The Tigers held on last night, and now we have a rubber-game rematch between Sale and Pelfrey to decide the series. The last time the two faced Pelfrey won his first game as a Tiger, and Cameron Maybin and the Martinezes did the damage at the plate. I wonder what kind of odds you could get on Pelfrey beating Sale back-to-back?

I’m with those wondering why we are still carrying an extra pitcher and a short bench, with a few guys banged up. Aviles is back in the lineup again, sore wrist and all.

Today’s Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Iglesias, SS
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Castellanos, 3B
5. JD Martinez, RF
6. Upton, DH
7. McCann, C
8. Aviles, LF
9. Iglesias, SS

Victor is out again, which really hurts—Victor is one of the few guys that has consistently had Sales number, which makes me think his “knee issues” might be more serious than we are being led to believe.

They say there is no such thing as a bad win; but there certainly are bad losses, and last night was one of them. It didn’t feel so much like the White Sox won, it felt more like the Tigers lost.

We can still take the series, and we can find out if there is something wrong with Jordan Zimmermann, or if his last outing was just one of those things.

Tonight’s Never Before Seen Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Iglesias, SS
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Castellanos, DH
5. JD Martinez, RF
6. Upton, LF
7. McCann, C
8. Aviles, 3B
9. Romine, CF

Well,  the Tigers are certainly a faster team without Victor Martinez in the lineup. So there’s that. Hopefully Aviles will avail the effort tonight, and Romine will be crisp. Aviles is no Don Kelly though.

The Tigers took the first series on their road trip behind yet another scoreless outing by Michael Fulmer, and behind yet another Ian Kinsler Day. Kinsler has now not only established himself as the most valuable Tiger so far this season, but should be in the picture for early season league MVP predictions (whether he actually is or not, is another story). Kinsler easily leads the Tigers with a 3.3 WAR, and as far as the league goes, is tied for 4th best:

2016 AL League Leaders WAR

3.5  Xander Bogaerts

3.4  Jose Altuve

3.4  Mike Trout

3.3  Ian Kinsler

3.3  Manny Machado

3.3  Robinson Cano

It’s still early in the season, but that’s some pretty good company.

Michael Fulmer himself has vaulted into 2nd best on the Tigers as far as WAR goes (1.9), with 28.1 scoreless innings, a 7-1 record, and a 2.52 ERA. He has been quite a revelation; consider that a year ago today, he was pitching AA ball for the Mets. When asked to put Fulmer’s performance in perspective, Ian Kinsler said “I don’t think you can. What’s the point in putting it in perspective?”

Tonight the Tigers stop in Chicago for 3, after sweeping the White Sox in 3 back in Detroit a week ago. James Shields takes the mound for the bad guys. Shields got bombed for 10 runs in less than 3 innings in his last appearance for the Padres, and promptly did the same after being picked up by the White Sox, giving up 7 runs in two innings, and giving a new meaning to his moniker Big Game James.

Today’s Boyd in the Hand Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Maybin, CF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Castellanos, 3B
5. JD Martinez, DH
6. Upton,  LF
7. Saltalamacchia, C
8. Aviles, RF
9. Iglesias, SS

Victor gets a rare day off (he has never hit Shields well), the other Martinez takes his place, and Aviles (or “Availed” if you are spellcheck) gets the start in right.

So….a few weeks ago I wrote a post charting Verlander’s difficulties and questioning whether he can ever be an ace again. I’m happy to say I was wrong. I’m not sure if he is. But he can be. I would like to point out that I pinpointed his slider as the difference maker, and I want to demonstrate why his slider has been such a big part of his recent string of strong starts (bullpen be damned).

Since giving up 7 ER to the Indians in 5 inning on May 3rd, JV has allowed only 10 ER over 44 2/3 spanning 6 starts. His ERA in that span is 2.01, his WHIP is a microscopic .78, and he’s K’d 52 batters. The BAA is .161 and the OPS against is .465. That is ACE STUFF.

Without analyzing pitch by pitch metrics, it’s hard for me to find the exact data, but I can tell you that the velocity of his slider on a game by game basis has been its highest over the past six games, and pitch value of his slider this season has been at its highest in 5 of his last six starts. By increasing the velocity of his slider and giving up a little break, it has become a ferocious pitch, perhaps because it is more difficult to recognize. Watch it for swings and misses today.

Someone please post the lineup when avail.

Just in time for opening pitch.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Cameron Maybin, CF

3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

4. Victor Martinez, DH

5. Nick Castellanos, 3B

6. J.D. Martinez, RF

7. Justin Upton, LF

8. James McCann, C

9. Jose Iglesias, SS

More good pitching last night, and some Kinsler heroics, and now Zimmerman takes the mound with a wacky lineup behind him looking to get the Tigers back to back sweeps.

Today’s Hey Why Not Lineup

Kinsler, 2B
Aviles, LF
Cabrera, DH
Castellanos, 3B
JD Martinez, RF
Upton, CF
McCann, C
Romine, 1B
Iglesias, SS

For those wondering, Maybin is day to day with wrist soreness.

Everybody is raving about Michael Fulmer, and with good cause: Fulmer has now had three consecutive scoreless outings of 6 or more innings, and would have had three of 7 or more innings if he wasn’t wisely pulled early in a lopsided game. One more scoreless inning would have put him in the company of Clayton Kershaw and Pedro Martinez as the only rookies to pull that off. A few more outings like this, and ROY whispers will be heard.

The Fulmer/Cespedes trade is now looking like one of Dave Dombrowski’s better ones, and a fine parting gift. Tonight the fruit of another midseason trade, Matt Boyd, goes against his former Blue Jays.

Today’s Boyd in the Hand Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Romine, CF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. V Martinez, DH
5. JF Martinez, RF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Upton, LF
8. Saltalamacchia, C
9. Iglesias, SS

Romine will try to stay crisp in the 2nd spot of the lineup as he gives Maybin a day off.

The Tigers are fresh off a sweep, and Mike the Unhittable Fulmer, also known as the bane of autocorrect, is on the mound. with the formidable task of beating the Blue Jays on his plate.

The last series was a good one in many way, and to quote a famous commenter on these pages, the “Tigers, for the most part , looked like a real baseball team, with a real manager that did baseball things.” This just a good weekend, or is this a turnaround? Stay tuned.

Tonight’s On A Roll Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Maybin, CF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. V Martinez, DH
5. JF Martinez, RF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Upton, LF
8. McCann, C
9. Iglesias, SS

Yesterday’s game had a little bit of everything – strong start by Pelfrey, clutch hits, good offensive output, and a joke of an outing by a reliever. But the Tigers managed to win the game and have a chance to sweep the White Sox this afternoon. Quintana has been lights out for the White Sox so far this year, this should be a great match-up.

I estimate that JV’s ERA would be half a run better if we had an average bullpen.

Baseball-reference game preview here.

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Maybin, CF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, V DH
5. Martinez, J.D. RF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Upton, LF
8. McCann, C
9. Iglesias, SS

Cabrera is in the lineup. Phew.

Baseball-reference game preview here.

Today’s lineup (numbers off of Chris Sale). I’d swap Kinsler and Maybin, and put Upton 7th when he’s back.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B (6-for-27, 2 HR, 5 walks, 5 K’s)
2. Cameron Maybin, CF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B (8-for-33, 2 HR, 9 walks, 12 K’s)
4. Victor Martinez, DH (16-for-34, 3 doubles, 4 HR, 2 walks, 5 K’s)
5. J.D. Martinez, RF (6-for-22, 2 doubles, HR, 3 walks, 12 K’s)
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B (1-for-16, walk, 10 K’s)
7. James McCann, C (2-for-8, 3 K’s)
8. Mike Aviles, LF (5-for-31, HR, 2 walks, 3 K’s)
9. Jose Iglesias, SS (4-for-11, K)

Zimmermann back. We need him.

Interesting lineup.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Cameron Maybin, CF

3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

4. Victor Martinez, DH

5. J.D. Martinez, RF

6. Justin Upton, LF

7. Mike Aviles, 3B

8. James McCann, C

9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Tonight the Yankees come into town for the rubber game of a one-game series, weather permitting (light rain is forecast). Actually it is a make-up game that was rained out April 10, but it really is the rubber game of the series; the Tigers won the first game of the series behind Jordan Zimmerman, then Pelfrey got bombed in the 2nd to even it out. But that was so long ago that it seemed like a good idea to have Justin Upton bat 2nd.

Matt Boyd makes his 2nd start of the season, after making a decent showing in Oakland (6 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts), before the bullpen spoiled the day. No such bad luck last night, as Michael Fulmer was just brilliant drawing a Roy Oswald comparison from his manager. His last 3 starts Fulmer is 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA, and has a 16-inning scoreless streak going. He may turn out to be a good one, and all for the price of 1/2 a season of Yoenis Cespedes.

The last time the Tigers won in Anaheim? Max Scherzer got the win, and Joe Nathan picked up the save.

Tonight’s Yankee starter, Michael Pineda, has been having a rough time of it, with an 8.85 ERA over his last 4 starts, giving up 30 hits over his last 20 innings.

The game will be starting fashionably late, at 7:40.

Today’s Hit Pineda Like a Piñata Lineup:

1. Maybin, CF
2. JD Martinez, RF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. V Martinez, DH
5. Castellanos, 3B
6. Upton, LF
7. Saltalamacchia, C
8. Aviles, 2B
9. Iglesias, SS

This was originally scheduled to be an off day after the long flight back from California, so it’s not surprising a regular or two would have the day off. Still, this lineup misses a lot without Kinsler.