Justin Verlander’s second start did not start as well as his first outing went. After retiring the lead-off batter he surrendered back-to-back home runs to Iguchi and Thome. He set down Konerko and Dye to avoid further trouble.In the bottom of the first the Tigers’ played some small ball. Granderson began with a single off the glove of Garland the pitcher. He went to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a ground out to second by Polanco. Pudge drove Granderson in with a ground out to second with the infield back. Magglio followed with a walk and Dmitri Young singled to left. However, they were stranded when Shelton struck out.
The second inning was smoother sailing for Verlander as he gave up a two out single to Alex Cintron, but escaped without further damage.
The Tigers were not able to get anything going besides a two out single from Infante. With two outs in the top of the third things started to fall apart for Verlander. Thome walked and went to third on a single by Konerko. Konerko advanced to second on a wild pitch. Dye drove home both runners with a double. Pierzynski doubled home Dye and then scored on a single by Crede. Crede went to second on the throw home. This ended the day for Verlander who after 2.2 innings gave way to Jason Grilli. He allowed a triple to Cintron for the seventh run charged to Verlander. The third finally ended with a Brian Anderson strike out.
In case the 7 runs were not enough Thome doubled home Podsednik who walked in the top of the fourth. Dye singled in Thome and was thrown out trying to stretch a double.
Shelton must have been upset Thome tied him for the league lead in home runs. Following a Dmitri Young single Shelton hit a 437 ft. shot for his seventh in nine games. Guillen followed with a single and was thrown out at home on a double down the right field line by Omar Infante. Being 6 runs behind and with only one out this was a bad call by the third base coach Gene Lamont. They were not able to get any more runs in the fourth.
The Sox just kept pouring it on in the fifth scoring another run off Grilli with a double and a triple. In the bottom half the Tigers got a two run homer off the bat of Magglio Ordonez following a Texas-league single by Pudge. The Tigers offense continued to fight back with two outs. Chris Shelton double and then scored on a RBI double by Guillen. Monroe followed with a run scoring single before being thrown out attempting to advance on the throw home. The lead was cut to 10-7.
The Tigers’ kept pecking away starting a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Polanco doubled and scored on a single by Pudge who went to second on an error by Podsednik. Maggs followed with a single, but Pudge was held at third because of the strong arm of Dye. D. Young made a bid for the lead when he flew out deep to the warning track in center. The Tigers were down once by 9-1 cut the lead to 10-8 after 6.
The Tigers’ bullpen just could not keep the Sox off the board. A walk and a hit batter by Bobby Seay led to two run when Spurling surrendered a double to Iguchi. Those walks are killer. Another run scored on a single by Konerko making it 13-8. The Sox continually made two-out rallies to break the Tigers’ back.
The Tigers’ offense showed resilience manufacturing a run in the bottom of the eighth inning with a double down the third base line by Infante who moved to third and then scored on successive ground outs. Detroit made it interesting bringing the tying run to the plate loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but Granderson struck out to end the misery that was this game.
The Tigers got plenty of offense today. However, their starting pitching and then their bullpen struggled to hold off the White Sox. The Sox showed they are clearly on another level when compared to the Tigers at this point. The Tigers need to strike back quickly against a tough Cleveland team starting tomorrow night.
*** OEs 3 Stars of the Game ***
#3 Omar Infante - 4-5 with a run scored
#2 Ivan Rodriguez – 3-5 with a run scored and 2 RBI
#1 Chris Shelton – 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI
On Tap – Game 10 v. Cleveland Indians, April 14th 7:05 ET
Kenny Rogers (1-1, 4.76) v. Jake Westbrook (2-0, 1.98)
