Tigers tame Jeanmar Gomez as the Indians lose the series
It was murder she wrote. And with Lady Luck on the home team’s side, the Cleveland Indians had no chance to up their game in their last match in Comerica Park, Detroit. The visitors were already 2 losses up in the 3-game series and they were not able to salvage their reputation in the last fixture as they crashed out 1-8 to the hosts.
For the Detroit Tigers, yesterday’s fixture was nothing more than a game to get back on their rivals. The side had, prior to the encounter, lost the series in Cleveland in a clean sweep. As the match ended, the ball club had exacted revenge on the visitors, owing much to both their hitters and pitchers.
The Tigers went into the game with a win in the previous two matches over the Indians. Coming from a three game losing streak against the Yankees, manager Jim Leyland was looking for a way to strike back in the American League in order to get back to winning ways. That was to be the case as experienced pitcher, Justin B Verlander featured in the game.
The 27-year-old made a spectacle of the Cleveland batting line as he chased the hitters for 8 innings, pitching just 115 times. The player struck out 8 and allowed a walk with 7 hits and 1 home run. The ball thrower was extremely exceptional with his determination as he bounced back from a homer in the 1st inning to put the opponents to the sword. His Earning Run Average now amounts to an impressive 3.65. He walked off the mound with a victory, tallying his losses to 8, while his wins at 14.
The Indians, on the other hand, are doing nothing good in the ball game these days as their performance from yesterday brought tears to their fans. Their batting has done less than perform recklessly in the league in the last few games and that hasn’t helped the pitchers either. As the hitters lack scoring initiative, the opposition gets tighter on the pitchers with unwarranted risky shots. Though the number of ‘At Bats’ were closely similar, the Detroit club managed more clean hits.
The Tigers managed to bang the ball 12 times around the park. What is amazing is the fact that 11 of those strikes came in the first 3 innings. Circumstances could not be helped as Jeanmar Gomez was the start pitcher who was brought in for the encounter by the Indians. The 22-year-old had a really bad night as he conceded 8 runs in just his three innings of pitching. The ball thrower conceded 11 hits and walked 3 players and managed to strike out just one player.
The match went into high gear in the top 1st with the Indians in the strike zone. Shin Shoo Choo got on the scoring sheet for the team early on. It occurred when the hitter smashed a 383 feet homer to the right, to bring up the team’s first run on the board, tallying the score on 1 Cleveland – 0 Detroit. The Tigers changed that score line immediately when Austin Jackson got the cancelling run on the board, thanks to Miguel Cabrera who singled to the centre.
With scores levelled, Will Rhymes and Cabrera got on the board with their runs off Johnny Peralta’s single to the centre. This completely put the visitors on the back foot as they never responded. The Tigers didn’t mind because they added three more in the bottom 2nd. This time Rhymes and Jackson were on full swing as they added their second, each, when Brennan Boesch smashed Gomez for a double to the deep right. Cabrera followed with his second of the day when Peralta hit a sacrifice fly to the centre. This gave the strong hitter the chance to clear the last base and score the team’s 6th run.
Rhymes was involved for the Tigers in the bottom 3rd once again when his single to the centre gave Gerald Laird the right to move in for the score. This made it 7-0 for the Tigers. It didn’t take long for Rhymes to get back on the scoring sheet for the team as Johnny Damon’s single to the left gave the opportunist ample time to make it 8 for the team.
After the 3rd innings, no club scored and that was the end of the match. The Tigers won the series and the Indians remained in the bottom league table.
Tags: