SB Nation Detroit - Tigers' Rally Comes Up Short Thanks To Blown Call https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48919/detroit-fave.png2010-06-26T23:58:48-04:00http://detroit.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13028592010-06-26T23:58:48-04:002010-06-26T23:58:48-04:00Photos: Tigers Get Robbed Again
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<p>They say pictures are worth a thousand words, but the two below can be summed up with just one: robbery.</p>
<p><a href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/488631/16261zr.jpg"><img alt="16261zr_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/488631/16261zr_medium.jpg"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/488634/strike3orball4_medium.jpg"><img alt="Strike3orball4_medium_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/488634/strike3orball4_medium_medium.jpg"></a></p>
<p>Like Jim Leyland said, the pitch wasn't close, so I'm still trying to figure out how the ump screwed this one up.</p>
<p>(Pictures via the <a href="http://www.spartantailgate.com/forums/msu-red-cedar-message-board/451537-tigers-vs-braves-saturday-6-26-10-a-5.html#post6974651">Red Cedar Message Board</a> and <a href="http://www.blessyouboys.com/2010/6/26/1539181/tigers-struggles-on-the-road-and">Bless You Boys</a>)</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/26/1539479/photos-tigers-get-robbed-againSean Yuille2010-06-26T23:52:36-04:002010-06-26T23:52:36-04:00Jim Leyland After Game: 'We Should've Had It Tied'
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<p>Jim Leyland was frank with his comments about the blown call that prevented the Tigers from tying the Braves on Saturday. Unlike the Jim Joyce incident where Leyland praised Joyce's umpiring and didn't have too many negative things to say, on Saturday <a href="http://twitter.com/beckjason">he said what all Tigers fans are thinking</a> right now.</p>
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<p><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Leyland: "We should've had it tied. We should've got a walk there at the end."</span></span></p>
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<p><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Leyland: "You can't miss those pitches. You just can't miss those."</span></span></p>
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<p><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Leyland: "I don't need to comment. I know it was outside. The pitch wasn't close. It was that far outside."</span></span></p>
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<p>As Leyland said and <a href="http://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/26/1539479/photos-tigers-get-robbed-again">pictures show</a>, the pitch wasn't even remotely close to being a strike.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/26/1539438/jim-leyland-blown-call-tigers-bravesSean Yuille2010-06-26T22:55:13-04:002010-06-26T22:55:13-04:00Umpire Gary Cederstrom On Final Pitch Of Game: 'It Didn’t Look Very Good'
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<p>I don't know what it is about the Tigers being on the wrong end of bad calls that are so blatantly incorrect that the umpires admit they blew it afterward, but for the second time this month it has happened.</p>
<p>Of course, we all remember Jim Joyce making the wrong call at first base earlier this month, costing Armando Galarraga a perfect game. That blown call became a national story and Joyce and Galarraga were commended for how they handled everything. Joyce manned up and admitted he blew the call, and Galarraga remained classy throughout the whole situation. Although the incident itself absolutely stunk and enraged baseball fans everywhere, this turned out to be a good story for sports in general just because of the great sportsmanship maintained by everybody involved.</p>
<p>Earlier today the Tigers were once again robbed by an umpire, and there is no chance this story will turn into a positive. While Joyce's call was awful because it robbed Galarraga of a perfect game, it didn't affect the outcome of the game. The Tigers got the next batter out and won the game. There's no doubt it was much more memorable because of the situation and the implications on history, but today's blown call was actually much worse for the Tigers.</p>
<p>Here's the situation: Detroit trailed Atlanta 4-1 heading into the top of the ninth. Miguel Cabrera hit a solo home run with one out to cut the lead down to two runs. Brennan Boesch came up next for the Tigers and struck out, giving Detroit two outs and no runners on base.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Atlanta's pitchers lost all control and started walking Tigers left and right. Takashi Saito put Carlos Guillen and Brandon Inge on base, and Eric O'Flaherty came in and walked Danny Worth and Gerald Laird. The Laird walk scored Guillen, making it a one-run game.</p>
<p>Bobby Cox then put in Peter Moylan, but he fell behind Johnny Damon with a 3-1 count. Damon fouled off a few pitches, meaning there was a full count. A strike would end the game and a ball would tie things up. Moylan delivered another pitch with the count full and this time Damon did not swing, as the ball was clearly outside. It appeared that Damon would get to take first base and the Tigers would tie the game at 4 thanks to five straight walks. Instead, however, home-plate umpire Gary Cederstrom called a strike on Damon, ending the game.</p>
<p>Replays clearly showed that the call was wrong and the pitch was outside, but there was nothing the Tigers could do about it. There's no doubt they should have had a chance to take the lead or at the very least attempt to take the game into extra innings, but the blown call kept that from happening. Complaining won't change the call obviously, but reading <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20100626/SPORTS02/100626053/1355/">stuff like this</a> is just getting annoying.</p>
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<p>Sitting at his locker and clearly unhappy with himself, home-plate umpire Gary Cederstrom said that when he saw the replay of his game-ending strike-three call tonight on Johnny Damon, “It didn’t look very good.” [...]</p>
<p>“It was a sweeping pitch, going away from Damon,” Cederstrom said. “It looked good coming in, then broke late.</p>
<p>“My timing was fast. Whenever you have fast timing as an umpire, you usually get in trouble.”</p>
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<p>I'd be willing to bet Cederstrom wanted to get the game over with considering how hot it was, but how about you take the time to make the right call next time. It's one thing to blow a call like that in an unimportant situation in the middle of the game or something, but to do it when the Tigers have the bases loaded and are a ball away from tying the game is just ridiculous. Also, it's not like the call should have even been close. The ball was clearly outside and wasn't a borderline call by any means. At least if it was 50/50 you could understand why the error was made, but that pitch was 100% outside and that call was 100% wrong.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/26/1539401/umpire-gary-cederstrom-tigers-blown-callSean Yuille2010-06-26T19:53:03-04:002010-06-26T19:53:03-04:00Braves Hang On For 4-3 Victory Over Tigers Despite Awful 9th Inning
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<p>Atlanta, GA (<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/54548/recap/107684">Sports Network</a>) - <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/957/Chipper_Jones">Chipper Jones</a> hit a three-run home run, and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/68924/Kenshin_Kawakami">Kenshin Kawakami</a> snapped a long winless streak to lift the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/teams/ATL">Atlanta Braves</a> to a 4-3 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/teams/DET">Detroit Tigers</a> in the middle installment of a three-game interleague set.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/182/Eric_Hinske">Eric Hinske</a> drove in the other run, while Kawakami (1-9) finally got a win as he gave up just one run on two hits with three walks and six strikeouts over seven innings for the Braves, who have won two straight after dropping their previous three.</p>
<p>Kawakami had gone a total of 21 games, including 14 starts, since his last win on August 31, 2009 against Florida. He was 0-11 during that time.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/427/Miguel_Cabrera">Miguel Cabrera</a> hit his 20th home run of the season and drove in another for the Tigers, who have dropped four of five. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/31245/Max_Scherzer">Max Scherzer</a> went 5 2/3 innings in the start and was charged with just three hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/322/Joel_Zumaya">Joel Zumaya</a> (2-1) was tagged with the loss for giving up the homer to Jones.</p>
<p>Holding a three-run lead, 4-1, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/937/Takashi_Saito">Takashi Saito</a> came on in the ninth to close it, but gave up a one-out, solo homer to Cabrera then, after striking out <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/32059/Brennan_Boesch">Brennan Boesch</a>, walked the next two batters.</p>
<p>Eric O'Flaherty took the mound and walked <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/31846/Danny_Worth">Danny Worth</a> to load the bases then walked <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/102/Gerald_Laird">Gerald Laird</a> to make it a one-run game.</p>
<p>Atlanta manager Bobby Cox again went to the pen and called upon <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/964/Peter_Moylan">Peter Moylan</a>, who struck out pinch-hitter <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/601/Johnny_Damon">Johnny Damon</a> looking on a pitch that appeared to be off the plate to end the game and pick up his first save of the season.</p>
<p>It was a scoreless contest until the sixth inning when Detroit took the lead. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/31807/Austin_Jackson">Austin Jackson</a> led off with a walk and moved to second on Ramon Santiago's bunt single. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch and Jackson came home on a groundout from Cabrera.</p>
<p>Atlanta got back-to-back one-out walks from <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/994/Brian_McCann">Brian McCann</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/863/Troy_Glaus">Troy Glaus</a> in the bottom of the sixth. Eric Hinske then struck out and Zumaya took the mound and got <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/993/Yunel_Escobar">Yunel Escobar</a> to pop out and end the inning.</p>
<p>In the seventh, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/31204/Gregor_Blanco">Gregor Blanco</a> led off with a walk and pinch-hitter <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/31765/Brooks_Conrad">Brooks Conrad</a> moved him to second with a sac bunt. After Martin Prado grounded out, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/597/Melky_Cabrera">Melky Cabrera</a> worked a walk and Jones followed by crushing a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center for a 3-1 lead.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/103254/Jonny_Venters">Jonny Venters</a> set the Tigers down in order in the eighth, and the Braves padded their lead in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double from Hinske for a 4-1 advantage.</p>
<p>Atlanta improve to 9-5 in interleague play this season while Detroit dropped to 10-7...Coming into the series, Detroit had won five straight against Atlanta...Atlanta left 10 men on base while Detroit stranded seven...Miguel Cabrera leads the majors with 63 RBI.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/26/1539247/braves-hang-on-for-4-3-victorySean Yuille2010-06-26T14:25:00-04:002010-06-26T14:25:00-04:00Tigers, Braves Meet In Second Game Of Series
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<p>(<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/54548/preview/107647">Sports Network</a>) - Sporting the best home mark in the majors, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/ATL">Atlanta Braves</a> continue their three-game interleague set today by hosting the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/DET">Detroit Tigers</a> at Turner Field.</p>
<p>On Friday, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/994/Brian_McCann">Brian McCann</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/31765/Brooks_Conrad">Brooks Conrad</a> both homered to help the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/ATL">Atlanta Braves</a> edge the Detroit <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/DET">Tigers</a>, 3-1, in the series opener at Turner Field.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/597/Melky_Cabrera">Melky Cabrera</a> knocked in the other run for the Braves, who have won 15 of their last 16 games at Turner Field to improve to a Major League-best 25-7 at home.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/34276/Kris_Medlen">Kris Medlen</a> (5-1) gave up a run in the opening frame, but held Detroit off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing. The right-hander allowed six hits through 6 2/3 innings.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/824/Billy_Wagner">Billy Wagner</a> struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 400th career save.</p>
<p>"A lot of the credit goes to my teammates for helping me reach (the milestone)," Wagner said.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/427/Miguel_Cabrera">Miguel Cabrera</a> had two hits for Detroit, which has fallen in 11 of its last 15 outings on the road.</p>
<p>Detroit starter <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/107806/Andrew_Oliver">Andrew Oliver</a> (0-1) absorbed the loss in his major league debut, yielding two runs on five hits over six innings.</p>
<p>"It was exciting. It was a lot different than I expected because I thought I was going to be a little more nervous when the game started," Oliver said.</p>
<p>Taking the hill for the Tigers today will be <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/31245/Max_Scherzer">Max Scherzer</a>, who is searching for his third consecutive win. The hard-throwing right-hander was terrific in his most recent outing, allowing one run and four hits over seven innings of a 3-1 win over Arizona on Sunday. He also struck out eight in beating his former team.</p>
<p>Scherzer has made five appearances -- three starts -- in his career against the Braves, going 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA. He has dropped his last two starts versus Atlanta though, posting an 11.42 ERA during that span.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/68924/Kenshin_Kawakami">Kenshin Kawakami</a> will get the call for the Braves today and he is looking to snap a lengthy losing streak. Since beating Florida on Aug. 31, Kawakami has gone 0-11 with a 4.45 ERA in 21 games -- 14 starts -- for Atlanta.</p>
<p>The right-hander, whose 0-9 start this season is a franchise record for a starter, is coming off his shortest outing of the season against Kansas City on Sunday. In that game, he allowed five runs -- four earned -- and six hits over just two innings of work. The Braves though, rallied for the 8-5 win, taking him off the hook.</p>
<p>Kawakami has never faced the Tigers previously.</p>
<p>Detroit swept the Braves when these teams last met back in 2007 and has won five of six in the series.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/26/2317041/tigers-braves-meet-in-second-game-of-seriesSean Yuille