Try as he might, Todd Jones was not able to blow this save. Of course, it was a non-save opportunity, so maybe he just didn’t try hard enough. Going into the 9th inning up 6-2 was barely enough as the Tigers squeaked out a 6-5 win. He gave up four hits and one walk and has given up at least one run in 3 of his last 4 appearances. Not exactly awe-inspiring.
Earlier in the game, Kenny Rogers looked serviceable, and even managed to pick off his major league record 92nd runner, when he caught Wilson Betemit in the 2nd inning. He gave up only 2 earned runs, giving Detroit a chance to win.
The player of the game though, was Pudge. In an unorthodox move, Leyland batted Pudge at lead-off, and it paid off with Pudge going 3-4 with a walk, driving in 2 and scoring twice.
In other news, Sheffield got his 1,583 RBI, tying Detroit Tiger great Al Kaline for 35th place in major league history. The way he’s been hitting lately, it doesn’t look like he’ll climb too much further up that list.
