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By John Parent
July 8, 2009
One night after manager Jim Leyland pubically lamented his team's offensive struggles, the Detroit Tigers came through at the plate.
With the Tigers leading the Kansas City Royals 4-3 in the fifth, Royals manager Trey Hillman called for the intentional walk of Miguel Cabrera, who had homered in his first at bat. This move set the stage for Marcus Thames, who belted a three-run bomb, his eighth of the year, off Royals starter Bruce Chen.
Chen (0-3) left a change-up in the middle of the plate that Thames deposited into the bullpens beyond left field, giving the Tigers a lead they would not give back.
"I've got to do a better job of concentrating on getting the ball down," Chen told the Associated Press. "I felt pretty strong until the fifth, but that inning just got away from me, and the three-run homer buried me." He allowed three home runs in just 4.2 innings, leading to seven earned runs in total.
For his part, Tigers starter Justin Verlander also struggled with command at least early on. Verlander found himself trailing 3-1 in the second inning after allowing a bases loaded double to David DeJesus, but settled in thereafter.
Verlander (9-4) left following the sixth having allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits. He struck out 11, running his total to a major league best 141 on the season.
Feranado Rodney struggled through a scoreless ninth, but retired the side for his 18th save in as many chances.
John Parent covers the Tigers via his website, http://alwaysatiger.blogspot.com. His work can also be found at Bleacher Report and Baseball Reflections. He can be reached at jparent20@baseball-now.com.
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