Detroit Tigers beat Toronto after manager Jim Leyland is ejected /
By David Mayo
The Grand Rapids Press
Monday, June 27, 2011, 10:11 PM
DETROIT -- It was entertaining. It was profane. It drew one of the biggest fan reactions at Comerica Park all season.
And that was just Jim Leyland's seventh-inning ejection.
The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2, although the game's highlight came during the seventh inning, when their manager was tossed from a game for the first time this season after he argued a call at first base.
One inning later, the Tigers pushed across two runs to break a 2-2 tie.
That was the score in the bottom of the seventh when Ryan Raburn's leadoff single was followed by Andy Dirks' sacrifice bunt.
But Dirks' bunt was particularly good – it got past reliever Jason Frasor, which forced second baseman Aaron Hill to field – and the bang-bang play initially resulted in first-base umpire Ed Rapuano ruling him safe, on grounds that first baseman Adam Lind was pulled off the bag.
Upon consultation with home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, Rapuano reversed the call, which brought Leyland steaming from the dugout.
Leyland ranted at Rapuano. He ranted at Marquez. Then, he went back and repeated the rant. At one point, he gave an exaggerated motion of a safe call, arms sweeping widely.
Through it all, the fans roared their approval.
Whether Leyland's meltdown had any positive impact – the Tigers didn't score that inning – it certainly provided ample entertainment until they scored the winning run one inning later.
Magglio Ordonez singled with one out in the eighth inning and was replaced by pinch runner Austin Jackson, who stole second.
Jhonny Peralta tripled on a sinking liner. Right fielder Jose Bautista tried to make a shoestring catch but missed and the ball went to the wall. Peralta then scored on Raburn's groundout.
The victory in the makeup of a May 17 postponement pushed the Tigers to a 1 ½-game lead over Cleveland in the American League Central, their largest of the season.
Max Scherzer gave the Tigers seven strong innings before giving way to Joaquin Benoit (2-3). Jose Valverde pitched the ninth, allowing two baserunners before a game-ending double play for his 18th save.
Toronto rookie Zach Stewart allowed two runs in six innings before his bullpen faltered.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead on Victor Martinez RBIs in the second and third innings, both of which might have been more productive if not for untimely double plays.
Four second-inning hits resulted in only one run when Ordonez's scorched line drive was snared by fully extended second baseman Aaron Hill, who lazily doubled Martinez off second base. The double play followed a single by Miguel Cabrera and run-scoring double by Martinez. Two more singles proved fruitless when Raburn struck out.
Three more hits in the second inning all came after Don Kelly hit into a double play. Singles by Brennan Boesch, Cabrera and another Martinez RBI made it 2-0.
The Blue Jays tied it in the fourth inning on a double by Eric Thames, wild pitch, RBI groundout by Bautista, and a solo home run by Lind.
Detroit returned the defensive favor in the sixth, when Toronto loaded the bases with one out after a single, double and intentional walk to Lind. The latter strategy paid dividends when Hill grounded sharply to Cabrera, who threw home for the force, then scrambled back to first base in time to take the throw from catcher Alex Avila and complete the double play. |
