Detroit Tigers: Playing Good Baseball at PNC Park

In the final game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Detroit Tigers found the dictionary definition of “good baseball” and put on a visual display for nine innings. In the 7-4 win over the Bucs, the Tigers demonstrated everything that a team needs to look like a solid baseball team.

Solid Pitching: The first thing the Tigers displayed was solid pitching. Justin Zimmermann pitched in six innings without allowing any runs scored. He struck out four batters and the defense took care of the rest. While the four strikeouts are relatively low for a pitcher of Zimmermann’s caliber, there are eight other men on the field all helping to get batters and runners out. Interestingly, Zimmermann has yet to allow a run while wearing the Tigers uniform.

Unfortunately, Drew Verhagen did not have the same experience on the mound that Zimmermann had. He pitched in the seventh inning where he faced seven batters who ended up scoring three runs. He struggled to get two outs and was replaced by Mark Lowe who got the final out of the inning and the three needed to get through the eighth.

Finally, Francisco Rodriguez got the save at the end of the game. He only faced three batters. Even though he did not get his signature strikeouts, the batters he faced only hit soft ground balls that were easy outs for the infielders.

Aggressive Defense: When it came to defense, the Tigers were good. There were two errors – which is actually rather high for professional baseball players. But, the play at home in the eighth inning was proof that the Tigers are playing aggressive defense. In this play, John Jaso was running from first to home on a double hit by Andrew McCutchen. Tyler Collins threw the ball to Ian Kinsler who threw to Bobby Wilson at home. The heads-up playing got Jaso out at home.

The only flaws on defense were from Andrew Romine – who usually plays cleanly, and from Nick Castellanos – who again, had problems making routine plays at third. But, his hitting made up for any issues he had on third base. 

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Situational Hitting: There is a saying that “Pitching wins baseball games.” In actuality, runs win baseball games and the Tigers simply had more. Kinsler has continued to lead off with consistency and his leadership has spread throughout the lineup. Kinsler went two-for-five and scored one run. Castellanos also continued his power at the plate going three-for-four, with a home run and four RBIs. Even though J.D. Martinez did not record a hit, he earned two walks and crossed the plate twice.

The Tigers truly employed situational hitting. They lead all the way into the seventh with four runs to zero. Then, after Verhagen’s trouble on the mound, the Tigers were up by one run. In order to cement the win, the hitters in the eighth inning came through, scoring three more runs. This is good baseball and good teamwork.

Next: Detroit Tigers: Reaching Milestones and Setting Streaks Early

The Tigers only had nine hits but scored seven runs. They left only four runners on base. On the flip side, the Pirates had 14 hits scoring only 3 runs. They left 12 runners on base. The situational baseball the Tigers played helped them win the game and take the series.