be such a day when two teams, battling for a win, turned an innings upside down. After all, that’s what the Detroit Tigers needed to bash their hosts for the series opener. It took just one innings to put the Toronto Blue Jays out of contention. In front of a crowd of 16,088 fans, Rogers Centre showcased a comfortable encounter between two good teams that are out of their respective division title race.
The Blue Birds came into the fixture on a positive note. They just defeated the 2009 World Series champions in the last series. They beat their eastern division rivals, New York Yankees, in a 2 –1 series grasp in their home town. Many critics were expecting a hard Jays’ defence testing the mighty Tigers. But the challenge never did arise during the game.
The Jays brought in Ricky Romero, who has excelled lately, in his pitching performance. The ball thrower came in with a 3-game winning streak. Owning an Earning Run Average (ERA) of 3.54, the 25-year-old was hailed as the ace man right for the task to quell the hitter threat Detroit brought to the Rogers Centre. The player had gone in with 10 wins and 7 defeats but his record couldn’t better his chances, as the star player faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of the visitors. He conceded 4 hits, 6 runs and 5 walks in his 5.2 innings of play.
The Tigers were coming in with a series win over the Royals. However, things were not all so right for the team as their previous match saw them lose and throw away their 5 games winning streak. The game in Toronto was always going to be hard, but there was always the truth about the hitting contingent’s rise in bashing form. The recent matches provided the batters with enough time to enhance their grip and focus on the incoming pitches.
Manager Jim Leyland, appointed Max Scherzer for the bout and much was to be debated about the start pitchers from both teams. It wasn’t a surprise that the two athletes were up to the task. The Detroit ace man was 9 wins and 9 losses into the season already, and this match was going to get the pitcher to an even number on one of those tallies. His 3.73 ERA was a blessing for the management as the plan was to restrict the Jays and pounce on any opportunity they could avail. The strategy worked as the ball thrower pitched 117 times in 8 innings, striking out 8 hitters in the process. He conceded 6 hits, 1 run and 1 walk in the encounter.
The fascinating fact about the match was exhibited by the Tigers who scored all their runs in the top 4th. All 7 runs came from that inning and Ramon Santiago jump-started the scoring when he sprinted home for the first, off Ryan Raburn’s grounder to the third into the fielder’s choice. Jhonny Peralta then followed the act by smashing a 403-feet homer to the left, getting Johnny Damon and Raburn to score off the hit and bring three added runs to the tally. It wasn’t long till another hit was made. This time, Gerald Laird went into the spotlight, bashing Romero for a 387-feet homer to the left. The hitter got himself and Casper Wells through the last base in style, bringing 6 runs to the visitors.
The Detroit ball club ended their onslaught with Austin Jackson, who ran to the dugout clear, off Peralta’s walk. The Blue Birds were 7 – 0 down and they only mustered enough energy to respond in the bottom 7th inning. Jose Bautista made his mark on the game with a 401-feet homer to the left. The Toronto side were not able to add more on their total and this ended the first encounter between the two teams.
The score line at the end read, Toronto 1 – Detroit 7. Who knows what’s going to happen when these teams are head-to-head again.
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