Tigers make Indians' Byrd look unhittable -- again

Tigers make Indians' Byrd look unhittable -- again

By PAT CAPUTO
Journal Register News Service

http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/072908/spo_sports07.shtml

CLEVELAND -- These are the nights when you shake your head and wonder,
"What is going on with this team?"

Because there are times when the Tigers' lineup appears as the
murderer's row everybody predicted last winter when they traded for
Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria. You know, when they score 19 runs
in a game -- or something similarly ridiculous.

Then there are games like Monday night, when they make Paul Byrd, the
venerable Cleveland Indians right-hander, who entered the game with a
4-10 record and a 5.28 ERA, seem like Greg Maddux in his prime.

The Tigers whimpered into Cleveland Monday, losing the first of a
four-game series at Progressive Field, 5-0, to the struggling Indians.

They didn't threaten much against Byrd, or the Indians' decidedly
mediocre bullpen. And when the Tigers did mount any semblance of a
rally, they were not able to capitalize.

This is a telling statistic about the Tigers: They entered Monday
ranked third in the American League in runs scored, yet have been shut
out a league-high 11 times.

It was the Tigers' third loss in their last four games. July is about
to run out. So are the Tigers' postseason aspirations. They trail
Chicago by 61Ú2 games, and Minnesota by five games, in the AL Central.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland said he "understood" what happened to his
team Monday after losing two of three games in an emotionally-charged
series against the first-place White Sox over the weekend.

"You can't get caught up in it (the pennant race)," Leyland said. "Six
games out seems like a lot, but if one team loses five straight games
at the same time another wins five in a row, you're right there. There
is still a lot of baseball left to be played.

"We came out a little flat. Give credit to Paul Byrd. We haven't been
able to figure him out."

Exactly 14 years after he threw a perfect game for the Texas Rangers,
Tigers starting pitcher Kenny Rogers was anything but perfect Monday.

The first hitter for Cleveland, Grady Sizemore, blasted a double near
the top of the wall in left field, eventually scoring on a groundout
by shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Peralta then made it 2-0 with an RBI
double off Rogers in the third inning.

The walls crashed completely down around Rogers in the sixth inning
when Kelly Shoppach led off with a home run, and Asdrubal Cabrera hit
a two-run homer, the latter on an off-speed pitch piercing the heart
of the plate.

"Kenny did a good job of keeping us in it until a couple balls left
the park," Leyland said.

Rogers was disappointed most of all with the sixth inning.

"I gave up home runs to hitters I'm supposed to be getting out,"
Rogers said. "I wasn't tired. I didn't make the adjustments I needed
to make. They were diving out at balls. I needed to pitch inside more,
and when I did pitch outside, I didn't get the ball out far enough. I
left it too much over the plate.

"Giving up that two-run home run was a tough blow, no doubt. I made a
bad pitch."

It's not like the Tigers never see Byrd. They face him several times
per season. Yet, they never seem to gain anything from the experience.

Byrd pitched 72Ú3 shutout innings Monday, limiting the Tigers to four
hits and three walks. He is 10-2 lifetime against the Tigers, 92-91
against other major league teams.

"He changes speeds and keeps the ball out of the middle of the plate,"
Leyland said. "He's a pitcher. He's a very confident pitcher against
us because of the success he's had against us in the past."


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- Scott Smith: scott.smith.TakeThisOut@iphouse.com
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