I just returned from a trip to see family in my home state of Michigan. While there, I took the opportunity to attend a Tiger's game at Comerica Park with my father, aunt, and uncle. As the days led up to the game, I followed the pitching rotation closely, as I hoped to see Justin Verlander throw for Detroit. I got that wish, and more, as his opponent would be Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels. The two best pitchers in the American League would be facing off against each other.
This was my third or fourth game at Comerica Park, which opened in 2000. I went to dozens of games at the old Tiger Stadium, and while that grand old place had great charm and history, it was falling apart and I don't regret that it was torn down. Baseball teams play in stadiums, not museums. While some old fields, like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, have weathered the years and are still viable, Tiger Stadium's time had passed, and the new stadium is a fantastic place to watch a game, while also respecting the history of the team. I love the six statues of Tiger greats that sit above the left-field stands, and the concourse that surrounds the stadium serves as a museum of the team's history. There's even a Ferris wheel for restless kiddies.
It was a hot Sunday--90 degrees, with very little breeze. In the car my dad called a no-hitter for Verlander. He's had some success in making bold predictions--he once correctly predicted we'd see Norm Cash hit two home runs in a game, but calling a no-hitter seemed outlandish. But in the first, Verlander set down the Angels in order, and did so in the second and third as well. He walked Bobby Abreu in the fourth and again in the seventh, but when the eighth inning rolled around, Verlander had not allowed a hit.
Meanwhile, other fireworks were taking place. Magglio Ordonez put the Tigers ahead with a two-run home run in the fifth, a fly ball which hugged the left-field line. Ordonez watched it sail into the stands, not running because he didn't know whether it would be fair or foul. Weaver, it seems, did not care for this, and yelled at Ordonez to "run the bases!"
In the sixth, Carlos Guillen, with a 3 and 2 count, took Weaver deep. Guillen, annoyed at Weaver's petulance, upped him in the childish behavior department and not only admired his home run, he gave Weaver a direct look and took a little hop-skip down the first base line. From where we sat, we didn't see any of this, but did see Weaver having a long conversation with the home plate umpire, who then warned both benches.
Weaver's next pitch came in close proximity to Alex Avila's skull, and Weaver was promptly tossed, gesticulating wildly as he made his ignominious exit. The crowd went wild, of course, as all this was happening while a no-hitter was in progress.
Eddie Aybar led off the eighth by dropping down a bunt attempt. There are all sorts of unwritten rules in baseball, and trying to break up a no-hitter with a bunt is one of them. Verlander later called it "bush league," but Tigers' manager Jim Leyland had no problem with it. It was only a three-run game, and bunting for base-hits is part of Aybar's repertoire. If they had been down eight runs, it would have been a different story.
Verlander may have been so annoyed that he fielded Aybar's bunt and threw it down the right field line. Aybar took second, and then third on a ground out. The next hitter hit a grounder to third, and Aybar got got in a rundown between third and home. It was botched by third-sacker Don Kelly, and Aybar scored. The shutout was gone, but the no-hitter was alive, but not for long. Maicer Izturis singled sharply to left, and suddenly it was a 3-2 game.
Much was made in the media about whether Verlander was so rattled by the fielding miscues that he lost the no-hitter because of chaos. It is true that had he thrown true to first he would have had Aybar, and Izturis would have led off the ninth, and no doubt Verlander would have pitched him differently. But it's also true that a pitcher is the last person on the field who should have trouble throwing out a base runner.
Verlander struck out Torii Hunter (his ninth K of the game) to end the threat, and walked to the dugout to great fanfare from the crowd. Jose Valverde came in to save it in the ninth, although made it interesting by allowing a walk and a runner to get in scoring position. But he got the last batter to pop to third and nail down the victory.
We missed seeing a no-hitter (my dad saw Jack Morris's no-hitter in 1984 at Comiskey, but I've never seen one) but it was a fun day nonetheless. The Indians lost, and Sunday ended with the Tigers up 2 and a half games in the standings. Later, on MLB network, Tom Verducci called it the best game in the majors so far this season. I certainly don't go to many games during the season (this was my first), but I sure can pick my spot.
