PREGAME: Time to change things up a little because nothing else is working. I’m changing my underwear everyday now, looking for that magic pair that brings the Tigers some offense and a win.

Edwin Jackson is coming off his best start of the season, but as Justin Verlander will tell you, even shut out ball isn’t enough given the Tigers offense.

Kelvim Escobar makes his first start of the year which means he’s looking for his first win of the year meaning the Tigers are in trouble.

It’s another ill-conceived lineup tonight:

1. Anderson
2. Polanco
3. Thomas
4. Ordonez
5. Granderson
6. Inge
7. Larish
8. Laird
9. Santiago

Seriously, this lineup looks a lot better when the guys Leyland has batting 1-2 are batting 8-9.

LA Angels vs. Detroit – June 6, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: Now that’s an exclamation point. To finish off a complete game by humping up 98 and 99mph heat in the 9th inning and striking out the 2-3-4 hitters (who happen to be Bobby Abreus – Vlad Guerrero – Torri Hunter) almost makes you forget how good Edwin Jackson was throughout the first 8 innings. That he was able to finish the game with 109 pitches is a testament to his efficiency and the fact he only walked 1 batter.

The offense continued to struggle in run scoring situations. At least there were run scoring situations tonight though. They made Escobar work and he needed 92 pitches to get through 5 innings. It didn’t really help getting into the bullpen as it turns out, but 10 pitch innings are really unsatisfying.

As for the title of this post, should I keep it this way until they lose of was this a one time way to break the losing momentum?

PREGAME: Remember a few weeks back. The Tigers had won the first 6 games of a 9 game homestand and the Rockies came to town. The Tigers took the Friday night game and things were looking great. That was the last time the Tigers won a home game and now have a 5 game losing streak at Comerica.

Fortunately the Tigers have their ace, Justin Verlander on the mound tonight. Of course the last time Verlander faced the Angels he allowed 7 runs in 5 innings as the Angels ran his pitch count up by fouling off a ton of pitches, and then there was the little matter of Ryan Raburn playing really bad in right field.

The Angels send out Ervin Santana. He’s a pitcher trying to regain his form after spending time on the DL, kind of like when they face Matsuzaka on Tuesday night. Santana has been absolutely rocked in his last 2 starts allowing a combined 15 runs to Seattle and Boston.

LA Angels vs. Detroit – June 5, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: Just home from the game. Yes I’m frustrated. The Tigers are fighting it. I’m going to try and boil this down to a couple thoughts:

• Verlander was quite good again. He walked a few too many and as a result it was probably best he wasn’t out for the 9th. You don’t beat up a pitcher because the offense is terrible.
• Fernando Rodney picked up his first loss. It is June 5th. Really. How many teams would love to say that about their closer? Don’t complain about Rodney. He wasn’t especially sharp going to several 3 ball counts but he also wasn’t shelled. He was ground balled to death and the second run scored because the grounder wasn’t hit hard enough. This stuff happens.
• When the Tigers made the decision to go with a defensive mindset (which also brought in additional speed), they knowingly gave up offense. We knew before the season started that there would be holes in the lineup. This situation has been exacerbated by a couple of the Tigers bigger bats performing well below career norms and even normal expected aging curves (the curve became a cliff). And when you take your biggest thumper out of the lineup you aren’t going to score a lot of runs. The Tigers need more offense, but just remember that to get it they will need to sacrifice some defense.

PREGAME: It is time for this series to mercifully come to an end. The Tigers have not so much looked good in these first 2 games and now have dropped 4 in a row at home. As for today’s afternoon tilt, I don’t really know what to expect.

Tim Wakefield will be heaving knucklers  towards home plate. I’ve seen the Tigers beat up Wakefield, and be stymied by Wakefield. Hitting conventional pitching hasn’t been their strong suit lately so maybe this is just what they need. Wakefield has been more wild this year with his walk rate at 4.4 per 9 innings while his K-rate of 5.4 is right in line with his past 4 seasons. He has already hit 9 batters.

Dontrelle Willis takes the ball for Detroit after a rough start against the Orioles. Dontrelle’s ability to throw strikes against the Red Sox has me concerned. And really, with the 2 starting pitchers combining to walk 8.4 batters per 9 innings, this game could take a while.

Boston vs. Detroit – June 4, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

PREGAME: It just has to be better tonight right? Fewer errors. Fewer baserunning mistakes. More big hits with runners on base. No plunking in a run? Does that sound good to everybody?

Armando Galarraga will try and build on his last start, which was his only quality start in the month of May. He faced Boston once last year and wasn’t good, but he managed a no decision despite allowing 5 runs and not getting out of the 6th inning.

Meanwhile the Tigers will face Josh Beckett. Beckett faced the Tigers once last year and destroyed them with 8 K’s, no walks, and just 1 run in 7 innings. And Beckett is rolling with 5 quality starts in a row and his last 2 starts he has allowed 1 earned run in 15 innings with 13 K’s.  Game on.

Boston vs. Detroit – June 3, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: Well, Josh Beckett was really good. The Tigers offense has had their share of struggles lately. But this is one of those tip-your-cap games. Beckett was nasty and worked the edges of a big strike zone masterfully. Tuesday the Tigers let Matsuzaka off the hook. Tonight was a pitcher on his game toying with a struggling offense.

But there is some good to take from the game. Armando Galarraga looks to be regaining his 2008 form with his second consecutive quality start. And the Tigers once again made the 9th inning way more interesting than it should have been with some good at-bats. And Curtis Granderson tripled.

Of course the bullpen proved to be awful with Zach Miner and Nate Robertson turning the game into a laugher. Leyland had no way of knowing that the Red Sox would forget how to field the ball in the 8th and how to throw strikes in the 9th and the Tigers 4 run deficit appeared insurmountable at the time. And conserving some bullpen in a lost cause isn’t a bad tactic. Still, those runs proved to be the difference.