Justin Verlander’s defense didn’t help him when Carlos Santana hit a two run home run in the very first inning, putting the Detroit Tigers starting pitcher behind the eight ball, two nothing. Wednesday night, the Tigers were shut out 7-0 by the Tribe, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Royals were a 4 to 1 winner over Texas, leaving the Tigers 1.5 games behind KC in their quest for their forth Central crown.
Danny Salazar was pretty impressive all night long because he had the Detroit Tigers hitters off balance and unable to hit, being held to just five hits. It was a great move by Indians manager Terry Francona to let his starter finish the shutout. Baseball rarely sees what the Indians did to the Tigers’ offense Wednesday night.
The fact that Tigers were held scoreless Wednesday night does not reflect on Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. It’s up to the players who wear the Old English D who come to the ballpark to play the game of baseball. Ausmus doesn’t play the game any more. Miguel Cabrera, bum ankle or not, should have been ready to play. Torii Hunter, a gold glove winner, is 38 years old, and shouldn’t need a fire to be lit under his butt to play the game the right way. Bryan Holaday should have caught the ball better than he did, and instead of going to the mound, let Verlander struggle.
