Tigers 21 Brewers 13

When the Tigers played the Cardinals last Saturday, it was safe to say that the team had broken out of its hitting slump that had plagued the first few games of the season.  After Tuesday’s big performance against the Brewers, that slump is ancient now ancient history.  The Tigers put a league high 21 runs on the board this season, taking care of the Brewers 21-13 and avenging their only loss of the season thus far. 

You could summarize the Tigers’ offensive performance and just say that the entire lineup was responsible for the offensive explosion, and that would be true.  But let’s take the time to get into the details and some of the more gaudy performances that were put up.  Jeff Nelson continued his torrid start, driving in 4 more runs for a total of 10 RBI in the past 2 games.  Dan Titus went 3-3 with 2 RBI and 4 runs scored.  Dennis McGarel went 2-2 with 3 RBI.  Scott Harris went 3-4 with 2 doubles and  2 RBI.  Juan Sanchez scored 3 times and drove in a run.  Tim Mullally and Curt Lechner each added 2 RBI.  Dave Hayse added a 2 run triple in the first inning.

The top five hitters in the lineup (Sanchez, Harris, Titus, McGarel, and Nelson) combined to go 12-15 with 12 RBI and 13 runs scored!

And for all that offensive output, this game was much, much closer than the final score indicates.  The Brewers were in this game until almost the very end. 

Anthony Perez started and pitched a scoreless first, but some shaky defense allowed the brewers back in it, leading to a 10-9 score after just three innings.

Dave Purkey pitched the final 4 innings to earn his first win of the season.  This was Purkey’s first outing since injuring his hamstring back on June 3rd against this same Brewers team after just a third of an inning. 

The Positives:

• The offense

The Negatives

• Everything else.  This was a sloppy game for the Tigers.  A 21 run explosion makes everyone happy, but this team shouldn’t be allowing anyone to score 13 runs.  The defense and pitching will have to improve to keep this team rolling.

What’s Next

The Tigers return to action this Sunday at 7 pm to take on the Cubs.  Let’s hope they saved a few runs for that game.