Post by Fish Troll on Apr 2, 2007 23:13:43 GMT -5
Tigers hold on, but fall vs. Jays in 10th
Bonderman allows three runs on five hits in six innings
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
DETROIT -- One of the lessons Tigers manager Jim Leyland tried to teach his team last year was that one regular-season game doesn't mean the world. A 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays at Comerica Park on Monday left the Tigers 0-1 after Opening Day, and they almost felt better about themselves than when they started.
Detroit fell down three runs to Roy Halladay and survived to tie the game before the Tigers stopped hitting when he left. Jeremy Bonderman saw the first batters he faced score and battled to salvage a quality start. Their pitchers even fielded well.
It wasn't a win, and with Fernando Rodney giving up two runs in the 10th after losing three straight batters in two-strike counts, it wasn't pretty. But other than blowing a chance to get a win on a day Halladay didn't dominate, they weren't full of regrets.
"With our lineup the way it is," closer Todd Jones said, "if we give up three runs in nine innings, we're going to win most of those games. It's all right."
Said Bonderman: "We got three off of one of the best pitchers in the game. We actually played a pretty good game, in my opinion."
The last time the Tigers faced Halladay, he turned a 3-0 lead into an 11-0 win and a complete-game shutout. But that was April 15, 2004, when Ivan Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen were in their first seasons as Tigers. Thanks to baseball's unbalanced schedule, Detroit has missed him in each of the past two seasons.
Halladay needed 106 pitches to finish off that win. The previous September, he mowed down the Tigers for 10 innings in just 99 pitches. On Monday, the Tigers made him use 100 pitches by the end of the sixth.
"We just have a philosophy here that when you face a guy like him, you have to compete your fanny off," Leyland said. "He's not going to give you much. I thought we competed very well. You get down 3-0 against a guy like that, it's easy to throw the towel in. We didn't do it. We kept battling away. We had some real good at-bats and we got ourselves back in the game."
All but one of the Tigers' hits against Halladay came with two strikes. Brandon Inge fell into an 0-2 count and drew a leadoff walk to help fuel a two-run fifth. The only first pitch they put in play against him was Curtis Granderson's fifth-inning double.
"I'd rather not get to 0-2. I'd rather have them put the ball in play early," Halladay said. "It seemed to me like they were taking a lot early on and then taking strike two. Then, it just seemed like they were fouling balls off and kind of working the count.
"Teams like that, where they won't really expand the zone for you, they make it tough. Especially on the first day, to have that patience, and to be able to work the count like that says a lot about some of the guys over there."
Gary Sheffield went hitless in his first game as a Tiger, but his two sacrifice flies showed a little of the presence he can bring in the Tigers lineup.
Sheffield came up in the third inning with runners at second and third, and he blistered a line drive that had just starting losing altitude when Reed Johnson caught it.
Two innings later, Placido Polanco's second single of the game plated Inge and moved Granderson to third with nobody out for Sheffield. This sac fly wasn't nearly as hard, a popup behind first base, but second baseman Aaron Hill ran far enough into foul territory to chase it down that Granderson took off once Hill caught it with his back to fair territory.
"I hope it's like that all year long," Sheffield said. "Being in pretty good situations, I can help the team and get that man in. Once that lineup gets going and everybody settles down, I think we'll play a lot better."
It was what Bonderman was hoping for after a first inning that felt unlike many he had experienced.
Bonderman earned the Opening Day assignment after an impressive postseason performance and a Spring Training spent rounding out his power arsenal with a changeup. He felt good in the bullpen, but came out feeling completely different.
Detroit's first three pitches of 2007 all missed the strike zone in a five-pitch walk to Johnson. Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells followed with RBI hits, then after Bonderman retired Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus, Alex Rios hit a blooper that fell in between Craig Monroe and Carlos Guillen for an RBI double.
"I felt like I was learning how to pitch again for a minute," Bonderman said. "I was all over the place. Don't know why -- first inning, I had an opportunity to put guys away and I'd hang a breaking ball and put my sinker over the plate a little too much."
Bonderman went back to his fastball to recover and eventually found the command on his breaking ball. He retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced to finish with five hits and two walks allowed over six innings with three strikeouts.
"That's one thing I was real happy about," Leyland said. "He gathered himself, pitched well. He gave us an opportunity to come back, which we did. I thought he settled in pretty good and then later was starting to smell it a little bit."
Halladay, too, recovered. Sheffield's second sac fly started a run of six consecutive batters retired to end his outing, then Casey Janssen retired seven more in a row. Detroit didn't record another hit until Polanco singled with one out in the 10th for his third hit of the game. By then, the Tigers were down again.
Rodney had one of the record five fielding errors by Tigers pitchers in the World Series in October. Yet when he entered to open the 10th inning Monday, he induced the first out by barehanding Johnson's dribbler to the third-base side of the mound and rifling a throw to first that barely beat him to the bag.
Rodney wouldn't get another out for five batters. Overbay hit a one-out single, then Wells worked a nine-pitch at-bat into a walk. Rodney put Thomas in an 0-2 hole, but lost a 1-2 fastball inside that hit the cleanup hitter to load the bases.
Trying to avoid a sacrifice fly, Rodney put Glaus in a similar hole with offspeed pitches. Rodney tried another changeup on an 0-2 count, but the pitch caught too much of the plate, allowing Glaus to line it past Brandon Inge and into left field to score pinch-runner Jason Smith. An ensuing groundout by Rios drove in Wells for the final cushion.
"Usually a walk or a hit batter equals disaster," Leyland said, "and it eventually did. Rodney made two great pitches to Glaus and I have no problem with that. He tried to make another one and he just got the bat on it and got a base hit."
Leyland didn't have a problem with much on Monday, just the result.
"I thought we handled everything well," Leyland said. "We just got beat."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Bonderman allows three runs on five hits in six innings
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
DETROIT -- One of the lessons Tigers manager Jim Leyland tried to teach his team last year was that one regular-season game doesn't mean the world. A 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays at Comerica Park on Monday left the Tigers 0-1 after Opening Day, and they almost felt better about themselves than when they started.
Detroit fell down three runs to Roy Halladay and survived to tie the game before the Tigers stopped hitting when he left. Jeremy Bonderman saw the first batters he faced score and battled to salvage a quality start. Their pitchers even fielded well.
It wasn't a win, and with Fernando Rodney giving up two runs in the 10th after losing three straight batters in two-strike counts, it wasn't pretty. But other than blowing a chance to get a win on a day Halladay didn't dominate, they weren't full of regrets.
"With our lineup the way it is," closer Todd Jones said, "if we give up three runs in nine innings, we're going to win most of those games. It's all right."
Said Bonderman: "We got three off of one of the best pitchers in the game. We actually played a pretty good game, in my opinion."
The last time the Tigers faced Halladay, he turned a 3-0 lead into an 11-0 win and a complete-game shutout. But that was April 15, 2004, when Ivan Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen were in their first seasons as Tigers. Thanks to baseball's unbalanced schedule, Detroit has missed him in each of the past two seasons.
Halladay needed 106 pitches to finish off that win. The previous September, he mowed down the Tigers for 10 innings in just 99 pitches. On Monday, the Tigers made him use 100 pitches by the end of the sixth.
"We just have a philosophy here that when you face a guy like him, you have to compete your fanny off," Leyland said. "He's not going to give you much. I thought we competed very well. You get down 3-0 against a guy like that, it's easy to throw the towel in. We didn't do it. We kept battling away. We had some real good at-bats and we got ourselves back in the game."
All but one of the Tigers' hits against Halladay came with two strikes. Brandon Inge fell into an 0-2 count and drew a leadoff walk to help fuel a two-run fifth. The only first pitch they put in play against him was Curtis Granderson's fifth-inning double.
"I'd rather not get to 0-2. I'd rather have them put the ball in play early," Halladay said. "It seemed to me like they were taking a lot early on and then taking strike two. Then, it just seemed like they were fouling balls off and kind of working the count.
"Teams like that, where they won't really expand the zone for you, they make it tough. Especially on the first day, to have that patience, and to be able to work the count like that says a lot about some of the guys over there."
Gary Sheffield went hitless in his first game as a Tiger, but his two sacrifice flies showed a little of the presence he can bring in the Tigers lineup.
Sheffield came up in the third inning with runners at second and third, and he blistered a line drive that had just starting losing altitude when Reed Johnson caught it.
Two innings later, Placido Polanco's second single of the game plated Inge and moved Granderson to third with nobody out for Sheffield. This sac fly wasn't nearly as hard, a popup behind first base, but second baseman Aaron Hill ran far enough into foul territory to chase it down that Granderson took off once Hill caught it with his back to fair territory.
"I hope it's like that all year long," Sheffield said. "Being in pretty good situations, I can help the team and get that man in. Once that lineup gets going and everybody settles down, I think we'll play a lot better."
It was what Bonderman was hoping for after a first inning that felt unlike many he had experienced.
Bonderman earned the Opening Day assignment after an impressive postseason performance and a Spring Training spent rounding out his power arsenal with a changeup. He felt good in the bullpen, but came out feeling completely different.
Detroit's first three pitches of 2007 all missed the strike zone in a five-pitch walk to Johnson. Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells followed with RBI hits, then after Bonderman retired Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus, Alex Rios hit a blooper that fell in between Craig Monroe and Carlos Guillen for an RBI double.
"I felt like I was learning how to pitch again for a minute," Bonderman said. "I was all over the place. Don't know why -- first inning, I had an opportunity to put guys away and I'd hang a breaking ball and put my sinker over the plate a little too much."
Bonderman went back to his fastball to recover and eventually found the command on his breaking ball. He retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced to finish with five hits and two walks allowed over six innings with three strikeouts.
"That's one thing I was real happy about," Leyland said. "He gathered himself, pitched well. He gave us an opportunity to come back, which we did. I thought he settled in pretty good and then later was starting to smell it a little bit."
Halladay, too, recovered. Sheffield's second sac fly started a run of six consecutive batters retired to end his outing, then Casey Janssen retired seven more in a row. Detroit didn't record another hit until Polanco singled with one out in the 10th for his third hit of the game. By then, the Tigers were down again.
Rodney had one of the record five fielding errors by Tigers pitchers in the World Series in October. Yet when he entered to open the 10th inning Monday, he induced the first out by barehanding Johnson's dribbler to the third-base side of the mound and rifling a throw to first that barely beat him to the bag.
Rodney wouldn't get another out for five batters. Overbay hit a one-out single, then Wells worked a nine-pitch at-bat into a walk. Rodney put Thomas in an 0-2 hole, but lost a 1-2 fastball inside that hit the cleanup hitter to load the bases.
Trying to avoid a sacrifice fly, Rodney put Glaus in a similar hole with offspeed pitches. Rodney tried another changeup on an 0-2 count, but the pitch caught too much of the plate, allowing Glaus to line it past Brandon Inge and into left field to score pinch-runner Jason Smith. An ensuing groundout by Rios drove in Wells for the final cushion.
"Usually a walk or a hit batter equals disaster," Leyland said, "and it eventually did. Rodney made two great pitches to Glaus and I have no problem with that. He tried to make another one and he just got the bat on it and got a base hit."
Leyland didn't have a problem with much on Monday, just the result.
"I thought we handled everything well," Leyland said. "We just got beat."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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