Group Effort

What an interesting series in Baltimore! Blowout wins, Good-Starting-Pitching-And-Timely-Hitting wins, and the dreaded Almost win. We took 2 of 3 from Baltimore (should have been 3 of 3, but whatever) and we looked damn good doing it too.

Let's talk about Doug Fister for a moment. Poor, sweet Dougie, who's been shaky due to injury all year long, is going to get his swagger back in the second half. We just know it. He looked sharp and in command on Friday, buoyed by ample run support (hell-o, Miguel Cabrera Moonshot!) and dazzling defensive plays (suck it, Berry Haters!). Friday was good.

Then comes Saturday. After a not-so-sharp outing by Max Scherzer (but good enough to keep us in the game) the Tigers mounted an out-of-nowhere comeback to tie the Orioles in the bottom of the 9th. However, after blowing the save TWICE (thanks Valverde and Benoit!), we didn't escape with the win, which meant we came back only to extend the game two hours and lose anyway. Well, you know what we have to say to that? WHAT. EVER. Our boys showed more fight in that game then they had in the majority of games in the first half of the season. While we were frustrated with the outcome for sure, it wasn't a bad loss in the slightest.

And then Sunday, we rebounded. Justin "The Second Coming" Verlander shook off those awful, nasty Kate Upton rumors (not like he needed to shake them off, really--the whole thing is just bullshit) and threw 8 innings of 3-hit ball. Yes, two of those hits came from his arch-nemesis, Jim Thome, but it was a beautiful outing all the same. Clutch homers from Austin Jackson and Miggy (yep, that's number 20, folks) and some nice manufactured runs helped solidify the W, and our boys cruised home three games above .500.

And now we will be tested. The good-maybe-even-very-good Angels are coming into town tomorrow, and while we won't be facing Jered Weaver this time around, no one has forgotten last year. And of course after that we play the division leading Chicago White Sox, our hated rivals. It's going to be an exciting (if stressful) week of baseball. Bring on the drama!