Blanked! Tigers Fall to 0-2

Game in a Nutshell


There's not a whole lot to say about this game other than the fact that Edgar Renteria is the only Tigers hitter that decided to show up to the ballpark today. Brian Bannister took the mound for Kansas City and looked like the second coming of Greg Maddux, scattering two-hits (both to Renteria) over seven dominant innings. Kenny Rogers pitched an effective game, holding the Royals scoreless through five and then allowing two runs in the sixth. Zach Miner allowed two more runs in the eighth, but it wasn't needed as the bats completely disappeared for Detroit. The Tigers will face Zach Greinke tomorrow and will send Jeremy Bonderman to the mound to try and pick up their first win of the season.



Bullpen Watch


Zach Miner came in to start the 7th and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Miner came back for the 8th, but didn't have as much luck. A leadoff double to Joey Gathright and a walk to Mark Grudzielenak got Miner in trouble, but he followed that with two straight strikeouts that appeared to get him out of it. Then, Mark Teahen and Billy Butler singles scored two runs and blew the game open. Yorman Bazardo pitched the 9th and started with a four-pitch walk. He calmed down after that and was able to get a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play and then a groundout to end the inning. Overall, Miner was very close to getting through two innings unscathed, but not close enough. Bazardo pitched well in his first inning of the year.

Concern Level: 7 out of 10



Today's Key Play



With two outs in the 6th inning, Kenny Rogers had held the Royals scoreless to this point. But Jose Guillen's double to left scored Mark Grudzielenak to take a 1-0 lead. That's all the Royals would need today as the bats were much colder than the weather in Detroit.



Tiger of the Game: Kenny Rogers



When Kenny Rogers pitches six innings and only allows two runs, I'm guessing that he would expect to get the win that day with this lineup. Today wasn't one of those days. The Gambler looked very sharp through five, hitting his spots and keeping the ball on the ground. He even struck out four Royals on the day. Much like Verlander on Monday, he seemed to tire a bit in the sixth and allowed a few runs. But Kenny pitched well enough to give the Tigers a good chance to win. The bats just didn't do it for him.