Minneapolis, MN. After a hapless and inexcuseable series against the crowns, the Tigers were hoping that a change of venue would show that they still had life. It wasn’t time to shop at Target! It was time to be ruthless, and take the heart out of the Twins. It was 4 and 5 Scott Diamond against a pitcher that has been having up and down moments, but like we talked about last night, one of Porcello’s keys was to trust his stuff. For most of the night, Leland was able to let Porcello and Avila work together, which was a welcome relief for Jimmy. That also avoided the Tigers problem area which has been the bullpen, at least until the 7th inning when Leland noticed that Porcello was getting tired. Then he went to get some Smiles, but Smiley was ineffective, which left Leland with only two choices; does he bring in Jochim Benoit, or the inexcusable one, Jose Valverde? Prince Fielder gave the Motor City kitties a great beginning to the night with a double that the Twins couldn’t grab, that allowed two runs to score against Diamond who held the Tigers at bay, for the first five innings. Diamond was unable to get any help from his offense on this night. It was all about Porcello and the “art of pitching”. The Tigers look to take a strangle hold on the Twins when Anibal takes to the mound at 6:15 tonight at Target Field.
