Game 37: Rogers Rolls, Homers Hibernate, Jones Nearly Ruins It All

ESPN highlights available here.

The Gist: Game #37 featured a terrific outing from #37 Kenny Rogers, three hits from Pudge Rodriguez and ridiculous ninth inning from Todd Jones. Luckily, and most importantly, it all added up to a Tigers’ 6-5 win over the Yankees. Rogers gave the Tigers a quality start — 6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 3 K — and, in the second inning, picked off the 92nd runner of his career, Wilson Betemit. Ryan Raburn, getting the start in center, went 2 for 2 with a pair of runs scored.

The Quote: “Todd had the [leadoff] guy 0-2, and if he gets him, the game probably ends without any excitement.” — Jim Leyland on the Yankees’ half of the ninth inning.

The Stat: 5. The number of consecutive games the Tigers have played without hitting a home run.

My Two Cents: Watching Kerry Wood smoke the Diamondbacks in the top of the ninth inning this afternoon at Wrigley Field made me long for the return of Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney. You know, guys who can hit 95+ on the gun. I’ll admit that railing on Todd Jones seems so 2006, yet I can’t help but wish aloud that Tigers had a flamethrower at the back end of the bullpen.