Phil Coke remains unplayable as Detroit Tigers defeat Oakland Athletics 3-0 – MLB Update
Phil Coke put in a tremendous pitching effort as Detroit Tigers beat Oakland Athletics 3-0 at O.co Coliseum, Oakland on Thursday, April 14.
Coke, who - in the words of his team manager – was “impressive” with a good performance outrivaled the Athletics’ batters and pitched seven shut-out innings. Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago, the latter scoring a homer, strengthened the grip of the Tigers
and eventually beat Oakland.
Gio Gonzalez came to pitch for Oakland. Austin Jackson was the first to face him. Gonzalez was fast and there barely was any opportunity for the Tigers’ batters to utilise. The inning remained scoreless as Coke came to pitch for the Tigers, faced by Coco
Crisp. Apparently a pitchers’ night, Coke restricted the Athletics, keeping the score 0-0 at the end of the first inning.
The coming innings were not eventful as the batters could not see a favourable occasion for opening the account for their respective teams. If the Tigers could rely on Coke, Athletics were looking to Gonzalez to play the role demanded of him.
Gonzalez proved his competence, remaining – throughout the six innings, unplayable. However, Tyson Ross was victim to the preying eyes of Raburn who struck Ross’ fastball, doubled to deep right where Santiago scored. That could well have left Gonzalez deeply
disappointed for he was performing to the best of his ability.
"You could tell we were a little beat up today, a little tired," Gonzalez said. "When I was in the sixth inning, my arm was dropping a little bit. Detroit's a good lineup and it shows."
This score breathed new life into a seemingly slow and scoreless game. A 1-0 lead was good enough for Coke to pitch with renewed confidence. On the other hand, in the eighth inning, Ross was targeted by Ramon Santiago who hit sacrifice fly to left, Jhonny
Peralta scored and Brandon Inge ran to third on a throwing error by Wellington of the Athletics.
"He was impressive," Detroit’s manager Jim Leyland commented on Coke’s performance and said. "His mindset was to be a starter and he's getting into a groove. His demeanor was real good and he seemed much calmer. I think being more regimented helped him."
The 3-0 lead was a morale booster for Detroit whose Joaquin Benoit relieved Coke and contained the Athletics’ batters with the utmost effectiveness. He literally disarmed David Dejesus, Cliff Pennington and Coco Crisp, none of which could confidently execute
Benoit’s fastball, witnessing a faster velocity after every pitch.
Benoit did not let any of his mistakes be cashed in the 9th inning. The last batters of Oakland could not live up to the expectations of the team. Benoit sealed the victory for Detroit leaving Oakland Athletics with a 3-0 loss.
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