Against the Minnesota Twins, Pelfrey only lasted four innings while giving up five runs on eight hits.
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Still, manager Brad Ausmus noted he doesn’t expect to make a change to the pitching rotation in the near future.
“We had it in us, we knew it, even when we were going through that stretch where we were losing, ” said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who delivered a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning Sunday. Name me a better 1-2 combination at the plate in baseball today and I will debate against you. “He did a nice job of that”.
Saltalamacchia’s double off the leftfield wall in the seventh inning scored Upton and swept the Twins, 6-5.
“That was unbelievable”, he said.
After Khris Davis’ RBI single in the ninth, Francisco Rodriguez got the final out for his fifth save in six chances, inducing Stephen Vogt to pop out with runners at second and third.
Graph: Tigers’ team leaders in offensive categories.
His fastball topped out at 97, and he got his slider up to 90 with a nasty break.
It is always unwise to read too much into a major-league debut. Twins RHP Jose Berrios (0-1, 11.25 ERA) will oppose Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel (2-3, 4.41 ERA).
Minnesota scored a pair of runs off former Twin Mike Pelfrey in the first inning, thanks to three singles and a walk, all with two outs.
“I think that’s just the story of everything kind of going on around here now”, Minnesota starter Ricky Nolasco said. “But he was definitely tiring at the end, and they were starting to hit his fastball”. “He’s getting pretty close”, Ryan said.
Ausmus said he’s undecided whether to start rookie RHP Michael Fulmer on Thursday in Cleveland.
I also feel I need to give a shout out to Justin Upton who helped lead the Tigers to their 4-1 win on Saturday with a blast that still has the fans wondering when the ball will land.
After Oakland opened a trip with a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees and a win at Toronto, the Athletics had high hopes. “To do that and to get a win for the team is an incredible feeling”.
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Already 10 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central, the question now is whether these mistakes – and the pressure in trying to correct them – have put the Twins behind the eight-ball in what was supposed to be a promising summer in the Twin Cities. “We just didn’t do enough things to win the game once again”.
