Detroit Tigers: The Young Guys Get It Done Over the Twins

The Detroit Tigers earned an unexpected win from the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon.

With Detroit Tigers starters like Miguel Cabrera and Jose Iglesias still on the DL, the minor league callups got it done in power-hitting style.

John Hicks, Jim Adduci, Joe Jimenez, and a few other helped with Tigers win 13-4 against the Twins.

Hicks and Adduci were added to the Tigers minor league system to provide some experienced backup in case of injuries. Fortunately, they were both performing well in Toledo, so they were the obvious choices to replace Miguel Cabrera and JaCoby Jones in the past few days.

The Details on Hicks and Adduci

Hicks was hitting .424 in Toledo. He has one double, triple, and home run as well as 12 RBIs in 33 at-bats. Adduci also saw success in Toledo. In his 43 at-bats, he has a .349 average with one double, triple, and home run, but with three RBIs. Hicks is 27 years old and Adduci is 31. Hicks showed signs of power in spring training despite his low stats in the Grapefruit League. He frequently hit hard line drives and fly balls that were usually quite close to going out of the parks. It was only a matter of time that everything came together for him.

Today, Hicks went 3 for 5 and Adduci went 3-4, with a walk. Hicks had a three-run home run, giving him five RBIs for the day. Adduci earned two RBIs today. With some quick math, Hicks and Adduci were responsible for 7 of the 13 runs with their RBIs alone. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Joe Jimenez Looking Good in His Second Outing

Along with Hicks and Adduci, Joe Jimenez had a good day. After a shaky debut, his second outing was quick and dirty. He only saw three batters and one of them he struck out. His first two batters hit right to Ian Kinsler for easy plays. With the troubles that the Tigers bullpen has had, hopes are high for the 22-year-old.

The newbies weren’t the only Tigers who did some damage today. Victor Martinez moved his batting average over .200 today after achieving his first extra-base hit of the season. He went 3-5 with a pair of RBIs and he crossed home plate, too. He’s only done that one other time in 2017. It was nice to see him run the bases without any signs of discomfort.

Fulmer Pitched Well and Vets Looked Good

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Michael Fulmer pitched well today with seven strikeouts. He gave up one home run early in the game then cruised through the rest. He did give up another earned run later in the game, but by the time he did, it didn’t matter much. Along with Hicks, Adduci, and V-Mart, he also received support from Justin Upton and Alex Avila, who is continuing his powerful at-bats with another home run. Upton is quietly making noise in the five hole with a .277 average and .936 OPS.

The one low point of the day was in the eighth inning as Anibal Sanchez had another unfortunate performance. Tasked with getting three outs, Sanchez gave up two runs, on a hit and a home run, upping his ERA to 10.97. He only pitched 2/3 of an inning before he was replaced by Justin Wilson. In what seemed like a quick reliever pitching lesson to Sanchez, Wilson only needed to throw one pitch to get the last out. With every outing, Sanchez continues to show that he just doesn’t have “it” anymore.

Next: Who Goes to Toledo When J.D. Martinez Returns?

When the Tigers get their bats going to compliment good pitching and clean defense, they can do damage. After a long road trip, the Tigers get to enjoy an off day tomorrow as they travel back to Detroit for a ten-game home stand against the Mariners, White Sox, and Indians.