To End Opposite of Where We Began?

Back in the early part of the season, the bullpen was the strength of the team while the rotation faltered. Now, those roles seem to have reversed. After the hype brought up about the Scherzer, Jackson pitching matchup, they pulled out just about even. Each one didn’t have their best stuff but managed to sidestep major trouble. Their lines were nearly identical. They gave up the same number of runs on the same number of hits. The only difference was that Scherzer walked one more batter. So it became a battle of the bullpens, and the Tigers’ ‘pen wasn’t able to hold onto the lead. I have no insight to give on Valverde, since it looked like the splitter had been working early in the inning and the hits he gave up were on fastballs. And so that leaves Ryan Perry and the hanging slider. I’m not an expert on mechanics, but Jim Leyland’s postgame comments suggested that the hanging slider was well within Perry’s control. He seemed to hearken back to that “lack of urgency” that he thinks Perry has. I’m not sure if that means Perry is too casual or what, but if he wants to remain the setup man, he can’t continue throwing hanging sliders, if indeed that is something he can control.

The offense didn’t fare all that badly against Edwin Jackson. I thought there’d be a bunch of complaints about Don Kelly batting right behind Miguel Cabrera, but I didn’t see any. Still, I’m sure there were some, but Kelly had quite a good day with three RBIs including a two-run homer. The problem for the Tigers was once they got into the White Sox bullpen, they didn’t do anything. Is it supposed to be that easy for a guy who was just drafted (It’s not just the Tigers, though; Chris Sale has been shutting down just about everyone since his call-up)?

The series continues tonight and the Tigers will be facing Freddy Garcia. His ERA at Comerica Park is barely over two and the Tigers usually have a tough time being patient against him. They did get to him for five runs the last time they saw him, but in their two previous meetings, he shut them down. Meanwhile, it’s September, and yet this will be the first time this season that Justin Verlander has faced the White Sox. He hasn’t faced them since game 162 last year. Historically, the White Sox have given him fits, but he handled them well last year. He even had two complete game wins against them. AJ Pierzynski (who is hot right now) has been a thorn in his side in the past, going 14-for-42 (.333) with three home runs and twelve RBIs. Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios also have good numbers against him.

All Banged Up

Everything about this game seemed just a little bit off. Armando Galarraga had problems throwing strikes throughout his outing, but it seemed like there was something else going on. As it turns out, he wasn’t able to get his arm loose while warming up and was suffering elbow stiffness throughout the game. That explains why Brad Thomas was warming up in the first inning. It may also explain Galarraga’s command problems. It does not explain why Jim Leyland had to have Jhonny Peralta present during his lengthy conversation with Galarraga (It’s not as if Galarraga needs an interpreter). At any rate, I hope this elbow problem clears up before Galarraga’s next start. He’d been pitching so well recently. It’d be a shame for something like that to hamper him for too long. As for Brad Thomas, well, it’s a bit unsettling to have the eventual winning run score just barely after they come back from commercial. There wasn’t a whole lot going on offense. Leyland seemed to not like the effort, and several of the Tigers were quick to credit Kyle Davies (He did seem to be throwing harder than I remember, but then again, so was Galarraga, who got clocked at 95 MPH at one point. I’m thinking the gun was a little hot). Casper Wells, with two hits including a home run, was pretty much the only one who did anything. Miguel Cabrera insists that if his shoulder was healthy, that deep fly ball he hit in the eighth inning would have been a home run.

The kind of sucky thing about all this is that the Tigers actually had one of their most productive road trips of the season, going .500, but everyone seems to insist that it’s not enough. Whatever your opinion is, I hope you will engage in watching the homestand same as me. First up is a four-game series with the White Sox. Today they’ll face Edwin Jackson, who has been almost lights-out since joining the White Sox (which doesn’t make much sense). However, Max Scherzer has been just about as lights-out. And I believe that this is the first time that the two (who were traded for each other) will go face-to-face.

Rookie Rally

Photo: AP

This is one of those games where I think Rick Porcello pitched better than his line would indicate. He gave up four runs, but a lot of those came on hits that were not hit hard. The Royals just somehow managed to get them in the right spot and string enough of them together to score runs. Even the home run from Kila Ka’aihue seemed to just be flicked down the line (I wish he wouldn’t feature so prominently in these games, mostly because typing his name is annoying).

However, the offense was once again up to the challenge. It was so nice to see Miguel Cabrera back in the lineup, and it looks as though the biceps tendinitis isn’t affecting his swing anymore because he laced a two-run double in his first at-bat that nearly cleared the wall. He also had a line drive single later in the game. The rookies really came through late. The heartwarming story of the night was Max St. Pierre, who not only got his first major league hit, he started the rally that ultimately got the Tigers the lead. Will Rhymes followed with a single, and Austin Jackson (who had a big night with three hits) knocked in the pinch-runner Boesch with the go-ahead run. Will Rhymes would later score on a passed ball. And props goes to the Royals fans who gave Max St. Pierre a standing ovation when he got that hit (I actually talked to the Baseball Guru last night and he thought it was a wonderful thing that the Tigers were doing for him). He looked totally in awe of the whole thing. And thumbs down to the AP for not getting a picture of him.

The series and the road trip concludes this afternoon. Armando Galarraga has been very good in his last three starts, which included his last start against the Twins, who are normally his own personal hell. One word of caution is that both Bonderman and Porcello didn’t pitch quite as well against the Royals as they had back at Comerica Park. Hopefully Galarraga does not suffer that same fate. I’m also noticing he runs into a wall a little bit once he gets to 85-90 pitches. Other than that, it’s the same pointers I always give when he starts. The Royals will start Kyle Davies, who has an ERA approaching six, but I’ve seen occasions before where he’s shut the Tigers down.

Sudden Comeback

Photo: AP

Over the past couple days, the Tigers have been doing something they were rather good at early in the season: late-inning dramatic comebacks. First, though, I must give a tip of the cap to Jeremy Bonderman, who started out the game looking like he wasn’t going to last very long. I’m not an expert in mechanics (and even when I do examine them, Bonderman has never been the subject of my study), but in the first few innings, his delivery looked different than normal. I can’t explain what was different about it (other than he nearly fell over on at least one pitch and he generally doesn’t do that), but obviously it wasn’t making him very effective. Then after about the third inning or so, he seemed to correct whatever the mechanical flaw was, because he was very good after that point. Daniel Schlereth was not so good, giving up a home run and a walk, but Robbie Weinhardt and Ryan Perry were both terrific.

For much of the beginning of this game it looked like the Tigers were in very real danger of being no-hit by Zack Greinke. He didn’t look super-dominant against them, but they weren’t getting good swings off him, either. Jhonny Peralta’s single in the fifth ended that threat, but there was still no indication that the offense would suddenly come alive in the seventh. Greinke went from throwing a shutout to giving up four earned runs in just about the blink of an eye. Just about everyone in the lineup contributed to the victory. Will Rhymes was the extra-inning hero with his two-run triple in the eleventh. And though I’d prefer seeing Miguel Cabrera at first base any day of the week, Don Kelly held his own with three hits and solid defense.

The series continues tonight with Rick Porcello taking the mound for the Tigers. He’s coming off a very good start against the Blue Jays last Sunday. He was also very good against the Royals last time he saw them (another game the Tigers won by a blowout). The Royals will start Bruce Chen, whom the Tigers beat in their last meeting, but he IS coming off a win against the Indians in which he went six innings and only gave up two runs. Miguel Cabrera is back in the lineup. Hopefully he isn’t pushing himself and he can swing the bat properly (and though it was only a game and a half, it felt like an eternity with him not in the lineup). And with Gerald Laird’s back still acting up, 30-year-old Max St. Pierre will make his big league debut tonight after 14 seasons in the minors. Good for him.

Good, Bad, AND Ugly

Photo: AP

Perhaps the fact that this was a night game (as I had discussed yesterday) made it destined to be strange. I have no idea what to make of Justin Verlander’s performance. For one thing, I only saw half his outing (it was the bottom of the fourth when I got home). For another thing, he didn’t really get any help from his friends. The defense on both teams was terrible, especially when it came to trying to turn double plays. Verlander got victimized by it and ended up surrendering three unearned runs. Jose Valverde later got hung with a blown save that really wasn’t his fault (he got really squeezed on the leadoff walk, and once he struck out Joe Mauer, he got two consecutive game-ending double play balls that weren’t turned). However, after that Valverde pitched really well without incident, although he probably won’t be available for the next couple days.

The Tigers offense likewise took advantage of some defensive miscues by the Twins. They had two RBI groundouts on what should have been double play balls. The second of the two came off the bat off Miguel Cabrera, who left the game shortly thereafter with biceps tendinitis. He doesn’t seem to think it’s serious, but it was adversely affecting his swing, and he is not in tonight’s lineup. The guy who replaced him in the lineup was Casper Wells, who did his best job impersonating Cabrera and picked a good time to hit his first big league home run. Just about everyone in the lineup contributed at some point, whether they started the game or came in later (and almost everyone was in the game at some point; Max St. Pierre was the lone Tiger remaining on the bench). The Tigers ended up hitting five home runs (in contrast, all the Twins’ hits were singles). Gerald Laird ended up being the final hero of the night by hitting the home run that put the Tigers in front for good. He now has more home runs at Target Field than Joe Mauer has. And they did a nice job screwing up the Twins’ pitching staff, because the Twins lost Scott Baker after two innings, so they burned their long man early, and they had two use two of their other starters in extras, including Nick Blackburn, who was supposed to start tonight. The Texas Rangers should be thanking them.

Tonight the road trip moves on to Kansas City and the Tigers can avoid Zack Greinke no longer. They haven’t seen him since Opening Day. He’s not had a particularly strong follow-up to his Cy Young year, but he’s pitched well in his last four starts and has gone eight innings in three of them. He may be finding his stride again, and without Cabrera in the lineup, it’s going to be even harder for the Tigers to get to him. The only two in the lineup with good numbers against him are Damon (7-for-20) and Laird (6-for-20). Jeremy Bonderman is pitching for the first time since the series with the Royals in Detroit. He suffered a ribcage injury and Alfredo Figaro took his spot for the last turn through the rotation. He won that start against the Royals rather easily, since the Tigers scored a bunch of runs for him.

The Drawback of Pitching Duels

It seems the Tigers have fallen into that same trap they were in about a month ago, where they would fight their hearts out but consistently came up just barely short. Max Scherzer was very impressive. For the most part, he mowed through a normally stressful lineup rather easily. Unfortunately, the one lapse he had ended up costing him. For a span of about five batters, the Twins hit absolute bullets. Scherzer escaped with minimal damage thanks to a terrific double play by Austin Jackson, but the one run he gave up proved to be too much. I still think that in this day and age, any starting pitcher who goes nine innings should get credit for a complete game, even if it goes into extras, but I digress. However, Ryan Perry failed to bounce back from his rough outing on Tuesday and ended up losing the game (though, to be fair, he did not get help from his friends; Cuddyer probably would have been out on the stolen base attempt if Alex Avila had made a good throw). Meanwhile, the offense ended up getting the Francisco Liriano that they saw in April, not the one from June/July. It’s hard to tell where Liriano’s effectiveness ended and the hitting ineffectiveness began. There were a couple baserunning mistakes that should not have happened, and potentially that cost them runs as well.

The series concludes tonight, and it’ll be up to Justin Verlander to get the win. Like Scherzer, he was very good in his start against the Blue Jays, giving up two solo home runs as his only damage. He’s had two decent starts against the Twins this year, although he actually pitched better in the game he lost than in the game he won, at least in terms of innings pitched and pitch count. And you can bet that unless Jim Thome’s back is still bothering him, he’ll be in there against Verlander. The Tigers will face Scott Baker, who is coming off a win against the Mariners. I’ve given this spiel before. Against the Tigers, he usually gives up somewhere between three and five runs. Usually. Occasionally he’ll only give up one run or give up a bunch of runs just to shake things up. This is already shaping up to be an odd sort of game. Usually in Minnesota they have a day game to end a series. This is a night game.

Que Lastima

Even I admitted that the odds weren’t good for Detroit in this game, and that’s how it turned out, but I don’t think any of us really labeled a bullpen meltdown as the most likely scenario. Both Phil Coke and Ryan Perry had command problems, and the result was a walk, two hit batters, and then another walk, this time with the bases loaded, before Delmon Young delivered the death blow single. Perry eventually recovered, but it was too late. And it’s really a damn shame, because Armando Galarraga deserved better. That was by far the best he has ever pitched against the Twins. I was really impressed. He looked to be just about in complete control for the first five innings. They did start to center his pitches in the sixth inning, and the wheels almost came off, but after a fortuitous bounce that created a ground rule double and cost the Twins a run, he got the last out and left with the lead intact (I wonder if that’s a fatigue factor, because the same thing happened to him in his last start, and to a lesser extent, the start before that; he’s been able to get out of it every time, though). One other important point is that he didn’t walk anybody, and that’s especially noteworthy because in the past he’s had a lot of trouble throwing strikes to Twins batters. I did read a quote from him where he said he was unhappy that he couldn’t go deeper into the game, but I hope he takes a lot of positive things from this outing and gets a big confidence boost from it.

And I still can’t figure out Brian Duensing. I mean, he could definitely be a solid lefty starter, but I can’t see anything that would support his dominant ERA. The funny thing is that his ERA actually went down after his outing last night because all the runs the Tigers scored were unearned. Still, Casper Wells has looked good over the past couple games. He had three hits last night. Jhonny Peralta also had three hits, which everyone seems to have forgotten about because he struck out to end the game. It was an unusually quiet night for Miguel Cabrera, who got pitched to in all his at-bats (even when there were runners in scoring position), and he only went 1-for-5 to show for it (and that one hit was a single with the bases empty).

Well, if the Tigers are still going to take the series, they have their two best candidates to make it happen. Tonight, it’s Max Scherzer. He was brilliant in his last start against the Blue Jays. He hasn’t faced the Twins since very early in the season, where they knocked him around real good. However, he’s a different pitcher now. Those numbers might mean nothing (or they could mean everything and the Twins are destined to be his kryptonite as well). Meanwhile, Francisco Liriano has been very good as well. He’s also coming off a win, this one against the Texas Rangers. He did give up five runs to the White Sox two starts ago, though. He’s had a strange season against the Tigers. Throughout his career, he has dominated Detroit. The Tigers have very rarely done anything against him. And yet they’re responsible for his worst two starts of the year in terms of giving up runs. They scored six runs off him in six innings at Target Field in late June (that was the game in which Joel Zumaya was injured, and remains their only win in the Twins’ new ballpark). Then at Comerica Park a couple weeks later, they scored seven runs off him in 1.2 innings. Something’s gotta give. Because it’s September, the rosters have expanded and the Tigers have called up Robbie Weinhardt and Max St. Pierre. For Max St. Pierre, this will mark the first time he’s been on a big league roster after fourteen years in the Tigers system. It’s been a long road for him, and that’s an understatement. He’s actually had a decent year between Erie and Toledo, especially when you consider the fact that just about none of the catchers in the Tigers’ farm system did anything offensively.  He hit .274 between the two teams, albeit in only 59 games (he suffered a broken hand that kept him out a while).  With the lefty on the mound, I’m not sure if he would get a start or if Gerald Laird (assuming his back is healthy) will get the call (Laird does not have good numbers against Liriano, for what it’s worth).