Drew Smyly's Debut

The young southpaw from Little Rock, Arkansas walked the first hitter he faced in the major leagues, Desmond Jennings. Carlos Pena singled, and Evan Longoria walked. Jeff Keppinger, the villian in yesterday's ninth inning, came up. Smyly whiffed him, and retired Ben Zoebrist and Sean Rodriguez to get out of the jam.

Smyly went four, coming out after 90 pitches. He allowed four hits, struck out three, and earned a second start. 

The Tigers scored three in the fifth, and two each in the seventh and eighth. Alex Avila tripled, standing up, stole a base, and scored on a wild pitch, proving that it always helps to have speed in the catching position.

Avila Wins It / HAHA RED SOX !!!

Wouldn't that be something if he hits it out? I asked Maggie.

You're delusional, she said.

Alex Avila was up, the Tigers were down 12-11 with two out in the 12th, and Prince Fielder was on. A brisk breeze was blowing out, as it had been all day. The Tigers scored four in the first, surrendered the lead, and came from three down to tie the score at seven. The Red Sox scored three, but Miguel Cabrera homered with two on in the ninth to tie the score at ten. Good and wonderful things had been happening all weekend at Comerica. So there was no doubt in my mind that he'd do it.

Sox closer by default Mark Melancon threw Avila a 2-2 curve, and he hit a high fly that barely made it into the stands. It still counted, and he rounded third and headed at home, having won the game, that brown-eyed handsome man!

I got my wish again!

You're haunted, Maggie said. And how do you know his eyes are brown?

I don't. Would Crash Davis let facts get in the way of a good blog post?

No, I don't think he would ... 

Max Scherzer allowed seven runs and was gone by the fourth inning. Doug Fister is on the DL and no one knows who will take his place in the rotation. Neither condition is cause for alarm, because it's early, and because we're 3-0 and New England's darlings, the self-imploding Red Sox -- Dustin Do-Right, Yoooo-kilis, the Ellsbury Doughboy, and Bobby Valentine, the Newt Gingrich of baseball managers -- have been broomed out of town.

I wish someone else would wash dishes, Maggie said. She wrapped the Easter ham in foil, and scooped potato salad into a Tupperware container.

I gathered plates and silver, and ran water in the sink. Crash also said that a player on a streak must respect the streak. You never know when one will happen again. If the Tigers keep winning, I'll wash dishes every night.

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If the Yankees keep losing, we'll have Easter dinner every night, and for breakfast and lunch. The D-Rays completed a sweep by whitewashing the Bombers 3-0 in Florida. The last time both the Red Sox and Yankees started a season 0-3 was in 1966, when Mickey Mantle played outfield and "California Dreamin'" was Billboard's number one song.

Alex Avila's Night

He'll remember the stolen base more than the single, double, and homer, and the five runs batted in. 

In the eighth inning, when the O's forgot he was on first, off he went, leaving a vapor trail in the cool Baltimore night air. He died on second, but that was okay. His bat had already helped give the Tigers a 7-3 lead.

Pitchers, pre-DH, bragged about their hitting.Sluggers remember the day when, late in the game with their team out of substitutes, they filled in at a strange position and made all the plays. Slow catchers never forget that base they stole. 

Usually, batting averages don't mean much until mid-April. An exception can be made for Avila, the Tiger starting catcher who went from .100 (1 for 10) to .375 in one night.