Polly to the rescue

I suppose that's why they play the game. In the least likely scenario, the Tigers actually pulled out a win with Robertson on the mound. Gimpy Robertson looked like the '06 version, as he went 5 innings, giving up just 2 runs in the house of horrors known as the Metrodome. The offense actually clicked this game. When Minnesota took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 4th, the Tigers responded by scoring 3 in the 5th, knocking Twins' ace Scott Baker out of the game. The Tigers' tacked-on 2 more runs in the 8th, and the bullpen pitched 4 straight shutout innings to recover from the worst loss of the season the night before.

Thankfully, I was out-and-about Saturday night and didn't see the debacle. I did hear the radio broadcast during the first few innings, as the Tigers continued to pepper the Twins with singles. But they couldn't bring home more than 2 runs. Verlander tried to make those two runs hold, but the 8th inning proved to be his undoing. Don Kelly lost a routine flyball in the dome lights, and that was enough to spur a 5-run rally. Game over. Thank you, Senor Smoke.

The Tigers happily take their 3-game division lead to Cleveland, then to Chicago for the weekend. If the Tigers manage to maintain their division lead, they can thank Placido Polanco. While his average is sub .300, this is perhaps his best season as a Tiger. Even with Cabrera in the lineup, Polanco has been the most clutch batter for at least two months. He's shown Jeter-like tendencies to get those key hits that win games. Yesterday, he notched 3 RBIs, including 1 RBI on the blessed sacrifice fly. He's been great. Unfortunately, the rest of the bats remain significantly un-clutch, and their lack of team speed severely hinders run production. During the recent slide, the Tigers have difficulty moving runners two bases at a time. With the rash of singles, the slow-footed Cabrera, Maggs, Guillen, and Inge (thanks to the gimpy knees) tend to move station-to-station. Leyland called up speedsters from Toledo, but those fellas only see action late in the games.

Despite the win yesterday, I still don't have much confidence in this team. They can rally from a loss, but they also tend to suffer letdowns after wins. Edwin takes the mound Tuesday (after the day off today). MLive offered up these thoughts on his recent poor form. For weeks, I've noticed a lack of control. He may want to stick to the fastball and work on location. If he consistently locates the fastball, then add in the slider.

Go Tigers. Should be an interesting 2 weeks.

By the way, for those counting, the Lions have now lost 19 in a row.