Offense Continues For Detroit Tigers

Apr 14, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder (28) gets a hit during the 5th inning in a game against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Fans have begun to see what this offense could be for the Detroit Tigers.  After scoring only three runs on Friday the Tigers bats knocked in 17 runs on Saturday and Sunday to take the series from the formerly red-hot Oakland Athletics.  The win Saturday snapped Oakland’s 9 game win streak.

The A’s only victory  in the series came on Friday in extra innings.  In that win the A’s sustained some key injuries.  Yoenis Cepedes landed on the 15 day DL after injuring his hand on a awkward slide into second base. That same game CoCo Crisp injured his groin on Saturday making him day-to-day.

Not sure having those players would have mattered for the A’s as the Detroit Tigers pounded the A’s starting pitching.

Offensive Dominance

The Tigers have four players on hitting streaks over 4 games: Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter have hit safely in 9 straight games.  Austin Jackson extended streak to 6 games while Jhonny Peralta quietly put a 5 game streak together. Other than extending his hitting streak, Prince Fielder and an excellent series going 7 for 12 with  2 HR and 5 RBI.  Victor Martinez started to bust out of his slump and recorded a couple of hits in the series and driving in an RBI on Sundays game.  The offensive performances are a welcome sight for Tigers fans who watched their team struggle to score at times last year. The additions of Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez have helped the Detroit Tigers keep consistent pressure on opposing pitching staffs. With the exception of the slumping Andy Dirks, the current Detroit Tigers line-up doesn’t seem to have a weakness.

Pitching Prowess

The starting rotation quieted the noisy Oakland bats that propelled the A’s on their recently snapped 9 game win streak.  The combination of  Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez gave up only 4 runs in their three starts.  The bullpen seemed to come around allowing only 3 more helping to hold the Oakland Athletics to only 7 runs in series.

Closer Clarity

Apr 13, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Joaquin Benoit (53) pitches in the ninth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.Co Coliseum. The Tigers won 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The weekend also offered some insight into the future of the closer role.  Joaquin Benoit staked a claim to the spot after his performance Saturday.  After entering the game with a 4 run lead and a runner on in the bottom of the eighth Joaquin Beniot gave up a single and walked a batter but struck-out Jed Lowrie to end the threat.  He then started the bottom of the ninth by walking lead-off batter John Jaso but struck out the next three to close out the game.  It wasn’t a save opportunity but Benoit showed that he had the stuff to close games.

On Tap

The next leg of the Detroit Tigers only west coast trip of the year takes them to Seattle to face the 6-8 Mariners.  Game time is 10:10 pm  EST and you can watch it on Fox Sports Detroit.