Game 1 (Final Score: 2-1, Diamondbacks win)

I’ll start with a newsworthy observation by the espn.com recap: “Former “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff watched the game from the Diamondbacks’ executive seats.” Methinks they put the quotation marks around “Baywatch” instead of “star” unintentionally. Like Haselhoff, the Tigers are mediocre, reaching .500 again with today’s one run loss.

Tigers’ hitters had a “Hasselhoffian” (mediocre) day. Shawn Estes held them in check with the only run coming in the fifth with two outs when Monroe came around to score on Maroth’s single (1-0). Inge followed with another single but Estes got Polanco to line out. With two more singles in the sixth the Tigers looked in decent shape to repeat their one run feat of the previous inning but Estes closed the inning out again.

The Diamondback hitters caught up with Maroth in the bottom half, scoring both runs with the help of a questionable play (not as questionable as NBA Finals officiating though). Until then Maroth had avoided jams like he had in the fourth with two on and none out. Luis Gonzalez, likely to be the first run of the game, was gunned down at home as he tried to score from first on Troy Glaus’s double. But in sixth, Royce Clayton and Gonzalez were both safe on a fielder’s choice call that Trammell argued before getting ejected. Glaus walked and Tony “Half Season” Clark hit an RBI single off Inge’s glove to tie the game and Shawn Green’s sac fly ended up the winning edge (2-1).

The Tigers threatened in the seventh and eighth but couldn’t crack Estes or the Dbacks bullpen. Logan walked and took second on Maroth’s sacrifice but he joined Inge to end the inning on a strike’em out, throw’em out double play. Polanco and White paired singles in the eighth but Rodriguez and Monroe ended the inning and fans’ hopes with a pair of fly outs.

Game 2 (Final Score: 1-5, Tigers win)

The Tigers finally turn to a fifth starter and surprised only those fans without a pulse by calling on Sean Douglass for his first big league start as a Tiger. Douglass’ opposition was Javier Vasquez who recently made the Tigers line-up look atrocious during the Dbacks visit to Comerica. Vasquez continued his dominance of the Tigers by allowing only one base runner in each of the first four innings, on three singles and a walk. Douglass countered with a less dominating though effective performance with his only serious black mark coming on a lead off homer by Jose Cruz Jr. in the second (1-0).

Douglass made it through six full innings so he got to see the Tigers come from behind for the win. The game was tied by Polanco in the bottom of the sixth on Rodriguez’s two out single (1-1). Vasquez started to pitch in the seventh like he was still a Yankee: Infante doubled, Shelton had a pinch hit RBI single, Inge smacked a triple, and Polanco singled him home (1-4). Javier Lopez entered the game and provided the Dbacks some relief since he got Young to fan while Polanco took second on a passed ball. Brandon Medders relieved him ineffectively and gave up an RBI single to White (1-5). Both teams’ pens closed the door on their opponents’ batsmen setting up a rubber match tomorrow.

Alas, there was no information about David Hasselhoff’s plans for the evening.

Game 3 (Final Score: 13-7, Diamondbacks win)

Perhaps you’ve heard of Jeremy Bonderman? Well he was supposed to pitch in this game but he apparently has a body double that pitches like Jose Lima and that’s the guy who threw BP for the Dbacks during the first three innings. They scored off Limderman in the first on a single by Alex Cintron and a two home run by Shawn Green, in the second on a two run single by Cintron and a single by Chad Tracy, and finally in the third on Cruz’s two run homer (8-0). Creek relieved Limderman but not the Tigers in the third since he allowed another run on Counsell’s double (9-0). Meanwhile the Tigers earned first base on a walk, an intentional walk, a hit-by-pitch, and second on a wasted double.

Creek increased the deficit in the fourth after Chad Tracy extended a single into a triple with the help of Logan’s error. He crossed the plate on Green’s second homer and Creek later completed the inning (11-0). Spurling entered the game in the sixth and surrendered the third two run homer of the day to Tony Clark (13-0).

The bats finally woke up in the bottom of the sixth, perhaps rejuvenated by watching their old mate park one in the outfield like he did so infrequently as a Tiger. The batters smacked three doubles, a triple, and a homer, resulting in five runs (13-5). Where were all these extra base hits earlier? Two more runs were added in the ninth on a lot of singles and an error by Cintron but the Dbacks took the series (13-7).

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