At first mention, the name Kelvim Escobar means nothing. But then you can look at his stats against the Tigers in his nineteen appearances, and eight starts, against the Tigs- 8-0 with a 2.10 ERA. Those are totally dominant numbers from a guy who is anything but against the rest of the Majors. Solving the riddle that is Escobar will be a big task for the Tigs today, but one that is definitely necessary in order to walk away with a sweep.
On the hill for the Tigs is Bondo. Still looking for his first win, Bonderman has looked good in pretty much every start this year, racking up just a 2.25 ERA. The fact that Jeremy doesn't have a win yet is in no way his fault, he's pitched very well, allowing just one run in each of his last two starts. He's been the main victim of bullpen collapses so far this season, so it'd be nice to get Bondo a win to head back to the Midwest with.
Yesterday's win came because the bats got hot and Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen continued their current hot streaks. Curtis Granderson has been a huge spark at the top of the line up so far this year, and had a real big game yesterday with three hits, landing a triple short of the cycle. It's also going to be interesting to see if Gary Sheffield can keep the momentum going from yesterday's two-hit performance.
Keys to the game-
- Bonderman needs to stay hot and shut down the dangerous middle of the Angels order. Garret Anderson had a two hit game yesterday, as did Gary Matthews Jr., so keeping them quiet will be key.
- Don't leave it up to the pen to decide the game. After using three pitchers yesterday, Jason Grilli, Bobby Seay, and Joel Zumaya probably won't be available today, leaving the prospect of seeing Fernando Rodney open. Please don't let that happen.
- Offensive momentum keeps on rolling. Chasing Weaver in the 2nd inning yesterday was huge, and getting to Escobar might lead to the first blemish on his sparkling record against the Tigs.
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