Tune in at 8:05 PM ET as the Tigers take on the Rangers. Matthias Koster will be liveblogging for your enjoyment.
DET
Jackson
Dirks
Cabrera
Fielder
Boesch
Young
Avila
Peratla
Infante
TEX
Kinsler
Andrus
Hamilton
Beltre
Cruz
Young
Murphy
Napoli
Moreland
Over/Under is 10 runs. TEX is a -130 favourite
First pitch is in roughly 5 minutes. This is an interesting pitching match-up. Scherzer can be dominate or downright terrible. Feldman has had success of late but can be viewed as a ticking timebomb. Can he really maintain his recent level of success?
Feel free to ask any game or team related questions during the game. Comments are welcome
Gametime temp: 96
Homeplate ump: Fieldin Culbreth
Wind: 9 MPH, Left to Right
TEX has a short bench of only 3 players: OF Gentry, 3B/1B Ott, C Soto
Austin Jackson will lead off for DET. Feldman's has a 1.19 ERA since the All-Star break
Feldman revitalized his career 3 or 4 years ago after discovering a cutter
Jackson is having a breakout season. .401 OBP, some power and his outstanding CF defense
1st pitch flyout to mid-RF. 1 pitch, 1 out.
Andy Dirks coming up. He recently returned from the DL. He had a great start to the 2012 season before getting hurt. He has a .349 BA
Is Dirks for real? He posted a very strong BA in AAA Toledo. He could be a legitimate .280 - .290 hitter with gap power.
Dirks chases a curve in the dirt for strike three. Two down, Miguel Cabrera coming up
Feldman is, as expected, working his 87 - 90 MPH cutter early on in the game
4-seamer on the outside portion of the plate. Cabrera puts a swing on it, flies out to the right-center gap. Hamilton, tonights CF, was positioned perfectly
1-2-3 inning for Feldman. Heading to the bottom 1st, the up and down Scherzer to take the hill for DET
Kinsler leading off, followed by Andrus and Hamilton
Scherzer gets a call, pumping a 94 MPH fastball on the inside corner with movement. Nice framing job by Avila
One down, Andrus coming up
Opposite field fly out to RF. Two down, Hamilton coming up
Scherzer has some crazy movement on his fastball to start tonights game
Scherzer makes a mistake, either a change-up or a slider with no movement, right down the middle. Hamilton smoked it, blasting it out over the CF wall
TEX up 1-0. Beltre coming up
Chop groundout to SS ends the inning. Hamilton's solo 420+ foot blast puts TEX up 1-0
2nd pitch flyout to mid-LF. Murphy comes in, puts it away for out #1. Boesch coming up
Boesch has been lacking power but has been hitting his share of singles over the past 3 weeks. His BA has creeped up to .254
Groundball the other way towards Beltre. He vacuums it up, throws out Boesch by 2 or 3 steps. Two down, Delmon Young coming up
Delmon Young: Former #1 overall pick. Former #1 prospect in baseball. He hasn't lived up to expectations
Lazy bloop flyout to RF, caught by Cruz. Another 1-2-3 for Feldman, onto the bottom 2nd
Cruz, Young, Murphy due up for TEX
Cruz leading off. He's having a decent season, on pace for 25 HR
Slider on the outside corner. Cruz stays with it, hits it up the middle for a leadoff single
That was a pitcher pitch. Good job by Cruz. Young coming up
BTW, Young is DH tonight, Moreland is handling duties at 1st base
@pilot Nope, he's not in the lineup
@pilot In-fact, Olt seems to play bidaily. I wonder if it was worth it to call him up, just to play him irregularly
Young walks. This gives TEX runners on 1st/2nd, none out, Murphy up with Moreland on deck
Odd play. High fastball. Murphy swung and missed. But the ball gets past Avila to the backstop
