“Detroit’s Alex Rodriguez hits 3000th career hit”>Justin Verlander outdueled Tampa Bay Rays’ Chris Archer as the Tigers didn’t get a baserunner until the seventh inning but scored two unearned runs, avoiding a sweep with a 2-1 win Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
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Jose Iglesias was the first Tiger to reach against Archer one out into the seventh, hitting a slow bouncer to the left side and beating the throw from Cabrera.
Verlander struck out Cabrera with two on to end the seventh.
Joakim Soria picked up his 24th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. Detroit is in fourth place in the American League Central at 49-and-52 and trails Minnesota by 3-and-a-half games for the second AL wild card spot.
Verlander (1-3), who retired his first 14 batters before Asdrubal Cabrera homered on an 0-1 pitch with two outs in the fifth, gave up one run, four hits and had 10 strikeouts. That move gave them three catchers, allowing them to use red-hot Curt Casali (four HRs in last two games) as a DH and still have a backup available behind Rene Rivera, who started at catcher.
“It was special. That guy is one of my best friends”, Casali said after he had three hits and homered twice for the second straight game, leading the Rays to a 10-2 victory over the slumping Tigers on Tuesday night.
Price, whose future in Detroit is the subject of speculation with Friday’s major league trade deadline looming, allowed five runs and seven hits over six innings to lose his third straight start.
Yoenis Cespedes led off the seventh with his 16th home run to pull the Tigers to 3-1. Martinez and Nick Castellanos.
Cabrera said the loss was on him – even though he also provided the Rays’ only run with a solo home run – and Tampa Bay has an off-day Thursday to put Wednesday’s disappointment behind it as it travels to Boston. With SS Adsdrubal Cabrera reinstated from the disabled list Tuesday, the Rays have a season-low five players on the DL….
Of all the games this year to not be televised, today’s was a masterclass in pitching between Chris Archer and Justin Verlander, resulting in a double flawless game through the first half of the game.
Archer has eight starts this season where he hasn’t given up an earned run.
But the takeaway from that game should be that Justin Verlander again pitched like the pitcher they’ve been expecting (and are paying) him to be. After Neftali Feliz fanned Casali with the bases loaded, Beckham tripled to drive in three more runs and finish with four RBIs.
Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh, which has won three straight games. The 26-year-old permitted one run over six innings with nine strikeouts against Baltimore in his last outing before the Rays rallied for a 3-1 win. J.D. LHP Kyle Lobstein (shoulder) threw batting practice and is close to starting a rehab assignment.
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Detroit manager Brad Ausmus isn’t sure if his Detroit Tigers are losing their confidence. He came up nursing his left wrist, and injury he’s already been dealing with the season, but stayed in the game.
