And that's why Ryan Raburn got high fives for grounding out in the eighth inning this afternoon.
He advanced Prince Fielder to third and pinch runner Clete Thomas to second. Jhonny Peralta defied the Maddon Shift, three infielders on the left side, scoring Fielder with a sac fly. Gerald Laird, who wouldn't have come to bat had the Rays turned two, singled in Thomas. Final: 5-2 Tigers, now the league's only unbeaten team.
On Sunday, the miracle 12th inning rally started with little old singles by power guys Fielder and Cabrera, Fielder's hit defying the Valentine Shift, three infielders on the right side.
Little things win ball games and get you to the big October dance.
Big things, of course, also need to happen, and today Rick Porcello provided one Big Thing by allowing two runs in seven innings, outpitching Rays young star Matt Moore.
Big Thing number two: a homer, single, and two walks from Austin Jackson, international leadoff hitter of mystery, The Man For You atop the batting order. He's hitting .563 over the first four games, and striking out but walking as often as he whiffs, four times each. 162 walks leading off, we'll take that, yeah baby!
No comments:
Post a Comment