Game 83: Record 45-38

Good complete team win when they needed it

After giving away Friday's game and facing Greinke Wednesday, Tuesday's game with JV on the mound became a critical game that the Tigers needed to win. And they got it.

Justin pitched 6 strong innings, striking out 11 along the way. Unfortunately, once again, Justin just simply threw too many pitches. 114 pitches in 6 innings is too many. The amazing thing about this game is that he didn't walk anybody and still threw that many pitches. One of these days, JV is going to be pitching a 1 hitter or a no hitter or a perfect game and will not be able to complete it because he'll have thrown 130 pitches in the 7th inning.

Nice to see the offense come alive. Miguel with a solo HR that, in part, helped setup Marcus's three run HR in the big 5th inning. KC intentionally walked Miguel and then Marcus made them pay big time. This is what protection can do for you. If Leyland puts Marcus in the 4 hole again today, they'll think twice about walking Miguel. Placido also went deep, but this concerns me because he is still just hitting .262 and is pulling the ball way too much for him.

One quick note on defense. Leyland, in this game, put Josh Anderson in as a defensive replacement for Magglio in the 8th inning. Had he done that Friday, they would have had a better shot at winning because the leadoff man in the 8th would not have gotten on and would not have scored the tying run. Glad to see that he learned something.

Rubber game in the series with Zack Greinke against youngster Luke French. On paper, this could be ugly. But they play the game on grass, not paper. I am hoping for some patient at bats, some hits, some walks. Get Greinke out of the game by the 6th or 7th and win it in the late innings. French just needs to keep them in it, he doesn't need to win it.