Miggy, Cobb power Tigers past Halos in Bracket
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DETROIT -- Al Kaline, Ty Cobb and Miguel Cabrera against Mike Trout, Rod Carew and Vladimir Guerrero?
In the simulated baseball world of the MLB Dream Bracket, yes, it can happen. And in a seven-game series on Out Of The Park baseball, it was as good as you would think.
The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current Major League franchises, as well as teams consisting of Negro Leagues Stars and 25 & Under Stars. The 26-man rosters for each team, compiled by the MLB.com beat reporters, consist of 15 hitters and 11 pitchers. For the simulation, players are rated using the average of their three best seasons on a single team. Rosters were constructed with balanced depth to specifically compete in a simulated regulation game.
In a rally reminiscent of the 1968 World Series, the Tigers faced a 3-games-to-1 deficit to the Trout-led Angels in the opening round before running off three consecutive wins to take the series and advance to the Round of 16.
It was a wild series that included several late rallies and clutch performances, but in the end, Detroit’s historic star power won out. Cabrera fueled the Tigers' attack with three homers and 10 RBIs. Cobb and Willie Horton hit three homers and collected seven RBIs each. Cobb added nine runs scored as part of his 14-for-29 (.483) tear, with much of his damage coming in the series rally. Jack Morris turned in a pair of scoreless performances for two of Detroit’s four wins, tossing 13 1/3 shutout innings on nine hits with 12 strikeouts.
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Game 1: Angels 7, Tigers 4
Even in a matchup of all-time teams, it seems the bullpen haunts the Tigers in a big series, including for manager Sparky Anderson. The Tigers took a 4-3 lead into the late innings thanks to a four-run sixth fueled by Cobb’s two-run double. But after Joel Zumaya pitched a clean seventh inning, Brian Downing drew a bases-loaded walk off John Hiller to tie it. Noted Tigers postseason nemesis Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer off Hiller in the ninth to put the Angels up for good. In the end, a squandered bases-loaded opportunity for the Tigers in the seventh came back to haunt them.
Game 2: Tigers 6, Angels 4
Morris and Frank Tanana, the latter pitching for the Angels in this tournament, took a pitching duel into the late innings before the offenses erupted. Al Kaline’s sixth-inning single to score Cobb was the game’s lone run until Kaline broke the game open with a three-run homer in the eighth, followed by solo shots from Cabrera and Horton. Still, the Angels capitalized on an Alan Trammell error for four unearned ninth-inning runs off Hiller and Willie Hernandez before the latter retired Trout to strand the potential tying run on base.
Game 3: Angels 9, Tigers 4
Call it jet lag from the trip to the West Coast or whatever, but a six-run Angels first inning off Mickey Lolich put the Tigers down from the start. Cabrera’s two-run homer cut into the deficit in the second inning, but that was about all Detroit’s bats could muster off Angels starter Chuck Finley. Cabrera added an RBI single in the eighth. Hank Greenberg walked three times and scored twice.
Game 4: Angels 7, Tigers 5
Detroit’s hopes were looking bleak after another big deficit and a late rally had fallen short. Bobby Grich had his second consecutive four-RBI game, hitting a solo homer off Max Scherzer and a three-run drive off Aurelio Lopez to build a 7-0 lead. Bill Freehan drove in all five Tigers runs, including a bases-clearing double in the eighth to bring the potential tying run to the plate before Bryan Harvey retired Trammell to end the threat.
Game 5: Tigers 7, Angels 3
Detroit was staring elimination in the face with a 3-0 deficit in the seventh inning before Horton’s two-run homer off Nolan Ryan and bases-clearing triple off John Lackey ignited the tabby bats for seven unanswered runs to send the series back to Comerica Park. Justin Verlander allowed three solo homers but kept the game close. Zumaya, Hiller and Hal Newhouser combined for three innings of scoreless relief. The unlikely double-play combo of Trammell and Charlie Gehringer paired up three times.
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Game 6: Tigers 4, Angels 0
Leave it to Morris to come up with a clutch performance in a must-win game, delivering seven scoreless innings on five hits with four strikeouts to send the series the distance. Cobb’s two-run homer off Tanana put Detroit up in the opening inning, part of Cobb’s 3-for-4 performance, before Cabrera’s two-run double in the eighth put the game away.
Game 7: Tigers 12, Angels 7
The winner-take-all contest was a wild one, with 14 runs and three lead changes in just the first three innings. Cabrera’s two-run homer powered a four-run first inning, but the Tigers needed another four runs in the third to overcome a six-run Angels rally against Lolich. Cabrera singled home Kaline to tie it before George Kell’s two-run double put Detroit up for good. Cobb added a pair of home runs, including a two-run homer in the eighth as part of a three-hit, three-RBI, four-run performance, one of the best games of the opening round. Denny McLain struck out Grich to end it and send the Tigers into celebration on the field.