Alfredo Simon Throws First Complete Game Of Career; Shuts Out Rangers
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
On a night where two Tigers pitchers went to the disabled list, and the team orchestrated a trade in about two hours to acquire a veteran to fill out the rotation, right-hander Alfredo Simon turned in his most brilliant performance of the year.
He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, allowed only one hit on the night and pitched the first complete game of his career. Fittingly, it was also Simon's first-ever shutout. The Tigers added enough run support to come out with a 4-0 victory over the Rangers in a series-opening game Thursday night.
"I just put it in my mind and tried to just throw the ball down and tried to put it on the plate, and everything came true," Simon said.
It was a good time for things to come together for him: Detroit's rotation was already starting to thin out when Daniel Norris strained his oblique Wednesday night. But the Tigers also announced Thursday that Anibal Sanchez had strained his rotator cuff, and would join Norris on the 15-day DL. Saving the bullpen and giving them one precious night of rest was the side effect of Simon's one-hitter.
According to manager Brad Ausmus, the trade to acquire veteran pitcher (and Ausmus' former teammate) Randy Wolf came about within two hours on Thursday. The team knew they had few options to make it through the next couple of weeks without grabbing someone new.
But on the nights when Simon is pitching? The Tigers can rest a little easier knowing that he is back to form.
"He's a lot more free and easy," said catcher James McCann. "The grind's not as much of an issue. He had a decent outing in Baltimore but he really didn't have his fastball to pitch with. It's nice to see him get his velocity back."
To add to Simon's night, Detroit's offense clicked as well, or as much as they could while still leaving seven men on base.
The Tigers' first two runs came via similar situations: In both the first and third innings, J.D. Martinez loaded the bases after walking on full-count pitches. And in both cases, Nick Castellanos batted in Miguel Cabrera to give the Tigers a 1-0 and then 2-0 lead. Continuing the déjà vu between those two innings, McCann grounded out after both runs, leaving teammates stranded both times.
"Our offense came out and we threatened numerous times," he said. "It very easily could have been a lot higher-scoring game."
For now, though, the Tigers (59-61) will be at least slightly content riding a three-game win streak behind the best Simon outing of the season.
"It was a nice two-game series for us in Chicago and it's a good way to start this series but we've got to come back tomorrow and hopefully Justin (Verlander) is on his game again, and continue to play good baseball. But yeah, I'm not ready to throw a parade."
