15-10, in first place and leading K.C. by half a game still, and the win streak is at 5 games and counting. Anibal Sanchez got this thing rolling with a career outing against the Braves last Friday, and while we won’t see 17 strikeouts from him today, we might see a more subtle masterpiece here in his second 2013 outing vs. the Twins. Such as a no-hitter, for example. Just a suggestion.

I had the thought that the Tigers hitters might “let up” a bit when they had the lead. One gets that impression once in a while. So I checked it. Not true, and it’s easy to see why I shouldn’t have expected otherwise. Here’s a clue: The Tigers lead the AL in BA, and we don’t even have to look it up to know that the Tigers have spent the majority of their innings in the lead. So….

You might know this, but I just heard about it. Compared with 10 years ago, strikeouts in MLB are at a frequency where you might say we are in another era. Why is this? And what are the new parameters for judging a pitcher’s K/9? We are programmed to consider a strikeout per inning the baseline for being impressed. Do we need a new standard? I wonder the same things about other shifting stats: BA, HR, wins for pitchers. Is that .300 batting average thing as arbitrary as it seems? It seems we are now in an era where 20+ home runs should impress us as much as it did 40 years ago, are we not? And 20 wins as the threshold for greatness just seems completely out of line today. 15+ is more like it. Pitchers aren’t starting 40 games a year any more, and I would bet that no-decisions are more frequent than they used to be.

Your one-stop shop for some rapid perusal of the current state of Tigers minor league teams and players:

Toledo (7-20, last place; 18 of their games have been on the road so far)

Erie (12-11, first place)

Lakeland (11-14, tied for 4th of 5)

West Michigan (10-13, 5th of 8)

Some Tigers team stats AL rankings:

Hitting: Best in AVG and OBP, 3rd in OPS. Best hitters at home by a mile; nearly the worst on the road. Best two-strike hitters, again by a mile; decisively the worst at first-pitch hitting. Tops in hits, 3rd in walks, and 3rd fewest strikeouts. Among the elite with 2 outs, and 6th with RISP. Against LHP, 3rd best; RHP, 6th best. Considering who the slumpers and strugglers have been, this LHB line is no surprise: 227/317/363. Well, maybe a bit of a surprise. Hey – the Tigers are 6th best at staying out of the DP. There’s a surprise.

Starting rotation: Rivaled only by Texas and Boston, and Detroit starters have given up the fewest HR by far (7 in 156 IP!). (Side note: Doug Fister – the pitcher – is tied with the Yankees and Orioles – the entire rotations – for the AL lead in HBP.) Let me put this in perspective: If Tigers starting pitching totals were projected out to 34 GS, that stat line would win the Cy Young award handily. Mr. Tiger would trounce Mr. Red Sox and Mr. Ranger. That’s how good Tigers starters were in April. Phenomenal or close to it.

Bullpen: Well, you know, they’ve allowed 37 of Detroit’s 92 earned runs. 12th in WHIP, but 4th best in BAA. Tops in strikeouts, but also 2nd in walks. Tied for 2nd best in HR allowed. Oft-maligned but serviceable, and maybe getting better. The 1-5 W-L counts for something more than it would for starters, though. Gotta even that up.

Speaking of which… I have no confidence in Al Alburquerque. None. It’s Dejareal all over again. Did someone say “DL” or “Toledo”? I didn’t say that, but I thought I heard something there.

Miguel Cabrera makes some nifty plays at 3B sometimes. Great arm, of course. He has decent range in my view, and good reactions. Why is he a liability there… still? It’s his glove – literally. Glove control. It’s also a hands thing, ball transfer and such, and also, often, a judgment thing. He’s got the legs and the arm, but the hands…

Watching Pedro Florimon of the Twins, I thought, that guy’s swing reminds me of Don Kelly’s. Kelly has a nice-looking swing, in my opinion. Despite that, it’s obvious that it’s not a swing that’s ever going to get much done at the plate with any frequency. I can’t tell you why. I’m not a hitting coach or an amateur baseball genius. But it’s a nice-looking swing.

Andy Dirks and Victor Martinez are back. I don’t think it’s too early to declare this. On the other hand, I have just about resigned myself to a bad year at the plate from Alex Avila. No real signs of life. The occasional HR is not the same as what you saw with Martinez, which was good contact more and more frequently, well before the hits actually started to fall. I also think Jhonny Peralta is overachieving a bit, but he did that for an entire season not so long ago, so let it ride.

Kelly has been good in the outfield, but then so has Dirks. I’m hoping this Kelly as LF replacement late in games isn’t one of those auto-Leyland things. Because I think Dirks has an even nicer-looking swing than Kelly does.

Still wondering why Martinez was sent home to be thrown out last night. Did you see him rounding third? Maybe it’s just a traditional thing for games against the Twins,  or maybe Tom Brookens felt Dirks needed the RBI. He did, but he wasn’t going to get it with Martinez on second.

Maybe today Ramon gets the start at SS or 2B. Even though he’s better as a LHB. So maybe not. The real question is whether Matt Tuiasosopo gets the presumed start in LF. Matt is one of my guys, but I’d roll with Dirks today, roll with the hot hand. Will Leyland? I’m guessing… no.

On to the sweep. (Jinx, schminx.) Doesn’t have to be a blowout. I’ll take 7-0 Tigers.

POST-GAME: Twins 6, Tigers 2. They weren’t without their chances, but the Tigers were outplayed in all aspects of the game today. The game hung on 5 events, most before it floated out of reach courtesy of Rondon and Downs:

1. Twins 1st. Close to 40 pitches already, men on 1st and 2nd, Sanchez gives up a LF single to Parmalee. Tuiasosopo makes perfect throw to the plate that Pena a) is not positioned well on, and b) that Pena drops while turning to make the tag on Morneau he would have gotten.

2. Tigers 1st. Two men on, two outs, and Martinez gets under one for an easy flyball out to Hicks in CF.

3. Twins 2nd. Twins score their 3rd run on Carroll double that makes it to LF to Cabrera’s right. Don’t know whether to blame Cabrera or Sanchez or just give Carroll (and the running on pitch Florimon scoring from 1B) credit, but 3 will be enough.

4. Tigers 6th. The tide was turning, the score was 3-2, the Tigers had capitalized a mistake into one of those runs. Cabrera at 3B, 2 outs. Martinez scorches one that hooks foul down the LF line. Then hits a grounder to 2B in the RF grass that most any person with legs would have had an IF RBI-single on. It’s all over.

5. Tigers 9th. Cabrera at 2B, Fielder at 1B, no outs. This is what you call a rally when you’re down 6-2. Martinez hits the first pitch to Carroll at 3B for a 5-4-3 DP. This is what you call a dead rally.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Scott Diamond, Justin Morneau
HONORABLE MENTION: Pedro Florimon, Jamie Carroll, Chris Parmalee. Miguel Cabrera, Jose Ortega
NOT SO GOOD: Brayan Pena, Victor Martinez, Bruce Rondon

Sanchez finished strong after an uncharacteristically labored beginning, retiring the last 11 he faced… Nice acting job by Miggy on his “HBP”… Prince lingered at the railing after pursuing an out of play foul ball. Brought some laughs to the people there with whatever he said or did. Cool moment… Pena and Peralta premiered their new comedy routine “Hit and Run,” one pretending to swing while the other pretended to run. Nice ABs today, Brayan. Platoon? Ha ha ha… It’s official. The bullpen stinks. But Ortega was dynamite. Could the Tigers be saved by not one but two Jose’s?… Strikeouts thrown are not runs scored, unfortunately. I’m a bit weary of strikeout hoopla.

One pitch, one hit, one Prince, and the Tigers are 14-10 and atop the division by a half game over the Royals going into this game. They’ve won 4 straight for the second time this season. Now it’s Verlander vs. Worley, also for the second time this year, and this time it’s in Detroit.  In complete game weather, if you catch my drift. Though there is that JV right thumb blister to worry about.

Quote of the day: “Our bullpen is still complicated,” Leyland said. “It’s a whole lot less complicated because [closer Jose] Valverde is back at the end. That makes it less complicated. However, we have a lot of one-inning guys. That makes a big difference. I’m looking at that.”

I’m guessing that it’s just about time to get Ramon Santiago a bit of playing time and some at bats. He hasn’t had a plate appearance since April 20 against the Angels. I say he gets the start at SS tonight. Correct me if I’m wrong.

POST-GAME: Tigers 6, Twins 1. A smooth win on the surface, seemingly all Tigers, but I know Detroit’s bullpen makes you as nervous as it does me, even with a 5-run lead. Or a 10-run lead.

Game-changer and game-winner: Tigers 5th. Although Detroit had just made it 4-1, Jackson getting thrown out at 3B entirely unnecessarily in the middle of a rally is the sort of thing that a game can turn on. Fortunately, Cabrera safe on the fielder’s choice preserved a man on, and the next Fielder’s choice was lined into the RF seats for 2 runs and the nail in the coffin.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder

HONORABLE MENTION: Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks

NOT SO GOOD: Vance Worley

Wow!! That bad omen rain made me sooooo nervous.

The Detroit Tigers (13-10) wrap up their 9-game (less one postponed) home stand with three against the Minnesota Twins (11-10). The Tigers are coming off an exhilarating sweep of the Braves, while the Twins are coming off the AL equivalent, 2 convincing wins in a row over the Texas Rangers. You may recall that the Tigers began the season in Minneapolis with a series loss, and the names that come back to mind as the doers of damage are not Mauer and Morneau, but instead Escobar, Plouffe, Correia, Dozier, and even two former Tigers farmhands in Casey Fien and Wilkin Ramirez. But that was then and this is now. Real baseball weather for this series, and they won’t have to face the de facto Twins ace Correia this time. Detroit area forecast looking good through Wednesday.

Monday. April 29, 7:08 PM ET: RHP Mike Pelfrey vs. RHP Max Scherzer
Tueday, April 30, 7:08 PM ET: RHP Vance Worley vs. RHP Justin Verlander
Wednesday, May 1, 1:08 PM ET: LHP Scott Diamond vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez

SCOUTING REPORT ON THE TWINS: STARTING PITCHING: Not too good, with the exception of Correia. At the bottom of the AL in BAA (.312) and strikeouts (58!). And yet only the Tigers rotation has given up fewer HR. BULLPEN: Very good, quite deep, and to be feared. Tops in AL in WHIP (1.12). OFFENSE: Not so good. Their .362 SLG is lowest in the AL. Fewer HR than Detroit, if you can believe that. If the Tigers regular lineup was so peppered with dismal stat lines, we’d be climbing the walls. Mauer and Willingham are the big guns. The rest seem harmless, until you find out otherwise, as the Tigers did in Games 2-3. DEFENSE: The Twins might have a bit of an edge on the Tigers, not that the clowns don’t come out once in a while. Where they really have an edge is in controlling the running game. Remember how beatable Mauer looked the first time around? No more. OVERALL: So how do the Twins manage to be 11-10? Pretty much the same way they took 2 of 3 from the Tigers last time.

SCOUTING REPORT ON THE TIGERS: Pretend you’re a Twins fan and don’t know all of this already. STARTING PITCHING: Outstanding, well-nigh unbeatable so far. BULLPEN: If trustworthy is good, then not good. And even a little less good than that. With apologies to the reborn Papa Grande. Sorry, Al-Al. You make me as nervous as Villareal did. OFFENSE: Very good in a small ball sort of way (the times they are a-changin’), albeit prone to inconvenient funks that can last a whole series or more. Delve into the stats if you question the “very good” assessment. At least give me “good.” The base-running and related on-base strategy has been rather smart and aggressive so far, at least by Tigers standards. DEFENSE: Solid. Not a lot of highlight reel stuff, but astonishingly short on Clown Show. OVERALL: The Tigers hover on the brink of very-goodness.

PELFREY vs.SCHERZER: Current Tigers have an OPS of 1.014 in 107 PA against Pelfrey vs. his career .764. Pelfrey pitched fairly well against the Sleeping Bat Tigers (no relation, we hope) earlier this month, his defense letting him down although he took the win (with no ER) in 5.1. Pelfrey has pitched once at Comerica Park, for the New York Mets on June 30, 2011. It didn’t go so well for him. Omar Infante has really hit him in 30 PA. This season, Pelfrey has had a rough go of it after that first promising start against the Tigers. When he pitches well, he gets a lot of ground balls. When not, not. Not a strikeout pitcher.

Max is coming off a game vs. the Royals where he reinforced my impression that a significant lead seems to make him slack off. His strikeouts are off the chart, but I’d like to see him going a little deeper into games than he has been (2 of 4 starts were 5 inning affairs). Current Twins have an OPS of .809 in 96 PA against Scherzer vs. his career .732. The M & M Boys in particular have been scary good against Max. But maybe that was all in Minnesota?

WORLEY vs. VERLANDER: Current Tigers have only 36 PA vs. Worley, so suffice it to say that Game 2013.1 is our history here for the most part. Worley got the loss in a quality start against the Tigers on cold Opening Day, and wouldn’t you know it, he draws Verlander again. A couple bad starts since have his stats looking ugly, but from the last couple , you’d expect that what we saw the first time vs. the Tigers is more like it. He’s a bit tougher on lefties for a righty, and has the stuff to shut down the Sleeping Bat Tigers should they appear again, make no mistake. Worley has never pitched at Comerica Park.

Justin has been consistently damn good this year (let’s take a break from taking him for granted with “as expected”), but the Tigers have only scraped up an average 2.74 runs in support. Current Twins have an OPS of .744  in 201 PA against Verlander vs. his career .651. You can ascribe all of this to Joe Mauer. He shut the Twins down over 5 innings Opening Day, and the last time at Comerica against Minnesota (July 4, 2012) was a complete game gem. Run support, guys. Let’s have some here and avoid the “Cy Worley” comments.

DIAMOND vs. SANCHEZ: Whatever their record against LHP starters is (1-2? Better?), Detroit is hitting lefties – top of AL in BA, OBP, and OPS (4th in SLG). Current Tigers have an OPS of .543 in 86 PA against Diamond vs. his career .764. His career splits have him better against RHB than LHB (hello, Prince). Only Miggy has had much success against him. Diamond beat the Tigers twice in a row last they saw him, and handily, once in Detroit and once in Minneapolis. But he started this season on the DL and has not looked unusually impressive in 3 starts to date.

Anibal is coming off an astonishing performance against the Braves, but he’s been brilliant all year. He’s got the whole arsenal of pitches working, no doubt. Current Twins have an OPS of .601 in 74 PA against Sanchez vs. his career .708. Interestingly, Josh Willingham has drawn 7 walks in 17 PA. None intentional. Sanchez has never faced the Twins at Comerica, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t deny them like he did in Game 2013.2, even if the Twins did shellack him once in 2012, in his 4th start as a Tiger. Any chance the Twins are the same hackers the Braves were? No. Don’t look for 17.

The Tigers are in 2nd place at the moment, half a game behind the Royals. But let’s have a look at the important standings:

Kevin in Dallas…..7-2

Coleman…………..4-4

Smoking Loon……2-4

I am well aware that this is the result of a conspiracy against me. But this time I have Max, JV, and Anibal going for me, and nothing less than a sweep will do. If I have to sit Avila all three games and put Kelly Dirks on the DL to keep him out and Tuiasosopo in, so be it. (The Avila reverse jinx is in effect.)

Is there a bona fide platoon situation shaping up in LF? I think there is. Is Brayan Pena going to start catching about 1 game per series until further notice? I think he is. Is Ramon Santiago, despite kind of being the 26th man at the moment, going to get all the ABs Leyland can give him through May at the very least? I think he is, and really have no quarrel. Should we disregard the  current Toledo stats of Quintin Berry and Danny Worth in judging their (by and by) call-up-ability and ability to contribute? Yes, to a degree I think we should. And keep an eye on Jose Ortega.

And now, may we have the starting lineups, O Kindly Person? (Note plural. Or am I pushing my luck? Research has shown that posting the opposing teams lineup bestows a wWPA of +0.667.)

POST-GAME: Tigers 4, Twins 3. A nice come from behind and stay ahead win. After 5, with Kelly stranded at 3rd, I had my commentary on the loss written in my head: “If you’re the Twins, this is how you beat the Tigers. Just like last time.” I’m hoping not to copy and paste this tomorrow or Wednesday.

Elevator going down: For a while there, Max seemed to be working on demonstrating how to lose slowly while throwing nothing but strikes, while the Sleeping Bat Tigers were back in town. Only one scored in the Twins 2nd, but the way it was set up – the errorless error by Cabrera and the Scherzer wild pitch – brought an air of doom to the proceedings. Then in the Twins 5th, Max gave the  4th inning Dirks HR right back by challenging rookie Arcia with the fastball (hit for an RBI double), which seemed contrary to what the first Arcia AB had shown. Scherzer’s K on Arcia in the 7th was either an ingenious adjustment or straight out of the scouting report. Game-changer: The well-executed bunt for a hit by Andy Dirks in the Tigers 6th. Broke the spell. Game-winner: Tigers 6th, Prince Fielder’s first-pitch 3-run HR off of Pelfrey.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Prince Fielder

HONORABLE MENTION: Max Scherzer, Drew Smyly, Andy Dirks

After two resounding losses to the Angels and three consecutive overall, the Detroit Tigers are on their heels trying to salvage one win in the series and end their road trip on a positive note with a positive record (for the trip and the season both). We don’t want to see .500 again, do we? And we sure don’t want to get to the point where we do want to see it again.

Today RHP Doug Fister goes up against LHP C.J. Wilson. Have the Tigers beaten a southpaw yet in 2013? I’m thinking not. Fister was brilliant last time out. Wilson had a decent albeit labored outing against the Astros in his last start. In 67 PA, current Angels have put up an OPS well over Fister’s career OPS-against, but 19 of those PA belong to Josh Hamilton, whom Fister has had in his pocket to date. (Beware: This usually spells trouble.) Wilson, despite a marginally significant current Tiger .714/career .674 OPS-against, has done well against the Tigers he’s faced the most. (Don’t be surprised to see Santiago at SS, and maybe even a day off for V-Mart.) He’s a bit generous with walks, but stingy with home runs.

Alarm status on Tigers hitting has been officially upgraded to Code Funk, after 9 runs in 5 games. Let’s look at these 9 runs. 5 were driven in by Miggy. 2 scored on infield outs. 2 were walked in. Hmmm. What does it all mean? I don’t want to look at the RISP numbers over this stretch. Really I don’t.

Being humbled by C.C. Sabathia and humiliated by King Felix is one thing. Being humbled by Tommy Hanson and humiliated by Garrett Richards is quite another.

Why don’t we move on to a cheerier subject, such as the Tigers bullpen? This problem has been overshadowed by the hitting woes, but it’s still there. I often wonder why stats such as inherited runners scored and first batters faced (each inning) reaching aren’t more front and center for relievers. Drew Smyly and Darin Downs have turned in some good work, but I guarantee you the aforementioned stats aren’t pretty for the rest of the pen. I was going to work up the stats for you, but two ugly games have left me exhausted. Perhaps by the time of my next series the issue will have gone away. That would be nice. In the meantime, Octavio Dotel and Joaquin Benoit appear to be making their inexorable way down Valverde Road, and perhaps Brayan Villarreal could go to Toledo and stay there for a while.

And now the Redemption Game starting lineups, courtesy of that inveterate baseball savant…

POST-GAME: Angels 4, Tigers 3, in 13 innings. Tough loss. Taking back a lead is not the Tigers’s strong suit.

TURNING POINT: After Tigers hitters leave the bases loaded in the first two innings, the bottom 3rd becomes outright Clown Show, with 2 Fister HBPs, a Pujols “double” that was clearly a Cabrera error good for 2 haunting runs, and a botched DP throw by Infante (Fielder gets a share) good for 1 haunting run more. TURNING POINT: Top of the 5th, Prince golfs a 2-run shot to RF off of Wilson to turn back the clock with one swing. TURNING POINT: Top of the 9th, Cabrera and Fielder draw what are essentially intentional walks to load the bases with 2 outs to get to Martinez. Martinez battles, but Frieri gets him to pop out harmlessly to left. Big time fail. GAME-LOSER: The 3-1 breaking ball Coke (not Jim Leyland) threw to Trumbo for the walk-off HR. Cokey has to deal with his 2nd walk-off of the year. He was way good for the 2 innings prior, though.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mark Trumbo, Mike Trout

HONORABLE MENTION: Al Alburquerque, Doug Fister, Prince Fielder, Jerome Williams, Ernesto Frieri, C.J. Wilson

NOT SO GOOD: Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera

Minus some generous official scoring, by my count Cabrera has 5 errors at 3B this year. 2 today, including the first very costly one.

Tigers hitting failing to turn threats into runs is the THE story now, and the bullpen was good today – Alburquerque especially was in otherworldly 2011 form – but here are those bullpen stats I mentioned just the same, updated through today’s game:

INHERITED RUNNERS SCORED (8 OF 17 TIMES, 12 OF 24 RUNNERS SCORED OVERALL)

ALBURQUERQUE: 2 OF 4 TIMES, 3 OF 7 SCORED

VILLAREAL: 3 OF 4 TIMES, 3 OF 4 SCORED

COKE: 1 OF 3 TIMES, 1 OF 3 SCORED

DOTEL: 1 OF 2 TIMES, 3 OF 5 SCORED

DOWNS: 1 OF 3 TIMES, 2 OF 5 SCORED

BENOIT: 0 OF 1 TIMES, 0 SCORED

FIRST BATTER FACED IN AN INNING RESULTS IN REACH OR ADVANCE (23 IN 80 BF); WITHOUT SMYLY, 22 IN 62 —  FIRST BATTER OBP = .275; WITHOUT SMYLY, FIRST BATTER OBP = .339

ALBURQUERQUE: 4 IN 11 BF (5 K, 2 BB, 1 H, 2 WP ON SAME BATTER)

VILLAREAL: 5 IN 8 BF (3 K, 3 BB, 1 H, WP, SB)

COKE: 2 IN 11 BF (4 K, 0 BB, 2 H)

DOTEL: 4 IN 7 BF (1 K, 0 BB, 4 H)

DOWNS: 4 IN 11 BF (5 K, 3 BB, 1 H)

BENOIT: 4 IN 12 BF (3 K, 2 BB, 2 H)

SMYLY: 1 IN 18 BF (9 K, 0 BB, 1 H)

PORCELLO: 0 IN 2 BF (0 K)

After last night’s deflating loss, of a type we’ve seen before this season and would rather not see any more of, the Tigers send out RHP Rick Porcello against Angels RHP Garrett Richards. Porcello missed his last start due to an off-day shuffle type thing; instead, he turned in a perfect two innings in what I think was his first regular-season (at least) bullpen appearance ever. Nice. Richards started the season in the bullpen and had a so-so outing in his first start against the Astros a week ago. Porcello looks good in 66 PA against current Angels: .608 vs. .769 career OPS-against and strikeouts at twice his career rate. Richards’s history against current Tigers can be summed up in one 2012 start against them in which he pitched 7 shutout innings.

Today’s “Ah, I see the problem” lineups (note: I think some of the splits were current before last night’s game – see Bourjos):

CF Jackson 333/398/440 RISP .364, 4 RBI
RF Hunter 418/451/597 RISP .214, 6 RBI
3B Cabrera 348/416/493 RISP .455, 14 RBI
1B Fielder 328/427/625 RISP .333, 14 RBI
DH Martinez 196/313/214 RISP .125, 4 RBI
LF Dirks  190/300/214 RISP .273, 4 RBI
SS Peralta 302/333/413 RISP .250, 7 RBI
C Avila 189/218/302 RISP .053, 0 RBI
2B Infante 255/278/255 RISP .267, 4 RBI

CF Bourjos 267/298/489 RISP .000, 1 RBI
LF Trout 293/387/484 RISP .231, 4 RBI
DH Pujols 309/426/491 RISP .300, 7 RBI
RF Hamilton 200/254/367 RISP .143, 5 RBI
1B Trumbo 323/354/468 RISP .167, 4 RBI
2B Kendrick 263/306/368 RISP .182, 4 RBI
C Iannetta 273/333/432 RISP .143, 4 RBI
SS Harris 263/286/474 RISP .000, 1 RBI
3B Jimenez 474/524/632 RISP .333, 0 RBI

POST-GAME: Angels 10, Tigers 0. Two games for the price of one. The first one lasted 1 inning. This was followed by an 8-inning exhibition game that the Angels also won, and despite the 1-0 score it was as boring as a ST game, which it kind of was. The only reason Porcello earns a “Not So Good” is one fat pitch for a slam. His first inning was an unlucky one of historic proportion, at least 6 very cheap hits among the 9 the Angels put up, any one of which for this or that could have been an out and closed the door before Trout put the game away.

Turning point: Angels going to bat in the first inning.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Garrett Richards, Mike Trout
HONORABLE MENTION: Drew Smyly
NOT SO GOOD: Rick Porcello

The Detroit Tigers (9-6) finish their one and only West Coast road trip, a successful one so far, by paying a visit to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (4-10) for a three-game series.

Friday, April 19, 10:05 ET start

Saturday, April 20, 3:05 ET start

Sunday, April 21, 3:35 ET start

Today’s starters: Current Angels have hit RHP Sanchez only slightly better than his overall average (.730 vs. .708 OPS) in a smallish number of PA (55). The only Tiger who’s seen much of RHP Hanson (new to the AL) has been Prince Fielder (good numbers in 18 PA). Anibal has been good and looking better each time over 3 starts. Mixed results so far for Hanson, with the Astros putting up 5 in 5 on him last time out.

The 2013 Angels have been, in a word, disappointing. Mostly it’s the pitching, bullpen included, but while team batting looks OK on the surface, 52 runs in 14 games isn’t getting it done. Josh Hamilton and Peter Bourjous are off to slow starts. Mike Trout has exactly one stolen base thus far, and word has it he’s none too happy playing LF. Their defense hasn’t been anything to write home about. Basically, they’ve played about as well as their record indicates. Are they due to turn it around against the Tigers? I doubt it. Like the Blue Jays before them, they’re probably too good to keep down for long and will be a formidable opponent… next time the Tigers face them.

Do the Angels miss Torii Hunter? They ought to. It warms my heart to compare early returns on Hamilton and Hunter. Torii isn’t going to finish batting .400, and Hamilton will undoubtedly hit 40 HR again if he stays healthy, but… Torii is a lot more fun. Less dangerous to fans in the stands. And he’s also a Tiger. Yay Torii.

The Tigers are in pretty good shape. The starting pitching has been remarkably good – 15 games and counting and not rocked or roughed up or close to it, not even once. The bullpen has come around some. Defense is top echelon. Hot hitting was the top story until the recent “Series of the Strikeout.” Are the bats in a bit of a funk, or do we just have to tip our caps to Mariners pitching that was far and away the toughest Detroit has faced all season?

The Tigers find themselves close to where they were a year ago. You may recall that in 2012, Detroit started 10-5, only to hit their most dismal stretch of the season immediately thereafter (11-21). There are many good reasons that this shouldn’t happen again this year. If all goes at least sorta kinda according to plan, anyway. Good times at present, so let’s enjoy it.

A “law of averages” type prediction for the series might be that Tigers pitching will sag a little but that the bats will come to the rescue, with maybe a couple slugfests in the offing. Tigers hitters should be so glad to get away from Seattle that they might be able to pound or slap their way to a series sweep. Or at the least a series win, I should hope. They’ll be playing in the best baseball weather of the season so far, a kind of early summer preview.

And now the starting lineups, courtesy of a nice person who might be you and probably is…

POST-GAME: Angels 8, Tigers 1. A major RISP failure for Tigers hitters, a waste of a quality Sanchez start (every Tigers loss this season has been a waste of a decent start), another bullpen meltdown, and something of the dreaded Clown Show (Tuiasosopo and Jackson at the LCF wall was the costliest but far from the only clowning). No turning points, no game-winners or -losers, just a game for the taking that the Tigers politely declined to win.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Peter Bourjos

HONORABLE MENTION: Anibal Sanchez, Tommy Hanson

NOT SO GOOD: Octavio Dotel, every Tigers hitter but Miggy, Matt Tuiasosopo, Austin Jackson, and… Miguel Cabrera (costly defensive misplays)

Victor Martinez back in the lineup already, what a trooper. Martinez is on the unlucky side of BAbip at the moment. Ain’t nothin’ but a thang.

How about that bullpen? Abysmal with inherited runners. 6 of 6 scored… in one game?? But it’s early, much too early to contemplate Villareal and Alburquerque being sent to Toledo and replaced by Rondon and Valverde, so I won’t even mention it.

Rain in the forecast threatens to seriously delay or postpone today’s game, but in the unlikely event it comes off, here’s one angle on the pitching matchup:

Josh Johnson has, for all practical purposes, never faced the current Tigers. Doug Fister’s OPS-against (90 PA, 0 HR and only 8 XBH) vs. current Blue Jays is a sparkling .668 vs. a sparkling  career .676. Too bad if the game is rained out, because Fister could be Fister against the Jays and rule Toronto, unless we factor in regression to the mean, in which case Fister gets bombed. Prayers for rain would appear to be unnecessary today, in any event.

Actually, the Tigers bullpen is making the starting pitcher matchups somewhat irrelevant. Unless that turns around (in a good way, not a reversal of failure), it might be more informative to pit bullpen vs. bullpen in my little OPS-against doo-dads.

And now today’s starting lineups, courtesy of the dejected but resilient…

POST-GAME: Tigers 11, Blue Jays 1. Sometimes a lopsided score makes a great win. This time a GREAT win makes a lopsided score. Pitching, baserunning, hitting, defense – the Tigers had it ALL going on. Detroit (5-4) takes the series from Toronto (3-6) in what could easily have been a sweep. In keeping with a game to remember, Miguel Cabrera had a career first – same game triple and stolen base (a brilliant steal of third by the smartest baserunner on the team). Doug Fister did indeed rule the Blue Jays. Watch the Arencibia at bats.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Doug Fister, Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter

HONORABLE MENTION: Jhonny Peralta, Austin Jackson, Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks

NOT SO GOOD: Josh Johnson, Esmil Rogers

Turning point: 1st inning,  Miggy catches the Jays sleeping and steals third (two outs!), scores shortly thereafter. Game winner: 2nd inning hit parade, kicking off with 6 hits wrapped around a sac fly. Game keeper: 3rd inning, Peralta ranges to keep one in the IF that could have sent Reyes to 3B, then ranges right again to get the force on Reyes at 3B. And then Dirks nails Melky at the plate to take the wind out of Toronto’s sails for good. Two on with no outs and nothing to show for it. Beauty.

Houston (Dallas?), we have image. Thank you, man!

Victor Martinez is day to day after cutting his thumb badly enough to require stitches. I think it’s time for some bat rack modifications. Jason Beck says no Kelly and no catch if V-Mart is in there. I say more runs for Tigers if Kelly isn’t. Not to take away from Don’s awesome play.

Today the Tigers are up against that old nemesis archetype, the crafty lefty, while Rick Porcello would do well to avoid mistakes against a team far more liable to make you pay for them than the Twins were.

Mark Buehrle’s OPS-against vs. current Tigers (360 PA) is .752 vs. a career .734, and when he’s hittable, these Tigers find him hittable for extra bases. Porcello’s OPS-against vs. current Blue Jays (78 PA… 3 strikeouts)  is a whopping 1.150 (BA is .446!) vs. a career .770. This could be a game of Toronto speed (they’re going to get on base against Mr. P)  vs. Detroit long ball. Or worse. Or better. Rick appears to have taken it up a notch so far this season. This is not your grandfather’s Porcello.

And now your starting lineups, courtesy of the alert and helpful…

POST-GAME: Blue Jays 8, Tigers 6. Tough loss, a win handed right back to the opponent. Long rain delay before the game and some rain during the game. Dangerous game to be a pitcher, batted balls bouncing off them, knocking them down, and worse.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: J.P. Arencibia

HONORABLE MENTION: Miguel Cabrera, Phil Coke, Prince Fielder, Mark De Rosa

NOT SO GOOD: Brayan Villareal, Octavio Dotel, Steve Delabar, Emilio Bonifacio

Turning points: Both 5th inning: Plus side, Hunter not trying to score on Cabrera double and Buehrle being pulled for Delabar; minus side, rally-fizzling ABs by Avila and Infante. Game loser: Villareal losing batters on 3 straight full counts and Dotel serving it up to Arencibia on a tee for the 3-run double. Tough luck: Martinez ahead 3-0 and flies out deep left in the 6th, Avila’s heartbreak flyout to the RF track in the 7th. Funny, kind of: Dotel taking one for the team where it hurts. Really tough luck: Pouring rain in the home 9th and a home plate umpire calling balls as strikes to get the game over with.

I know. It’s invisible ink, that’s all. Hold a candle to it.

After a Monday off for both teams, the Toronto Blue Jays (2-4) come to Detroit (3-3) for a three-game series. There is rain in the forecast for the Detroit area Tuesday through Thursday, and cooler temps those last two days, so the weather is likely to become a factor in the games at some point. Game time is 1:05 PM ET each day.

Probable starters for the series:

Tuesday, April 9: RHP Brandon Morrow vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez

Wednesday, April 10: LHP Mark Buehrle vs. RHP Rick Porcello

Thursday, Aptil 11: RHP Josh Johnson vs. RHP Doug Fister

The Blue Jays, like the Tigers, are a star-studded team with big fan expectations that has scuffled a bit out of the gate. Maybe more than a bit. Toronto’s team BA is .223 and OBP .295; fully half their runs (of 3.7 per game) are home runs, which doesn’t even include from home runs. Pitching? Team ERA of 4.82 and WHIP of 1.5. Compare Tigers: BA .282 & OBP .341 (but only 9 of 58 hits were XBH), ERA and WHIP of … um, OK, it’s a wash, 4.64 and 1.41. The Blue Jays have been sloppy defensively and erratic overall. The Tigers have been good defensively, and are technically without an error through 6 games (but we know better). Detroit’s major weakness has been a shaky bullpen, one game blown and two more put out of reach. If it’s less who you’re playing and more when you’re playing them, in Toronto’s favor is that they may choose this time to get it together. In Detroit’s favor is that the Jays will be attempting this in the face of better starting pitching than they’ve faced in three consecutive games so far this season. I like Tigers chances for a series win, myself. The Tigers have stolen as many bases as Toronto this year, by the way.

Brandon Morrow’s OPS-against vs. current Tigers (61 PA) is .635 vs. his career .695. He’s also struck out this bunch at a higher clip than his already impressive 9.6 K/9 would suggest. Anibal Sanchez’s OPS-against vs. current Blue Jays (113 PA) is .858 vs. his career .712, and he’s a bit more walk-happy against them as well. All this can only mean one thing: Anything. My guess is that Sanchez dominates and Morrow doesn’t make it through the 5th.

Back later with the post-game.

And now, may I present the up-to-the-minute and accurate starting lineups, courtesy of the wildly amusing and highly mobile…

POST-GAME: Detroit 7, Toronto 3. Wins don’t get much more satisfying than this. Sanchez got better as the game went on and showed off his considerable arsenal of pitches. Cabrera was just plain great.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Miguel Cabrera, Anibal Sanchez

HONORABLE MENTION: Don Kelly, Torii Hunter (who picked up career hit #2,000)

NOT SO GOOD: Jhonny Peralta, Joaquin Benoit

A turning point: Don Kelly’s tremendous HR-robbing catch of Arencibia’s smash to LF in  the 2nd. A potential turning point: Another questionable attempt to take an extra base by Hunter, nailed at the plate in the 3rd. The game winner: Miguel’s sneaky 2-out, 3-run HR in the 4th. Backbreaker: Izturis’s throwing error in the 8th.