Tigers fans once again witnessed first hand the two different sides to the MLB trade deadline as Doug Fister went head-to-head with Ubaldo Jimenez.
I’m sure we all can remember the Tigers in the mix for Jimenez before they went out and acquired Fister from Seattle for Charlie Furbush, Casper Wells and some prospects.
As it turns out, Detroit appears to of come out on top of that deal while Cleveland is still trying to figure out whether or not Jimenez is going to work for them in the rotation.
Tonight in the opening game of the final regular season series for the Tigers Fister solidified his number two spot in the rotation (if he didn’t already before) going 8 innings allowing zero runs on three hits while walking zero and striking out nine. He without a doubt has been Detroit’s best pitcher not named Verlander.
Fister is making very strong comparisons to Doyle Alexander who the Tigers acquired from the Atlanta Braves for the stretch run in 1987. Alexander ended up going 9-0 for the Tigers and helped deliver the division title. Fister on the other hand has gone 8-1 for the Tigers and has created a two-headed monster for Detroit that includes himself and what we can safely assume the AL Cy Young winner in Justin Verlander.
The difference between Alexander and Fister is Alexander was 36 years old and in the 17th year of a 19 year career. Fister is only 27 and will hopefully be a staple in the Tigers’ rotation for many years to come.
Unfortunately for Alexander now is he is probably most known for what the Tigers gave up to get him which was John Smoltz.
Monday night the Tigers ended up scoring six runs on Jimenez which all came with two outs. Ryan Raburn drove in Alex Avila from first base with a second-inning triple. The Tigers then made it 4-0 with a three run third inning coming off of Delmon Young’s RBI single and Avila’s two-run double. Eventually Detroit made it 6-0 as Don Kelly and Victor Martinez got doubles while Avila added a single for his third RBI of the game.
The Tigers continued to push for home field advantage as they battle it out with the Texas Rangers for the second best record in the American League. The Rangers look to eliminate the Los Angeles Angels from playoff contention Monday night.
The Majors Detroit’s Player of the Game: Doug Fister (8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, o BB, 9 Ks)
| Cleveland | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fukudome, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .264 |
| a-Head, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 |
| Kipnis, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .278 |
| b-Phelps, C, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 |
| Cabrera, A, SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .274 |
| c-Valbuena, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .209 |
| Hafner, DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .277 |
| d-Donald, PH-DH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .318 |
| Duncan, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .265 |
| Chisenhall, 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .251 |
| LaPorta, 1B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .249 |
| Carrera, CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .242 |
| Marson, C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .229 |
| Totals | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | .250 |
a-Singled for Fukudome in the 9th. b-Flied out for Kipnis in the 9th. c-Grounded into a forceout for Cabrera, A in the 9th. d-Popped out for Hafner in the 9th.
| Detroit | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhymes, 2B | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .235 |
| Kelly, 3B-1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .244 |
| Young, D, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .265 |
| Cabrera, Mi, 1B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .343 |
| 1-Worth, PR-3B | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .270 |
| Martinez, V, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .324 |
| 2-Inge, PR-DH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .198 |
| Avila, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .298 |
| a-Santos, PH-C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .227 |
| Raburn, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .255 |
| Santiago, SS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .264 |
| Dirks, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .252 |
| Totals | 41 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 16 | .276 |
a-Struck out for Avila in the 8th.
1-Ran for Cabrera, Mi in the 8th. 2-Ran for Martinez, V in the 8th.
TB: Head; Cabrera, A; LaPorta 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Marson.
Team RISP: 0-for-2.
Team LOB: 4.
FIELDING
DP: (LaPorta-Cabrera, A-LaPorta).
2B: Avila (33, Jimenez), Kelly (8, Jimenez), Martinez, V 2 (38, Jimenez, Judy), Dirks (13, Judy).
3B: Raburn (2, Jimenez).
HR: Young, D (11, 8th inning off Judy, 2 on, 0 out).
TB: Rhymes 2; Kelly 3; Young, D 5; Cabrera, Mi 3; Martinez, V 4; Avila 3; Raburn 4; Santiago; Dirks 3.
RBI: Raburn 2 (48), Cabrera, Mi (104), Avila 3 (81), Martinez, V (102), Dirks 3 (28), Kelly (28), Young, D 3 (61).
2-out RBI: Raburn; Cabrera, Mi; Avila 3; Martinez, V; Dirks 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Santiago 2; Raburn 2; Cabrera, Mi; Rhymes.
GIDP: Martinez, V.
Team RISP: 9-for-18.
Team LOB: 8.
FIELDING
E: Kelly (5, throw).
Kluber pitched to 4 batters in the 8th.
WP: Kluber.
HBP: Kelly (by Kluber), Young, D (by Kluber).
Pitches-strikes: Jimenez 94-56, Kluber 35-24, Judy 29-18, Fister 109-81, Below 22-16.
Groundouts-flyouts: Jimenez 7-3, Kluber 2-1, Judy 0-1, Fister 8-5, Below 1-1.
Batters faced: Jimenez 26, Kluber 12, Judy 8, Fister 27, Below 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Judy 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Brian Gorman. 1B: Tony Randazzo. 2B: Dan Bellino. 3B: Manny Gonzalez.
Weather: 66 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 13 mph, In from RF.
T: 2:40.
Att: 29,886.
Re: Mlive.com, MLB.com
