PREGAME: The weather didn’t cooperate yesterday, but things look much better for today with things drying off around game time and even a little sunshine.

The rainout did have one effect and that was to provide the Tigers with a match-up that at least looks more favorable on paper. Instead of going up against the Sox staff ace John Danks (and really, he’s a better pitcher than Buehrle), they will be facing Jose Contreras.

Contreras allowed 10 base runners in 5 innings of work in his first start of the year. Current Tigers hitters have an 841 OPS against Contreras in their careers.

The Tigers will skip Rick Porcello and instead send Armando Galarraga to the mound. On Opening Day Galarraga shut down a hot hitting Texas Rangers and went 7 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 8 K’s.

Game Time 1:05

Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers – April 15, 2009 | MLB.com Gameday

POSTGAME: What’s my favorite part of this win you ask? It is putting to rest for the time being the talk of “the Sox own the Tigers.” If they lose the series, then it starts to become “a thing” and then it starts to become annoying. For now anways, they are all square.

As for the game, I caught the first 5 innings of this one on the radio, and missed the rest while in a meeting. So I missed the part where it turned into a laugher and banged my keyboard a little too hard when every pitch was a moment of tension.

Unlike his firsst start, he had to work through this one. I’m not saying he wasn’t good, but listening to the game it sounded like the command wasn’t quite as good at times and it required a few more pitches, many under duress where it seemed that one run might be enough to win or lose this game. but when he needed a strike out, he found a way to get it. He pitched out of a runner on third one out situation and a 2nd and 3rd one out situation. In the end it was a 6.1 inning 4 hitter with 5 K’s and 2 walks. Tremendous stuff.

The Tigers only had one real scoring chance prior to breaking through in the 6th. A 2nd and 3rd none out situation that they weren’t able to take advantage of when Ramon Santiago struck out and Curtis Granderson popped out. And Contreras was cruising. Through 4 innings he only needed 52 pitches. So in my mind the at-bat of the game was…

Josh Anderson’s 10 pitch walk. It was the first at-bat where Contreras really had to work, and it put him in the stretch. It led to a Placido Polanco 2 run double blasted to centerfield. And while the game would get out of hand, it was all the Tigers needed.

• Bobby Seay faced a batter and got 2 outs. Fernando Rodney pitched a 1-2-3 9th, just trying to get work in. Ryan Perry? He pitched a scoreless inning but a walk and 2 wild pitches made things a little interesting.
• Josh Anderson and Ramon Santiago were both outstanding again today. Santiago got the start when Adam Everett was told to stay home with the flu.
• Curtis Granderson is really fighting it right now but he did pick up his 3rd hit of the homestand.
• Miguel Cabrera not fighting it at all, and he teamed up with Galarraga to turn in another nice defensive play. It’s too soon to make stat based defensive judgements, but the eyeball test has him improved in my opinion.
• That Brandon Inge play in the 3rd was sick. The highlights are here.

PREGAME:  This is more of a theoretical game post, because the chances of this game being played are pretty slim. But…if they do play it will be Rick Porcello making his home debut against John Danks.

Porcello was hurt by a couple homers in his first start against the Blue Jays. He surrendered 7 other hits, but all were singles and most were ground balls.

Danks picked up his 2009 season where he left off his great 2008 season by blanking the Royals for 6 innings of 3 hit, 5 K ball in his first start of the year.

Game Time 1:05

Chi White Sox vs Detroit – April 14, 2009 | MLB Gameday

PREGAME: After brief stops in the other AL divisions, the Tigers get to take their first stab at their Central foes.  Last year the team was 27-45 in division, a mark they are determined to improve on in ‘09. They welcome the White Sox to town for 3 afternoon tilts.

Zach Miner will be the Tigers moundsman (I don’t think that is a word but it sounds like something they’d use in the 1920’s doesn’t it?). Miner was one Ramon Santiago error short of a quality start against Toronto. Which was a little surprising considering it took him 5 Jays hitters to record his first out.

He’ll be opposed by Gavin Floyd who pitched 7 innings of two run ball against the Kansas City Royals. Scouting him with Pitch F/X, the table below shows his pitch selection and what the Royals did with said pitches.

Only 11 called strikes is what jumps out at me. If the pitch was near the zone, the Royals were hacking at it. Virtually all of the swings and misses came on the breaking balls from Floyd.

Game Time 1:05

Chicago White Sox vs. Detroit Tigers April 13th, 2009 | MLB Gameday

POSTGAME: That wasn’t nearly as much fun as the winning. I got most of my description from Dan and Jim today, and watched an accelerated version of the game on the DVR. Zach Miner didn’t have it today. I don’t know if the extreme cold played a role in Miner’s struggles, but given the fact that White Sox pitchers walked 9 Tigers it certainly seems that it was a tough day all around for pitchers.

The Tigers got some offense today, and had many chances, but couldn’t come up with enough clutch hits to drive in the numerous baserunners.

• I hated the idea of Ramon Santiago batting 6th, but he did it all right. He ripped a 3 run homer, and had a couple more hits and was robbed of a triple.
• Josh Anderson also had a very fine game with anice defensive play and he drove in the Tigers other 3 runs.
• Curtis Granderson can’t get anything going since leaving Toronto.
• Eddie Bonine has now allowed homers in each of his 3 appearances
• Juan Rincon allowed 4 baserunners, but he ate up 3 innings on a tough day, allowed no runs, and fanned 5

PREGAME: The Tigers look for their first 2 game winning streak of the season in another afternoon tilt against the Rangers.

Justin Verlander is on the mound for the Tigers as they start their second turn through the rotation. Verlander was the only one in the first turn that struggled as he was charged with 8 runs on Opening Day. Those 8 runs were 1 more than the other 4 starters combined to allow.

The Rangers will counter with Matt Harrison who is making his 2009 debut. Harrison posted a 5.49 ERA in 15 games as a 22 year old last year. He doesn’t strike out many (42 K’s in 83.2 innings). Lefties posted a .971 OPS against him last year.

Game Time 1:05

Texas vs. Detroit – April 11, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: How about that pitching? Justin Verlander followed up the performances of his rotation mates with a return to form so to speak. His command was great, but the Rangers couldn’t find his fastball above the belt, nor could they lay off it. The results was 8 K’s in 5 innings of work. The pitch count got a little higher than we’d like, but part of that was due to crappy left side defense in the 5th inning.

Verlander was asked to get 5 outs in that inning, and he didn’t unravel after the errors by Inge and Everett. He got a K of Michael Young after the first. He did allow a walk and then a bloop single to Hamilton that plated two. But he didn’t get rattled.

The bullpen was asked to get 12 outs, and they did it without allowing a baserunner. Nate Robertson pitched two scoreless innings, Bobby Seay got his two guys, and Ryan Perry retired one with a pop out before Fernando Rodney K’d the side in the 9th.

• Adam Everett had entries in both sides of the leder in this game. He picked up a couple hits, drove in a couple runs, and scored from first on a double to left. He also blew a hit and run and had a costly error.
• Miguel Cabrera looked dominant for 5 games and lost in the this 6th one.
• Gerald Laird had a very nice game offensively and defensively. He was 3 for 4 with a hustle double and made a nice play on a foul ball reaching into the dugout.
• How about the guy in the stands that pulled back the fan reaching for the double that Everett scored on. That guy gets an RBI.
• Justin Verlander got 17 swings and misses in this game, and only 15 called strikes. That’s a pretty remarkable ratio.