MLB Network | Steve Phillips REACTS AL-leading Detroit Tigers to 4-3 sweep-earning win over Giants

MLB Network | Steve Phillips REACTS AL-leading Detroit Tigers to 4-3 sweep-earning win over Giants

This team has learned that we don’t know when we show up who it’s going to be. Today, Jay Hen, tough matchup. He’s playing to try to get Riley, you know, to work on the bench. Riley a day at DH. He gets in there. It’s not the right matchup for him necessarily. U but he’s going to fight his way. He has a tough defensive play. Um doesn’t hold hang his head and comes back with a with a huge base hit with two outs. And so that’s our team. Oh boy. Lines this one left field. That’s a base hit. Torres scores. Here comes Keys. Throw to the plate is not in time. The throw goes to second. It’s a two-run single for Justin Henry Mallaloy. It comes on a two strike two out pitch here in the fifth. Good team win. We did a lot of things right. We did a lot of things that we can review and do better, but never never ever be um dissatisfied with a with a series sweep at home. Yeah, you heard the voice of AJ Hinch on that one. And if you guys listened carefully to the words that he used, he continued to use the word team. And he continued to he continues to preach the same thing, which is their culture. And their culture is the 26 guys on that active roster. And it also includes the 40man roster of guys that come in and out. He understands on a given day that in order for them to win, sometimes they have to do things unorthodox that other teams just do not. And that’s sometimes mix and match early in games if it’s in the fifth inning or in the sixth inning because that is who they are as a team. And it is something that we had a conversation about in Lakeland uh this year. It’s something that he preached before. It’s something that he understands that their culture is what’s going to give them success. And that’s exactly what happened yesterday. Um, you look at uh Henry Mallaloy coming in with a base hit to give them the lead. Then Jav Bayas comes in and gives them the uh defense later on in the game. But it’s just a continuation of that lineup. That inning all started with an error at third base. It started then from there you get a base hit, you get a double, you get a walk. It just it’s continuous. The guys are cheering for each other. They understand what their roles are. Their roles are don’t take a day off. That’s the role. Keep pressing. Keep pushing. Even when they were down three nothing, Steve, they still believed that they could come back. Just give us an opportunity, a break. Now, I will say this. I thought the San Francisco Giants missed an opportunity in the eighth inning when Tommy Kaneley came in. Runners, two runners on. He inherits a a strikeout, a pitch that I thought, you know, was blocked a little to the right. this ball right there. William Thomas has to score on that ball. You have to take a good hard secondary look. You know that he’s going to be throwing the the the change up there. That was their opportunity right there. Instead, the runners were stranded. Cammy did the job not only in the eighth, but comes down and gets the seventh save of the season as well in the ninth inning. And he did it again with that change up being nasty. But you have to you have to be aggressive on the bases. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. And and look, the Giants have done a lot of really good things so far this year. Uh and better than I I would have anticipated, but but you’re right, a missed opportunity right there. And you mentioned this earlier, but especially when the ball kicks off toward the first base side and the runner’s coming down the third base line cuz the catcher goes over and picks it up. And if he flips it to the pitcher coming into the plate, right, the pitcher coming in, the ball kicks to the right and and you see going over there uh Rogers to pick it up that the pitcher then has his back keenly his back to the runner coming in would have to make a blind tag. I thought was a great point you made earlier uh in the show and uh and and obviously that lost opportunity there. Again, it was a one-run game and one-run games make a difference uh for sure. But I tell you the thing that I am just so impressed by the Tigers is it is it really does take the village. It’s not individual stars. Every day it is somebody different. And I and like that’s the case when teams win a lot of games, but a lot of times it’s the guy, right? It’s the superstar that’s in the center of everything. They don’t really have that guy. Uh you know, Riley Green, I guess, DH yesterday uh to get a little bit of a break. Uh and and but Wel Perez comes through, Justin Henry Mallaloy comes through. And these aren’t household names. These are just baseball players that are playing to try to make a play to win a game. And it’s somebody different every day. And AJ Hinch does an outstanding job of putting guys in a place to be successful. That’s not only his bullpen, but his position players and working matchups and how he does it. And he takes Malloy out and puts Bayz in to play defense late in the game. uh he has done a masterful job managing this roster. Uh and and the players know who they are. I I’ll tell you this from my career having been that 25th guy. It used to be a 25man roster, not 26 as it is today. Being that 24th or 25th guy on the roster, how do you survive in the big leagues? How do you survive over 10 years being able you you have to look in the mirror and say, “Okay, who am I as a player? Am I going to make my teammates better um in certain situations?” I remember Steve where I would start against lefties and at one point we were in St. Louis and as as a Cardinal and I was playing first base. Tino Martinez um was the first baseman, but with tough lefties I would come in, I would start and if we had the lead in the sixth inning, I would always be like, Tino, get ready. You’re going in for defense. You know who you are and you know who your teammates are and you know if they’re better than you at a certain position and you re root for them and you cheer for them and but you also have to get your job done and accept when the manager decides to go for the win. And sometimes that win later on in the game might not include you if you already helped the team win early in the first part. It’s all about the acceptance and the buyin and the Detroit Tigers have bought in. players have bought in to what the coaching staff led by AJ Hinch has done. I I tell you, you’ve come so far. I mean, really, you think about it. You were taken out for defensive purposes and now you’re handing out Gold Glove awards. Like, who anticipated the development path that you were on? I mean, it really is amazing. I’m so proud of you. Hey, hey, Steve. Steve. TMI. TMI right there. All right. Not only that, I always argue and I always fight. I always say, “Do you realize that in the room when when they’re giving out the gold glove awards at the Plaza Hotel in November, I have the lowest fielding percentage out of any former major leaguer or current major leaguer in that room?” And then all of a sudden, Paul Mader shows up and he goes, “I got you, buddy, but I’m in the Hall of Fame and you’re not.” I was like, “Oh, really?” Swung on drill deep left field away back and go on Hel Martinez. He will take a joyous stroll around the bases. A threerun bullet to the bleachers and left and the Guardians lead it seven to four on a fiveun eighth inning. That is his first home run right-handed. His third on the year and Cleveland has stunned the Dodgers with five in the eighth. Yeah, I mean Anhill’s been continuing to get big hits, you know, and had a few in Detroit all year. Uh he just he the moment’s not too big for Anhill. Uh he’s got a slow heartbeat for the little mid amount of big league time that he has and um just couldn’t be more proud of him. come through in that moment. Man, I remember the great Dela Reese used to be on that show as well. Yes. Touched by Angel. I like what you did right there. I cried every time I watched that show. It brought tears. It did cuz they were always such touching stories at the end. Really amazing stories. Yeah, it was what Roma Downey uh and Valerie Burtonelli was in it too. And so yeah, there were a lot of stars in that show. Loved it. Yeah, pretty cool. 1994, man. Wow. Nothing hurt back in those days. I’ll tell you that. Uh 17 surgeries later. Lord have mercy. I need the listing. Look at I I will say this though, Angel Martinez. Um I love I love what a skip said about him. Uh bottom line, just zero heartbeat up there. First home run from the right side this season. has three total and it came in a big time and he they put him in the two spot and it’s really interesting because Steven Quan started the game had two at bats left the game because of a sore wrist and it was Nolan Jones that came in for him and ended up having three hits got on base all three times and it was Angel Martinez that came through with the power right there hitting in front of Ramirez as well getting it done they just slugged yesterday from that spot. The one spot, three hits. Martinez, two hits. Ramirez, three hits. Santana, three hits as well. Top of the order came through. Clayton Kershaw, it ruined his day because the bullpen with Brevia could not hold, but still a good outing by Kershaw. Still surprised that this game was played during the day when both teams have an off day today. And the Dodgers will be able to rest up for the series against the Yankees coming up this weekend. And the and the Guardians are still in town. They’ll be in town for the weekend as well. So really surprised. 23,000 plus were able to witness a very good game full of stars yesterday. I wonder if uh the Dodgers did that. uh because uh they wanted to give the extra rest for their guys went into the Yankee series over the weekend uh as part of it uh the Dodgers. Well, but Oh, yeah. Right. It was in Cleveland, right? So, they set the time on it, but I wonder if they asked them, “Hey, can you give us some extra rest here?” And I think rest is such a big thing around baseball today that everybody schedules rest time for it. And so, uh it is interesting to see that they did play a day game there. All right, we round first, go to second with a double. And the Houston Astros uh actually came back rallying in the game uh again against uh the Athletics. The Athletics have been on a tough run. Lance McCuller’s Jr. dealt yesterday in drama breaking out late in the game for Houston. Swinging and a miss struck him out on a breaking ball. 12 strikeouts for Lance McCull’s Jr. Ton of strikes early. Uh his breaking ball were a little nasty. He was nasty today. Again, very efficient early. Um I thought he he he got into a rhythm there where he had all his pitches working. He threw him out any time in the you know through bat. That was that was a really nice performance. 90 you know he threw up to 94 in his sinker. He was really really good. He was really good. I mean it was 102 pitches total. 69 of those first strikes for Lance McCullers Jr. and matching him was Luis Severino as well. Sevy threw really well. 92 pitches in the game, but it was all Lance McCullers’s in this one because he was able to keep them off balance, not a lot of big swings, not a lot of great swings. Uh against him, it was uh Wilson, the one that was able to get on and Brent Rooker, both of them with two hits a piece. But it was Astros and Mr. Denzo coming in in a big way yesterday, hitting a home run on the fourth pitch he saw from Sterner that came in ended up getting the blown save and the loss in the 2/3 of innings that he worked as the Astros powered through. And watch out American League West. Houston Astros are starting to make their push. And if you let them, they’re a dangerous team and they’re doing it without Mr. Alvarez still in that lineup. Right. think they’ve not gotten Yarn Alvarez back with that hand injury. Victor Keratini a big two-run double or two-run single as well uh to help break that one open and from McCullers it’s so good to see him on the mound pitching well 12 strikeouts tying a career best for him uh and just love that he’s doing on a day they found out that Rennell Blanco uh is lost for the year one of their other uh fine pitchers who is an in innings eater a guy that takes the ball goes out there keeps him in every game he’s lost now to elbow surgery and going to be out for a period of time and so tough break there and for the athletic ICS they are three and 17 in their last 20 games and it is just I mean those young hitters aren’t making the adjustments right that they they last year they showed signs of being these outstanding future hitters but the league’s made an adjustment had an offseason they’ll look at scouting reports look at the ways they want to attack them where are the holes and the hitters aren’t making the adjustments right now Eduardo no and I I look at three teams I could look at four but I’m going to leave Colorado out of this one as well. But I look at the athletics, right? You have that youth movement there. Uh you have very talented hitters. They started off well and then all of a sudden they hit a wall three and 17 in their last 20 as you mentioned earlier. I look at the uh the Miami Marlins. I look at Sandale Contra that also threw, you know, you look at a guy that’s an ace, right? But he’s a young ace and he doesn’t have a lot of experience around him. maybe guys that have had that Tommy John surgery in the past. How do you bounce back? How do you how how are you mentored? Because it seems like Si has always been the mentor e, right? He’s the guy that’s always there. Erie Perez coming back soon. You guys call him Yuri here. I call him in Spanish. So those those, you know, he’s coming back soon also from Tommy John had a great outing in the minor leagues. And then I look at the Boston Red Sox, a team that as soon as Bregman went down, they are they’ve lost five in a row. They’re down. They have really good talent. But who’s the guy that can step up? You know, who’s that guy? Is it Trevor Story? He’s been struggling offensively. He only has one extra base hit in in a long time uh in in a long time with at bats. So, who’s the guy that steps up there and and the youth movement around this time of year? That’s where it gets a little that’s where I get a little nervous, you know, coming into June. Will they be able to survive June, July, and right now with the Red Sox having lost Bregman for two months? Would anyone notice if I just left? [Music] Mess with the bull and you get the horns. You shine brightly. [Music] Well, that was satisfying. Put a dent in them. [Music] [Music] Well, that was satisfying. [Music] [Music] We bow to no one. [Music] The fun begins. [Music] What? Here we [Music] go. Enemy now. [Music] I have my [Music] orders. [Music] Enemy slain. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I have my orders. [Music] Welcome to my future.

MLB Network | Steve Phillips REACTS AL-leading Detroit Tigers to 4-3 sweep-earning win over Giants

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