Wednesday night should have been almost perfect for Tigers fans.
Detroit beat Toronto, 6-2, improving Max Scherzer to 13-0. Alex Avila homered, continuing to look good in his return from the disabled list. Austin Jackson made two outstanding plays in center field, including a highlight-reel leaping catch at the wall.
For the Tigers, though, it's never that easy.
Omar Infante left the game in the fourth inning after injuring his leg on what he thought was a dirty takeout slide by Coby Ramsus. With Infante taking a throw from Jhonny Peralta, Rasmus didn't slide until he was almost on top of the base. That resulted in a nasty collision as Ramus slammed his knee into Infante's leg.
"That's too much," Infante said. "I don't think he needed to slide like that. That's dirty."
Infante was on crutches after the game with what the team called a shin contusion. The team isn't sure when he will be able to return to the lineup. Jim Leyland said the play was just hard baseball, but Scherzer strongly disagreed.
"That was very dirty," he said. "I didn't like that at all. I understand playing the game hard, but he slid way too late. He didn't need to do that.
"If we retaliate on him, we get suspended. But really he should be suspended for a slide like that."
Two innings later, the benches emptied when Torii Hunter took two steps toward the mound after being hit in the shoulder by a Todd Redmond pitch. No punches were thrown, as Hunter was quickly restrained by Prince Fielder and Toronto catch J.P. Arencibia.
The normally mild-mannered Hunter said that Redmond wasn't the target of his anger.
"That young man did nothing wrong, and I wasn't upset with him," Hunter said. "I was upset about the Rasmus slide. That was a bad play against a key member of our team."
Although Infante's status going forward is unknown, Leyland did announce after the game that Miguel Cabrera on Thursday will miss his first game of the season.
"His back stiffened up again, so he won't play tomorrow," Leyland said. "We've been on artificial turf for six straight games, and I need to get him a rest."
Losing Infante and Cabrera, at least temporarily, took some of the shine off Scherzer becoming the first pitcher to start 13-0 since Roger Clemens in 1986.
"It's hard to believe, to be honest with you, that someone is 13-0 in this day and age," Leyland said. "He might have been a little erratic, but he was still really good. Good enough to get us a win."
Scherzer has always downplayed his record, understanding that a lot of it is due to good run support and strong defense. In this game, he got Jackson's leaping catch at the center-field fence and Avila's three-run homer.
"Tonight's a night where my team picked me up," Scherzer said. "This is a great team, and that's why I'm 13-0.
"Austin gives me a web gem, and Alex went oppo for his homer. He's been back for a couple days now, and he's hit oppo with power both days. That's great to see."
Avila was in a season-long slump when he went on the disabled list with an arm injury. His rehab stint with Toledo gave him a chance to get some low-pressure at bats, and he's 3-7 with a homer and 5 RBI in the last two days.
"I've been able to work some good at-bats, and when I've got pitches I can hit, I haven't missed them," Avila said. "I don't think I'm more comfortable at the plate — I was always comfortable — but I've got some confidence now."
With Infante and Cabrera out, Avila's offense could be a key. But the biggest question Thursday will be if Justin Verlander can continue the recovery he showed in his last start.
Verlander, who came in with a 6.04 ERA in his last nine starts, looked more like himself before allowing a game-tying homer to Luke Scott in the eighth inning.
It will be Verlander's first game at the Rogers Centre since he no-hit the Blue Jays on May 7, 2011.
