Detroit Tigers Close Out 2015 Spring Campaign With a Win

The Detroit Tigers closed out their 2015 Grapefruit League spring campaign today, April 3, with a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Tigers finished near the bottom of the pile in the Grapefruit League with a 12-20 record.

More from Motor City Bengals

• Detroit Tigers: Victor Reyes finding ways to get the job done
• The Detroit Tigers must cut their losses and release Jonathan Schoop
• Detroit Tigers: Garrett Hill’s new role and changed delivery are excellent
• Detroit Tigers: Joe Jiménez has rebounded in 2022
• Detroit Tigers: Is it finally time to move the fences in at Comerica Park?

The Tigers pitchers were solid in their last spring game.  Alfredo Simon provided hope for Tiger fans as he pitched a consecutive solid outing, pitching five solid innings with three strikeouts and only allowing one hit.  Maybe the key with Joba Chamberlain is to only allow him to pitch 2/3 of an inning as he pitched well with no hits and a strikeout.  The Tigers thew a battery of pitchers to two hit the Rays.

Victor Martinez provided the sole run for the Tigers with a solo home run shot in the second inning, his second of spring training.  Miguel Cabrera, James McCann and Jose Iglesias provided the three other hits for Detroit.

Ian Kinsler quietly completed a nice spring training with a .415 average, two home runs and thirteen RBI’s.  James McCann, Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez, Yoenis Cespedes and Anthony Gose also gave solid performances. Nick Castellanos, Alex Avila and Jose Iglesias gave Detroit subpar offensive performances.

On the mound, Joakim Soria provided hope for the bullpen and Shane Greene was steady.  David Price, Anibal Sanchez and Justin Verlander hopefully used the spring to work out kinks in their game.  The usual suspects of Joe Nathan and Joba Chamberlain were completely awful and we can only hope that Keyse Soze is waiting in the wings to take care of them.

Detroit enters  the regular season with too many question marks for the start that they need given the competitive Central Division and the heavy upfront schedule against their divisional rivals.  Can Victor Martinez bounce back fast?  Is Miguel Cabrera fully healthy?  How long will it take Justin Verlander to heal?  What happens after seven innings when the starters turn it over to the bullpen?  Are Greene and Simon good enough to replace Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello in the rotation?

Tune in on Monday, April 6 as our Tigers take on the Minnesota Twins in a matchup of David Price versus Phil Hughes in the opening day battle at Comerica Park.

GO TIGERS!

Next: Detroit Tigers: Division Rivals Challenge Early