DETROIT -- Jim Leyland dropped Austin Jackson to eighth in the batting order, hoping to relax the slumping Detroit outfielder.
So naturally, Jackson's first plate appearance came with the bases loaded. After drawing a four-pitch walk to force in a run, he finally felt a little more at ease.
A revitalized Jackson delivered in Leyland's revamped lineup as the Tigers built a big lead and held on this time, beating the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Wednesday night to even the American League Championship Series at 2-all. Detroit scored five runs in the second inning, the first coming home on Jackson's walk.
"It was a big situation right there to try to get something done," Jackson said. "I think after I'd seen a couple of pitches I was able to kind of just take some deep breaths and relax a little bit -- and not worry so much about the result, just try to get a good pitch."
Jackson finished with two singles and two walks. He was 3-for-33 with 18 strikeouts in this postseason before Wednesday.
Torii Hunter had a two-run double and Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs after Leyland moved the slumping Jackson out of the leadoff spot and bumped almost everyone else up a place following the Tigers' 1-0 loss in Game 3. The Detroit manager was quick to deflect credit afterward.
"This has nothing to do with Jim Leyland; this is about the players," Leyland said. "They executed, they came out, they played well."
Jackson's bases-loaded walk off Jake Peavy in the second seemed to be a relief for most of Comerica Park. Another strikeout could have derailed the rally, but instead the Tigers broke the game open.
Doug Fister, meanwhile, provided another fine outing for Detroit. He allowed a run in six innings, and the Tigers' starting pitchers have yielded only three runs in 27 ALCS innings -- and struck out 42.After blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 2, Detroit kept the Red Sox at bay Wednesday.
Game 5 is Thursday night in Detroit. The Tigers' Anibal Sanchez faces Boston's Jon Lester in a rematch of Game 1, which Detroit won 1-0.
Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits for the Red Sox on Wednesday, finishing a homer shy of the cycle, but now it's Boston manager John Farrell fielding questions about whether a lineup shakeup is in order after another tough night against Detroit's pitching.
"The one thing that we've maintained is a constant approach with the lineup and not creating further uncertainty," Farrell said. "I think our guys have responded well to that."
The Tigers lost Games 2 and 3, wasting gems by Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Leyland left Jackson in the lineup but changed the batting order. Jackson hit eighth, and with others moving up a spot, it made for an odd-looking lineup. Hunter hit leadoff for the first time since 1999, and Cabrera was second for only the third time in his career -- first since 2004.
"That was pretty good. He switched things up, kind of shake it up a little bit," Hunter said. "It gave us a different mindset. Miggy hitting second, me leading off. It gave us a different mindset to make things happen."
Leyland indicated his batting order would remain the same in Game 5 -- but will he be doing anything special with the lineup card from Wednesday's game?
"I'll throw it away, unless I can sell it to some bar on the way home," he said.
Jackson found himself batting in a crucial situation right away in the second. Peavy walked him to force home the game's first run.
The Red Sox had a chance to halt that rally when Jose Iglesias hit a potential double-play grounder to second, but Dustin Pedroia couldn't field it cleanly and Boston had to settle for a forceout at second that brought home another run.
"That was my fault. We've got to turn that double play," Pedroia said. "That ball was smoked. If I catch it, we're getting two."
Hunter followed with a double down the line in left to make it 4-0, and Cabrera added an RBI single.
After walking three batters in the second inning, Peavy was in trouble again in the fourth. After a leadoff double by Omar Infante, Jackson slapped a single past a diving Pedroia to bring home a run."It felt good to contribute to a win," Jackson said. "Just get a chance to go out there and not put so much pressure on yourself, just have fun."
Cabrera's single made it 7-0, and the Detroit third baseman -- who has been running even slower than usual over the past month or so because of groin problems -- caught reliever Brandon Workman and the Boston defense napping when he stole second without a throw.
In the fifth, Cabrera looked healthy enough when he charged Pedroia's slow grounder, barehanded it and threw to first for the out.
SEE FUTHER DETIALS AT
EPSN.COM
It's come to this for Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden: His job was advertised on Craigslist."Have you played pro football?" asks the ad that 22-year-old Seth Pae, a graduate student at DePaul, took credit for posting. "College ball? High school? Pee-wee?
"Have you played Madden before? Do you know some of the rules of football? If yes, keep reading."And if no?"... well also keep reading!" the ad reads. "We will take ANYONE!"
This is what happens with the Browns, a team that has used 19 starting quarterbacks since 1999 and is regularly the butt of jokes locally and nationally.The city has become famous for radio rants about the team. In 2011, a local comedian named Mike Polk posted a YouTube video in which he stood by FirstEnergy Stadium and voiced his frustrations. He concluded by calling the stadium "a factory of sadness," before adding, "I'll see ya Sunday."The Browns have had one playoff game and two winning seasons since 1999, and in the past five years leading up to this one they won only 23 games. Yet the team sells out game after game after game.
The quarterbacks often find themselves in the eye of the storm, and Weeden is no different. He was welcomed as a first-round draft pick but criticized as losses mounted a year ago. Fans were pleased when Brian Hoyer won two games this season after Weeden sprained his thumb. They worried about Weeden's return after Hoyer injured his knee. And they went silent when Weeden made his backhand flip late in Cleveland's Week 6 loss to Detroit that resulted in an interception.
The Craigslist ad is just the latest quip. Pae, a Hudson, Ohio, native who is studying classical music and the viola, took credit for the ad and said it was a result of frustration."I was blowing off steam," Pae said. "We've had like 396 quarterbacks since 1999. It's a bit much. We're still looking for 'the one.' I feel like we're the Ted Mosby of football teams; we're still looking for the one."Pae's reference to Mosby is from the popular TV show "How I Met Your Mother," in which one of the stars is constantly searching for the right woman. He said watching the Browns is like watching the show over and over as the team tries to find a quarterback.The play that sent Pae over the edge?"That one interception where [Weeden] flung the ball forward," Pae said. "I watched video of it a couple times, and I saw two wide receivers wide open. ... He decided to shovel pass it to nobody."The ad has the location of the Browns' facility in Berea, Ohio, listed with a map to the site. It has the team's address and lists the compensation at $125,000 per week.
As far as pranks go, it is on par with the guy who put in his will that he wanted six Browns players to be his pallbearers so that the team could "let him down one last time.""If you're sick of seeing desperation heaves to the sidelines, countless sacks after superb coverage, and underhanded lightly tossed interceptions in the fourth quarter then please come apply!" the ad reads. "If you can throw a ball, come apply! If you can't, come anyway! We can teach you the basics ... throwing the ball to the guy who has the same color shirt as you. Throwing the ball reasonably close to a receiver (who is) WIDE OPEN, throwing the ball more than (three) yards on third and 16."And to think ... Weeden threw two touchdown passes Sunday against the Lions and had the Browns ahead by 10 at halftime.
"I got very good earmuffs on," Weeden said. "I went out and bought the best ones I could. You can't listen to [the criticism]."Weeden also said he has stopped following social media, which he said is turning into a joke.Part of Pae's joke was stating in the ad that "people named Brett" need not apply."I got about 20 emails about it from people who knew it was me," Pae said. "Most were pretty funny. A couple thought it was serious. I guess that's pretty funny also."
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose Green Bay Packers play Weeden's Browns on Sunday, was asked Wednesday if he'd find the Craigslist ad humorous or hurtful.
"I would not find a whole lot of humor in that if it happened in Green Bay," he said.
SEE MORE DETAILS AT
ESPN.COM
So naturally, Jackson's first plate appearance came with the bases loaded. After drawing a four-pitch walk to force in a run, he finally felt a little more at ease.
A revitalized Jackson delivered in Leyland's revamped lineup as the Tigers built a big lead and held on this time, beating the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Wednesday night to even the American League Championship Series at 2-all. Detroit scored five runs in the second inning, the first coming home on Jackson's walk.
"It was a big situation right there to try to get something done," Jackson said. "I think after I'd seen a couple of pitches I was able to kind of just take some deep breaths and relax a little bit -- and not worry so much about the result, just try to get a good pitch."
Jackson finished with two singles and two walks. He was 3-for-33 with 18 strikeouts in this postseason before Wednesday.
Torii Hunter had a two-run double and Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs after Leyland moved the slumping Jackson out of the leadoff spot and bumped almost everyone else up a place following the Tigers' 1-0 loss in Game 3. The Detroit manager was quick to deflect credit afterward.
"This has nothing to do with Jim Leyland; this is about the players," Leyland said. "They executed, they came out, they played well."
Jackson's bases-loaded walk off Jake Peavy in the second seemed to be a relief for most of Comerica Park. Another strikeout could have derailed the rally, but instead the Tigers broke the game open.
Doug Fister, meanwhile, provided another fine outing for Detroit. He allowed a run in six innings, and the Tigers' starting pitchers have yielded only three runs in 27 ALCS innings -- and struck out 42.After blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 2, Detroit kept the Red Sox at bay Wednesday.
Game 5 is Thursday night in Detroit. The Tigers' Anibal Sanchez faces Boston's Jon Lester in a rematch of Game 1, which Detroit won 1-0.
Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits for the Red Sox on Wednesday, finishing a homer shy of the cycle, but now it's Boston manager John Farrell fielding questions about whether a lineup shakeup is in order after another tough night against Detroit's pitching.
"The one thing that we've maintained is a constant approach with the lineup and not creating further uncertainty," Farrell said. "I think our guys have responded well to that."
The Tigers lost Games 2 and 3, wasting gems by Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Leyland left Jackson in the lineup but changed the batting order. Jackson hit eighth, and with others moving up a spot, it made for an odd-looking lineup. Hunter hit leadoff for the first time since 1999, and Cabrera was second for only the third time in his career -- first since 2004.
"That was pretty good. He switched things up, kind of shake it up a little bit," Hunter said. "It gave us a different mindset. Miggy hitting second, me leading off. It gave us a different mindset to make things happen."
Leyland indicated his batting order would remain the same in Game 5 -- but will he be doing anything special with the lineup card from Wednesday's game?
"I'll throw it away, unless I can sell it to some bar on the way home," he said.
Jackson found himself batting in a crucial situation right away in the second. Peavy walked him to force home the game's first run.
The Red Sox had a chance to halt that rally when Jose Iglesias hit a potential double-play grounder to second, but Dustin Pedroia couldn't field it cleanly and Boston had to settle for a forceout at second that brought home another run.
"That was my fault. We've got to turn that double play," Pedroia said. "That ball was smoked. If I catch it, we're getting two."
Hunter followed with a double down the line in left to make it 4-0, and Cabrera added an RBI single.
After walking three batters in the second inning, Peavy was in trouble again in the fourth. After a leadoff double by Omar Infante, Jackson slapped a single past a diving Pedroia to bring home a run."It felt good to contribute to a win," Jackson said. "Just get a chance to go out there and not put so much pressure on yourself, just have fun."
Cabrera's single made it 7-0, and the Detroit third baseman -- who has been running even slower than usual over the past month or so because of groin problems -- caught reliever Brandon Workman and the Boston defense napping when he stole second without a throw.
In the fifth, Cabrera looked healthy enough when he charged Pedroia's slow grounder, barehanded it and threw to first for the out.
SEE FUTHER DETIALS AT
EPSN.COM
It's come to this for Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden: His job was advertised on Craigslist."Have you played pro football?" asks the ad that 22-year-old Seth Pae, a graduate student at DePaul, took credit for posting. "College ball? High school? Pee-wee?
"Have you played Madden before? Do you know some of the rules of football? If yes, keep reading."And if no?"... well also keep reading!" the ad reads. "We will take ANYONE!"
This is what happens with the Browns, a team that has used 19 starting quarterbacks since 1999 and is regularly the butt of jokes locally and nationally.The city has become famous for radio rants about the team. In 2011, a local comedian named Mike Polk posted a YouTube video in which he stood by FirstEnergy Stadium and voiced his frustrations. He concluded by calling the stadium "a factory of sadness," before adding, "I'll see ya Sunday."The Browns have had one playoff game and two winning seasons since 1999, and in the past five years leading up to this one they won only 23 games. Yet the team sells out game after game after game.
The quarterbacks often find themselves in the eye of the storm, and Weeden is no different. He was welcomed as a first-round draft pick but criticized as losses mounted a year ago. Fans were pleased when Brian Hoyer won two games this season after Weeden sprained his thumb. They worried about Weeden's return after Hoyer injured his knee. And they went silent when Weeden made his backhand flip late in Cleveland's Week 6 loss to Detroit that resulted in an interception.
The Craigslist ad is just the latest quip. Pae, a Hudson, Ohio, native who is studying classical music and the viola, took credit for the ad and said it was a result of frustration."I was blowing off steam," Pae said. "We've had like 396 quarterbacks since 1999. It's a bit much. We're still looking for 'the one.' I feel like we're the Ted Mosby of football teams; we're still looking for the one."Pae's reference to Mosby is from the popular TV show "How I Met Your Mother," in which one of the stars is constantly searching for the right woman. He said watching the Browns is like watching the show over and over as the team tries to find a quarterback.The play that sent Pae over the edge?"That one interception where [Weeden] flung the ball forward," Pae said. "I watched video of it a couple times, and I saw two wide receivers wide open. ... He decided to shovel pass it to nobody."The ad has the location of the Browns' facility in Berea, Ohio, listed with a map to the site. It has the team's address and lists the compensation at $125,000 per week.
As far as pranks go, it is on par with the guy who put in his will that he wanted six Browns players to be his pallbearers so that the team could "let him down one last time.""If you're sick of seeing desperation heaves to the sidelines, countless sacks after superb coverage, and underhanded lightly tossed interceptions in the fourth quarter then please come apply!" the ad reads. "If you can throw a ball, come apply! If you can't, come anyway! We can teach you the basics ... throwing the ball to the guy who has the same color shirt as you. Throwing the ball reasonably close to a receiver (who is) WIDE OPEN, throwing the ball more than (three) yards on third and 16."And to think ... Weeden threw two touchdown passes Sunday against the Lions and had the Browns ahead by 10 at halftime.
"I got very good earmuffs on," Weeden said. "I went out and bought the best ones I could. You can't listen to [the criticism]."Weeden also said he has stopped following social media, which he said is turning into a joke.Part of Pae's joke was stating in the ad that "people named Brett" need not apply."I got about 20 emails about it from people who knew it was me," Pae said. "Most were pretty funny. A couple thought it was serious. I guess that's pretty funny also."
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose Green Bay Packers play Weeden's Browns on Sunday, was asked Wednesday if he'd find the Craigslist ad humorous or hurtful.
"I would not find a whole lot of humor in that if it happened in Green Bay," he said.
SEE MORE DETAILS AT
ESPN.COM
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