Tigers lineup
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Alex Avila, C
3. Justin Upton, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. J.D. Martinez, RF
6. Victor Martinez, DH
7. Nicholas Castellanos, 3B
8. Mikie Mahtook, CF
9. Andrew Romine, SS
Michael Fulmer RHP
Bench: C James McCann, SS Jose Iglesias, OF Matt den Dekker, IF Dixon Machado.

Was hoping one of the regs would post it while I was out.
Thanks Tom.

Curly fries today;
Upton, Kinsler, and Muscles Romine aka Lettuce.

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/royals-vs-tigers/2017/06/29/491283#game_state=live,game_tab=,game=491283
Gameday.

I considered it but with the roll Fulmer is on I didn't want to jinx it. LOL

One of the most incredible at bats you will ever see from JD Martinez in the bottom of the 7th;
A 15 pitch at bat with maybe 12 pitches fouled off and a line drive rbi single to left,

Tigers lead 7 - 0,

I forgot today was a day game, Do'h.

Wheels coming off for Fulmer in 9th inning with hits and then batted ball to Upton for third out and he Fucks it up off the tip of the glove.
Fuck,
Fulmer leaves,

Tigers lead 7 - 3,

Fulmer needs to complete a game with a 7-run lead?

Nothing is ever easy for this team is it. 7-0 two outs in the 9th nobody on. next thing ya know time to burn the closer. Tigers... can't live with em can't live without em.

Ballgame, Tigers win 7 - 3,

Fulmer 8 2/3 IP 2 earned runs 7 hits 0 BB 7 Strikeouts,
season Fulmer 7 W - 6 L ERA 3.19

tigermud said:

Nothing is ever easy for this team is it. 7-0 two outs in the 9th nobody on. next thing ya know time to burn the closer. Tigers... can't live with em can't live without em.

Click to expand...

Yeah why pitch the closer?
Tigers... can't live with em can't live without em.
Reminds me of what I would say about ex-wife and GF's.

Time for a Tigers Victory cigar.

Fulmer, innings 1-7: 67 pitches. Innings 8 and 9: 37 pitches. Ausmus is a moran (sic) when it comes to managing a pitching staff and he's getting more and more inept. Optimal time to lift a starter and let the pen do what it is paid to do. If it can't preserve a 7-run lead, it can't.

Fulmer breezed through eight flawless innings in just 85 pitches before losing his shutout in the ninth, as the Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Fulmer allowed only four hits, all singles, through eight innings, and three of the baserunners were subsequently wiped out on double plays. He didn't walk a batter and rarely even got to two-ball counts.

The Royals picked up three runs on three hits and an error in the ninth to break the shutout. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was booed loudly when he came to get Fulmer with two outs.

The Tigers won their first series since June 2-4 in Chicago and continued their string of good play against American League Central division opponents.

The Tigers are 18-12 against the Central, 17-31 against everyone else.

Justin Upton hit a three-run home run in the first inning, Ian Kinsler added a solo shot in the third and Andrew Romine hit a two-run homer in the fourth.

NOTABLE:
Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez fouled a ball off his right foot in the seventh inning but remained in the game. He proceeded to have a 15-pitch at-bat, including eight pitches on a 3-2 count, before singling home Ian Kinsler.
(Kinsler had been running on the last eight pitches with two outs, so he was understandably exhausted).
As the Tigers had a big lead, Martinez was pulled for pinch-runner Matt den Dekker after reaching base.

Fulmer retired the first nine batters of the game and faced the minimum through nine innings.
He allowed a single in the fourth and another in the fifth, but both were wiped out by double plays.
His first baserunner that wasn't quickly eliminated came when Alex Gordon hit a come-backer that ricocheted off Fulmer's leg in the sixth.
After a visit from manager Brad Ausmus and head athletic trainer Kevin Rand, Fulmer threw one warm-up pitch and remained in the game.

Fulmer's only previous career shutout came Aug. 14 at Texas. He allowed only four hits and struck out nine without walking any batters.

Royals rookie starter Jakob Junis lasted 100 pitches and six innings, saving the Kansas City bullpen from a long afternoon.
Junis gave up six runs on seven hits, including three home runs. He walked three and struck out five.

The Tigers won two of three in the latest series against the Royals and have won four of the six games between the teams this season.
The Tigers won back-to-back series against the Royals for the first time since 2014.

Kinsler finished 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored and Upton and Miguel Cabrera each had two hits for the Tigers.

After a one-out single by Mikie Mahtook, Romine hit a two-run home run to right to give the Tigers a six-run cushion. It was Romine?s third home run of the season.

How good was Fulmer? With two outs in the ninth, he had faced just one batter over the minimum. He had allowed three hits.
But he gave up a couple of singles, then a a two-run double by Drew Butera. A third run scored when Justin Upton dropped a third-out fly ball by Eric Hosmer.

Fulmer?s effort, though, shouldn?t be discounted. He didn?t allow an extra-base hit until the ninth. Three of the hits were erased on double-play balls. He struck out seven and got 11 ground-ball outs.
It was Fulmer's first win since June 2.

Justin Upton mashed a 434-foot three-run home run the first inning to set the tone. His 15th homer landed beyond the visitor?s bullpen in left-center field.

Ian Kinsler led off the third inning with his ninth home run, a high-arching shot to left that hit on top of the bullpen roof, just out of the reach of a leaping Alex Gordon.

Andrew Romine added a two-run shot in the fourth, his career-high third of the season.

The seventh run featured an epic, 15-pitch battle between J.D. Martinez and Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy. Martinez fouled off 11 pitches, eight with two strikes on him.
One of the earlier foul balls caromed off his right foot, the same foot he sprained in spring training that landed him on disabled list.
Trainer Kevin Rand came out to check on him, but he wanted to finish the at-bat. He fouled off five more pitches, the crowd rising with each one.
Finally he slapped the 15th pitch into left field for an RBI single.

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/royals-...283#game_state=final,game_tab=box,game=491283
Boxscore.

http://m.tigers.mlb.com/det/video/search?team_id=116&tagName=Detroit Tigers
Webvideo Highlights of the Tigers Win over the royals.

Fulmer?s final line was 8.2 IP 7H 3R 2ER 0BB 7K and 104 pitches.

ROARS:
Michael Fulmer is no stranger to solid outings. In his last start in San Diego, a heartbreaker of a loss, he allowed only one run on two hits through seven innings. Sadly that single run was what sealed the team?s fate in a low-scoring shut out game. Not this time.
Fulmer, who has the fourth-lowest ERA in the AL, was utterly dominant on the mound today.
Fulmer's pitch count:
First inning: 11
Second inning: 9
Third inning: 10
Fourth inning: 11
Efficiency personified.

The Tigers offense ? it?s hard to single out any one hero here, since the bats were as hot as an August day in downtown Detroit. Home runs for Justin Upton, Ian Kinsler, and Andrew Romine, and one hell of an at-bat from J.D. Martinez.

HISSES:
Justin Upton, whose error in the ninth inning allowed a run to score and also spelled the end of Fulmer?s day.

STREAKS & INFO:
Going into today?s game it might surprise some to know that the Tigers actually had the best inter-division win percentage this season, at .586, a record of 17-12.

Had Fulmer managed the Maddux it would have been the first by a Tiger since David Price in 2015, and only the fourth since 1998 (previously achieved by Rick Porcello and Armando Galarragga).

A winning series is a good day !!!!?

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2017/06/michael_fulmer_tigers_6.html#incart_river_index
Brad Ausmus pulled Michael Fulmer in the 9th, yet Fulmer was the one to apologize.
Mlive

https://www.blessyouboys.com/2017/6/29/15895348/detroit-tigers-michael-fulmer-curveball-debut.
Michael Fulmer debuted his curveball against the Royals on Thursday
Fulmer’s almost Maddux wasn’t the biggest news to come out of his start.
BYBTB

byco42 said:

Fulmer, innings 1-7: 67 pitches. Innings 8 and 9: 37 pitches. Ausmus is a moran (sic) when it comes to managing a pitching staff and he's getting more and more inept. Optimal time to lift a starter and let the pen do what it is paid to do. If it can't preserve a 7-run lead, it can't.

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He can't win. If he pulls Fulmer in the 8th, with only 67 pitches, he gets ripped for not letting him try for his complete game shutout.

tomdalton22 said:

He can't win. If he pulls Fulmer in the 8th, with only 67 pitches, he gets ripped for not letting him try for his complete game shutout.

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Fulmer had 67 pitches after the 7th, not the 8th. And a CG shutout with a 7-0 lead is worth another 40 pitches? No. This is the precise time when you turn the game over to the pen. CGs are not at all in the warp and woof of baseball ethos anymore, and have not been since the days of Darold Knowles and Dick Williams as his manager. Fuller needed to have gotten the hand shake after inning 7.

EDIT: Ausmus: "Trust me, I wanted to see Michael Fulmer go nine innings, too, but I also don't want to give the other team any hope." This is a manager with zero concept of his role or his purpose, proven by his own words.

Sure, I wanted to see Fulmer get the CG, but I have no issues with Brad letting him stay in as long as he did. He threw 104 pitches, his season average this year is 100.6.

Keep in mind at the time they were 2 days out from a double header vs Cleveland with Zim and Boyd starting. Keeping miles off the bullpen not a bad idea if one of those guys gets knocked around early.

byco42 said:

Fulmer had 67 pitches after the 7th, not the 8th. And a CG shutout with a 7-0 lead is worth another 40 pitches? No. This is the precise time when you turn the game over to the pen. CGs are not at all in the warp and woof of baseball ethos anymore, and have not been since the days of Darold Knowles and Dick Williams as his manager. Fuller needed to have gotten the hand shake after inning 7.

EDIT: Ausmus: "Trust me, I wanted to see Michael Fulmer go nine innings, too, but I also don't want to give the other team any hope." This is a manager with zero concept of his role or his purpose, proven by his own words.

Click to expand...

I meant replacing him after the 7th, not pulling him during the 8th.

He only had like 84-85 pitches after 8. He retired the first 2 in the 9th. Then, 2 singles. First and third, two outs.

Fielder Indifference allowed Bonifacio to take 2nd. Now you have 2nd and third with 1st base empty. Why pitch to Butera? You walk him to get a force for each base and make it easier. But Fulmer pitches to him anyways, and he laces a double. That is when Fulmer should have been pulled. Shutout is no longer possible. Why even let him pitch to Hosmer?

I have no problem him pitching into the 9th. But, at least 2 mistakes where made. It didn't cost the game, but it still represents "bad" baseball. And if we want them to be smart in close games, then they need to do it in these types of games as well.

tomdalton22 said:

I meant replacing him after the 7th, not pulling him during the 8th.

Click to expand...

Which is, IMO, what BA should have done. Get the guy out with a 7-0 cushion on 67 pitches. These situations do not grow on trees. If the BP can't get six outs and secure the game, that's a different problem.