Head over and read the post game analysis: That’s using all your outs

Were we not just in this same situation on Sunday? Tigers open up a series against a team that just ran off 3 wins by dropping the first two games. Fortunately Max Scherzer stepped up and the offense plated enough runs for a win that time. Can Jeremy Bonderman right the ship after his last rocky appearance?

Jered Weaver goes for the Angels. The Tigers fanned 13 times last night. Weaver has 21 K’s in 19 innings this season and only 3 walks. His only (and very minor) weakness so far is the 4 homers allowed. But with the Tigers only knocking out 8 homers this year it doesn’t really play into their strengths.

It’s a very lefty lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Damon, LF
3. Ordonez, RF
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Guillen, DH
6. Kelly, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Santiago, SS
9. Sizemore, 2B

Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels – April 21, 2010 – MLB.com Gameday
Jeremy Bonderman photo courtesy of April A Taylor

Scott Kazmir must have been some kind deceptive against the Tigers. He threw his fastball, which peaked at 92mph, 74 times and managed to record 15 swinging strikes with it. Sure, the Tigers chased a number of pitches outside of the strike zone, but they also were whiffing on pitches right down the middle.

Let’s think about this for a moment. His fastball wasn’t that fast. He threw it 78% of the time. And the Tigers couldn’t find it. If you include Kazmir’s entire night, the Tigers mustered only a 63% contact rate. For his career Kazmir has a 76% contact rate against and he was at 82% last year. I don’t get it.

Kazmir ultimately fanned 7 Tigers batters and by the end of the night 13 Tigers went down via the strike out.

Continue reading A Mighty Wind – Game 2010.014 →

Rick Porcello will try to rack up the Tigers 4th consecutive quality start. Of course it would help with the Tigers could solve the mystery of that elusive RISP success. It’s been bad the last few games, but it is unsustainable.

The Tigers .369 team OBP may also be unsustainable, but in the short term they are facing Scott Kazmir. Kazmir allowed 11 baserunners in 4 innings against the Yankees. Maybe that short term RISP issue will continue though because Dan Dickerson tweets-out that tonight’s lineup has hit .153 against Zazmir, but with 26 walks in 40 innings.

That 15-98 against Kazmir is:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Damon, LF
3. Ordonez, RF
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Guillen, DH
6. Inge, 3B
7. Raburn, 2B
8. Laird, C
9. Everett, SS

Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels – April 20, 2010 – MLB.com Gameday

Things just don’t seem to go well for the Tigers in LA (or Anaheim). For all the talk of the Tigers struggles in the Metrodome, opportunity for frustration against the Angels always seems to run high. There was this game where people questioned Justin Verlander’s acehood. And this one where Jeremy Bonderman’s arm pretty much disintegrated. Or this one which started bad, got better, and ended miserable. People just don’t remember because the games are on so late.

Tonight it is Dontrelle Willis who will try and, well, do good. The Angels have the second worst run differential in the American League (behind the Red Sox) at –17. They hadn’t won a series until sweeping the Blue Jays this weekend and are now riding a 3 game win streak. Fernando Rodney is their closer.

Joel Pineiro goes for the Angels.Pineiro was actually quite awesome his last time out. He went 7 innings in Yankee stadium and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits with no walks and seven strike outs.

Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels – April 19, 2010 – MLB.com Preview

I don’t know that things came any easier today for the Tigers, but the boys did enough to secure a 4-2 win and stave off panic in Detroit. Max Scherzer did his job, the offense did enough, and the bullpen locked it all down.

Scherzer was quite good for the bulk of the day, save for Casey Kotchman being a tough out. Scherzer fanned 4 in 6 innings, and was fairly efficient with 87 pitches and likely could have gone another inning or two. Leyland’s reasons for pulling him were fairly sound though. Kotchman would have been due up in the 7th inning and Scherzer wouldn’t have faced him. In between was Ken Griffey Jr so Leyland went to Phil Coke.

Continue reading Here’s to not getting swept →

PREGAME: The Tigers turn to Max Scherzer to stop their three game slide. Scherzer, like the rest of the rotation has a good start and a shaky start under his belt this year.

Ian  Snell takes the bump for the Mariners who would like to sweep the Tigers.

Your Laird-less lineup is:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Damon, LF
3. Ordonez, RF
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Guillen, DH
6. Inge, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Sizemore, 2B
9. Santiago, SS

PREGAME: The Tigers lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Let’s hope they don’t lose consecutive series for the first time this season after tonight’s game goes final.

Justin Verlander is still going for his first win, and his first “ace-like” outing. The Tigers starters were delivered a nasty blow over the last 5 outings and this is an opportunity for one of those “stopper” type outings that folks are so fond of.

He goes up against the hyphenator, Ryan Rowland-Smith. Rowland-Smith has made two starts and notched only two strike outs (with 6 walks). Both of those starts came against the A’s. The Tigers faced him once last year and got to him for 5 runs and chased him in the 6th inning. Ryan Raburn and Brandon Inge took him deep.

Raburn finds himself playing right field tonight as Magglio Ordonez gets a turn at DH.

1. Jackson, CF
2. Raburn, RF
3. Ordonez, DH
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Guillen, LF
6. Inge, 3B
7. Sizemore, 2B
8. Laird, C
9. Everett, SS

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners – April 17, 2010 – MLB.com Gameday