I have to admit that seeing Zumaya try to get this save made me a little nervous. You never want to see runners on first and second, up one run, and Joe Mauer up to bat. Needless to say, it proved to be another nail biter. But he pulled it off recording 5 outs for his first save in over a year. I guess Todd Jones taught him something other than pitching – how to keep it interesting.
Polanco and Guillen came up big with RBI’s in the 7th and Granderson came through in the clutch leading the way in the two run 8th inning that pushed the Tigers ahead of the Twins. Grandy’s RBI double drove in Matt Joyce, who had just scored Sheffield with a nasty triple. Like clockwork, the Tigers came through with more late-inning heroics. What needs to be realized is just how good Minnesota’s bullpen has been. They hadn’t given up a single run in the last 24 1/3 innings going back almost 2 weeks. To come back in that manner was really impressive, but to do so against the Twins was downright special.
The only team in baseball that has been playing as good as Detroit lately, is the Twins - so every one of these wins should be appreciated. The Twins beat the piss out of the NL just like Detroit did, going 13-2. This win put the Tigers 2 ½ back of Minnesota and still 5 back of Chicago.
One note of possible concern: Armando Galarraga hasn’t looked all that good in his last 2 starts. This guy really stepped up when Detroit needed someone to step up, so he should certainly get the benefit of the doubt. Something to watch for…
