The Twins putting the pressure on the Tigers....again

Tigers turn to Robertson to halt skid

07/12/2008 1:05 AM ET
By Scott McNeish / MLB.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080711&content_id=3117536&vk...news_de

DETROIT -- Every time the Tigers get rolling, the Twins appear to put
on the brakes.

And it's happening again.

Detroit came into its four-game set against Minnesota with second
place in the American League Central in sight. The club had won three
straight and only trailed the second-place Twins by 3 1/2 games. A
series sweep would've given the Tigers second place behind the White
Sox heading into the All-Star break, along with an undeniable
confidence boost for the second half.

Two losses later, Detroit can only hope to salvage a series split.

Third place at the break is a lock.

Worse news, a loss in Saturday's regionally televised game on FOX
would give the club a series loss -- the second in the past two weeks
against Minnesota.

"We need to come out and forget about what's happened the last couple
losses," Tigers outfielder Matt Joyce said. "Every time we get
something going, the Twins are right there to stop us. But they're a
good team. They grind it out and make us work for it."

In early May, the Tigers came within a game of .500 after sweeping the
Yankees. The Twins then swept them with a combined score of 22-8.

Then just last week, Detroit won five straight to climb above .500 for
the first time this season. The Tigers won the first game of a series
at the Metrodome, but then dropped the next two -- including their
10th shutout defeat this season.

"They're a good team," third baseman Carlos Guillen said. "They do
everything right. They have good speed. They have good at-bats. They
put the ball in play. They do what it takes to win."

That includes taming the Tigers' bats. Detroit has gone 5-for-21
(.238) with runners in scoring position and has left 19 runners on
base.


---





- Scott Smith: scott.smith.TakeThisOut@iphouse.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/choppersmith

On Jul 12, 1:17 pm, S. Smith <scott.sm....RemoveThis@iphouse.com> wrote:
> Tigers turn to Robertson to halt skid
>
> 07/12/2008 1:05 AM ET
> By Scott McNeish / MLB.com
>
> http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080711&content_id=3117536&v....
>
> DETROIT -- Every time the Tigers get rolling, the Twins appear to put
> on the brakes.
>
> And it's happening again.
>
> Detroit came into its four-game set against Minnesota with second
> place in the American League Central in sight. The club had won three
> straight and only trailed the second-place Twins by 3 1/2 games. A
> series sweep would've given the Tigers second place behind the White
> Sox heading into the All-Star break, along with an undeniable
> confidence boost for the second half.
>
> Two losses later, Detroit can only hope to salvage a series split.
>
> Third place at the break is a lock.
>
> Worse news, a loss in Saturday's regionally televised game on FOX
> would give the club a series loss -- the second in the past two weeks
> against Minnesota.
>
> "We need to come out and forget about what's happened the last couple
> losses," Tigers outfielder Matt Joyce said. "Every time we get
> something going, the Twins are right there to stop us. But they're a
> good team. They grind it out and make us work for it."
>
> In early May, the Tigers came within a game of .500 after sweeping the
> Yankees. The Twins then swept them with a combined score of 22-8.
>
> Then just last week, Detroit won five straight to climb above .500 for
> the first time this season. The Tigers won the first game of a series
> at the Metrodome, but then dropped the next two -- including their
> 10th shutout defeat this season.
>
> "They're a good team," third baseman Carlos Guillen said. "They do
> everything right. They have good speed. They have good at-bats. They
> put the ball in play. They do what it takes to win."
>
> That includes taming the Tigers' bats. Detroit has gone 5-for-21
> (.238) with runners in scoring position and has left 19 runners on
> base.
>
> ---
>
> - Scott Smith:          scott.sm...@iphouse.com
>   MySpace:              http://www.myspace.com/choppersmith

In the artcle in the Toledo paper, they interviewed Jim Leyland. I
almost felt sorry for him. Then again with that payroll, I don't waste
too much time with pity. Great win with for the Twins. Harris fills
in for Punto, and has a great RBI game.
Great feeling about this club right now.