The Texas Rangers dropped 9 runs on the Tigers in the third inning and it essentially ended the competitive part of the game last night. Miguel Cabrera came to play last night as he was 2 for 4 with 2 solo homers. Austin Jackson (2 for 4 with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs), Victor Martinez (3 for 4) and Jhonny Peralta (1 for 4 with a solo homer) also had solid games for the Tigers with the bat. Max Scherzer earned the loss by working 2 1/3 innings in which he allowed 5 hits, 6 runs (all earned), whiffed 1 batter and walked 4. Daniel Schlereth didn’t get anyone out but he gave up 1 hit and 1 earned run last night. Rick Porcello also brought in a gas can last night as he worked 1/3 of an inning in which he allowed 2 hits, 2 runs (both earned) and he walked 1 batter. Ryan Perry stopped the bleeding for a little bit as he worked 2 1/3 innings in which he allowed 2 hits and 1 unearned run. Brad Penny then brought in the gas can as he worked 1 2/3 innings allowing 7 hits, 5 runs (all earned), walked 2 batters and he whiffed 1. Al Alburquerque worked the last 1 1/3 innings in this game and he walked 1 batter and gave up no runs while whiffing 2 batters. The Tigers’ season is now over as the Rangers took them 4-2 in this series.

The Detroit Tigers were on the tightrope at the end of the game last night but they prevailed. Delmon Young led the way for the Tigers last night as he was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. Ryan Raburn (2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI) and Alex Avila (1 for 4 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI) each added solo homers in this game for the Tigers. Ramon Santiago (2 for 3), Miguel Cabrera (1 for 2 with 1 run scored, a double, stolen base and a RBI) and Victor Martinez (1 for 4 with 1 run scored, 1 triple and 1 RBI) also pitched in with the bats for the Tigers yesterday. The Tigers were without Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde last night, so Justin Verlander decided to pitch late into the game to save the pen. He worked the first 7 1/3 innings allowing 8 hits, 4 runs (all earned), walking three batters and whiffing 8 to earn the win for the Tigers. Lefty Phil Coke earned the save, but it wasn’t an easy one. He pitched 1 2/3 innings for the Tigers last night in which he gave up 2 hits and 1 run (it was earned) and got the save. The Tigers are now down 3-2 and it sends the series back to Texas.

Only righty set-up man Joaquin Benoit has been pitching well out of the pen in the playoffs for the Tigers so far. Benoit has pitched in 5 games for the Tigers so far in the playoffs and he is 0-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only given up 4 hits while whiffing 9 batters in his first 7 2/3 innings of the playoffs, and that is very, very impressive. Closer Jose Valverde has been solid in the playoffs until last night. He has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) in the playoffs and he is 0-1 with 3 saves, a 7.36 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. Lefties Phil Coke (4 games, 0-0 with a 10.13 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP) and Daniel Schlereth (2 games, 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP) have been terrible so far. Righties Ryan Perry (4 games, 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP) and Al Alburquerque (3 games, 0-0 with a 40.50 ERA and a 6.00 WHIP) have also been pathetic in the playoffs for the Tigers so far. It’s going to be hard for the Tigers to come back in this series unless the bullpen picks up the pace soon.

The Tigers couldn’t muster much offense last night as they only had 5 hits in 11 innings. Brandon Inge was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a solo homer in the 7th inning to tie up the game last night. Miguel Cabrera also had a solid game as he was 1 for 2 with 2 RBIs, but he was thrown out at the plate in the 8th inning by Nelson Cruz. Ryan Raburn (1 for 5 with 1 run scored) and Victor Martinez (1 for 5) were the only other Tigers with hits last night. Rick Porcello gave the Tigers a very solid effort last night as the worked the first 6 2/3 innings allowing 8 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) without walking a batter and whiffing 6. Al Alburquerque got out of a jam in the 7th inning by walking a batter to load the bases before getting the last out to end the inning. Joaquin Benoit was awesome last night for the Tigers as he worked 2 scoreless innings without allowing a hit and whiffing 2 batters. Jose Valverde worked 1 1/3 innings and he earned the loss by giving up 3 hits (one a 3-run bomb by Nelson Cruz), 4 runs (all earned) and whiffing 2 batters and walking one. Phil Coke got the final two outs without incident to finish up this game. It’s up to Justin Verlander and the rest of the Tigers to stay alive later today as they are now down 3-1.

The Tigers got solid pitching and they played long ball with the bats and that has gotten them back in this series. Doug Fister was excellent last night for the Tigers as he was the winning pitcher. He worked the first 7 1/3 innings for the Tigers last night and he gave up 7 hits, 2 runs (both earned) while walking none and whiffing 3 batters! Joaquin Benoit finished up the 8th inning by getting out both of the batters he pitched to, whiffing one of them. Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless 9th inning, allowing 1 hit and whiffing 1 batter to earn the save. Miguel Cabrera (2 for 4 with 1 run scored, 1 double and 2 RBIs), Victor Martinez (1 for 2 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI) and Jhonny Peralta (2 for 4 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI) each cranked one homer apiece for the Tigers last night! Austin Jackson (3 for 5 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI) and Andy Dirks (1 for 3 with 1 run scored and 1 stolen base) also pitched in offensively for the Tigers in this game. The Tigers are still down 2-1 in this series with Game #4 later today.