Rapid Reactions: Tigers Take Series Over ChiSox

Tigers 9, White Sox 0 (box)

• The White Sox do not appear to be a very good fielding team. An error by Juan Pierre and a misplay by Alex Rios in the 4th lead to a huge inning for the Tigers. They’ve committed the fourth most errors in baseball and their UZR ranks second to last (small sample size warning). They have a good pitching staff on paper, but the defense isn’t doing them any favors.
• The decision by the official scorer to award Brent Morel with a hit in the sixth inning, but in my opinion it was the right call. I don’t know how many third basemen can glove that ball, plant, and then make an accurate throw on the play with “ordinary effort”. You can’t call it an error just because there was a no-hitter in progress.

• Even though the no-hitter didn’t materialize, it was still an outstanding outing by Brad Penny. He limited the walks, he got ground balls, and he didn’t get himself in trouble. It was the type of outing that will drastically improve his ERA and DIPS numbers.
• The Sox are clearly struggling right now, so it’s important to beat up on them when they’re down. I don’t think they’ll remain so kind to the Tigers all season.
• Will Jim Leyland consider moving Alex Avila up in the lineup? His OPS is currently north of 1.000.

Like what you see here and want to stay informed on the happenings at MCB? Make sure to follow us on Twitter, friend us on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed.