Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera left last night’s game after a bout of dizziness.
Miguel Cabrera may have had a dizzy spell last night, but his stats are making pitchers’ heads spin this season for the hot Tigers.
Maybe his head was spinning because of the Tigers’ impressive play of late. With a 7-5 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit has now won seven games in a row. Curiously, the Tigers are now 8-2 this year and 60-22 overall in interleague play going back to the 2006 season.
Granted, they were playing the D-backs, who now have lost 14 consecutive games on the row. Still, the Tigers managed to do it without Austin Jackson (back) and Gerald Laird (neck) in addition to Cabrera needing to exit the game after four innings. In their absence, Brandon Inge stepped up with an RBI triple, and Jose Valverde was lights out yet again in a closing situation.
Generally, the Tigers have several players exceeding expectations. I keep waiting for rookie outfielder Brennan Boesch to come down to earth due to his free-swinging approach, but he is holding steady at .341 with 167 at bats. Just when I thought Magglio Ordonez was on the way out, he is on a pace to hit at least 25 HRs and knock in about 120 RBI while hitting .333. Cabrera’s dizziness is a blip that should pass soon, and he has posted his usual huge numbers.
On the mound, Justin Verlander has been good and could be even better. Jeremy Bonderman seems to be recovered from myriad injuries and has been a solid starter as well, while Armando Gallarago has been a nice surprise since his recall from AAA. Erstwhile Astro Max Scherzer’s numbers look ugly to date, but he is showing signs of getting it together in three of his last four starts.
For my money, Jim Leyland is the best manager in baseball. Detroit is hot on the heels of the Twins in the standings and should contend all season in the AL Central.
