MLB: Day Forty-Five
The Detroit Tigers got their revenge against the Boston Red Sox. Behind great pitching from Justin Verlander, the Tigers easily handled the Red Sox 7-2. Verlander pitched 7 2/3 innings and gave-up only 2 runs to a very potent Red Sox offense. For the season Verlander has an ERA of 2.76 and his record is 4-1.
On the other side, Tim Wakefield started on the mound for Boston. Wakefield entered the game with the American League’s lowest ERA. However, the Tigers touched him up for 4 runs in the top of the 3rd. The Tigers scored their runs in the 3rd inning on 2 homeruns – a solo shot from Brandon Inge and a 3 run shot by Maggio Ordonez. Ordonez has to be one of the leading candidates for AL MVP at this point. He is batting .343 with 8 homers and 37 RBI.
Over in the National League, the Atlanta Braves continued to play well and to get great pitching from Tim Hudson. Hudson gave-up just 3 hits in 7 innings. He allowed just 1 run in 7 innings. For the season Hudson is now 5-1 with an amazing ERA of 1.77.
The Milwaukee Brewers stumbled again on Tuesday night. Their loss to the Philadelphia Philies was their 3rd straight. What was a huge 8.5 game lead in the NL Central just a few days ago, is now down to just a 4.5 game lead. The Houston Astros have won 4 straight games and they’re quickly gaining on the Brewers.
On Wednesday the Yankees and the White Sox will play a doubleheader because they were rained out on Tuesday. This series is a good test for both teams who haven’t yet played up to expectations.
However, the White Sox have begun playing better baseball and they’re now a couple games over .500. The Yankees are still below .500 and they are quickly losing touch with the division leading Red Sox. The Yanks are 8 games behind the Red Sox.
Looking toward this weekend, there are many intriguing inter-league match-ups. Last year’s World Series participants (St. Louis and Detroit) will meet in Detroit. The Yankees will take on the Mets. Finally, the Angels will meet the Dodgers.
I’ll get into this more on Thursday or Friday but one important thing to watch for is how the Yankees do against the Mets. If the Mets sweep that series, George Steinbrenner, may consider that the last straw for Joe Torre. It shouldn’t happen – the sweep or the firing – but it just might. Something to watch for.
