So how have they been doing? What happened during the 7-game losing streak? How did they turn it around with the 3 of 4 series win against the Yankees?
The short answers are hitting and pitching. NOT hitting during the back-to-back sweeps suffered at the hands of Seattle and Cleveland, and pitching against the Yankees with some timely hitting as well.
Downside? Austin Jackson still struggles at the head of the lineup and Ryan Raburn struggles with strikeouts against good right-handed pitching. Will Rhymes was starting to hit in the #2 spot before being sent down to Toledo for the hot bat of Scott Sizemore who hit the left-handed CC Sabathia hard in Sizemore's first game of the season with the Tigers. Since then, Sizemore has struggled, going only 2 for 12 (.167) against the good right-handed pitching he faced in the following 3 games. Brandon Inge is in a slump as well going only 3 for 24 (.125) in the last 7 games. The hitter trends graph shows both Austin Jackson and Inge stuck at the bottom of the team hitting (see: Hitter Trends) with no signs of climbing out. Austin will need a several game hitting streak to get him going. The other unanswered question is whether Sizemore will find himself down there with Jackson and Inge. Time will tell.
Upside? Brennan Boesch is settled into the #3 spot, and Victor Martinez is back in the lineup. Boesch is getting a lot of balls to hit and keeping his streak going. Martinez being back in the lineup behind Cabrerra has made it much harder for opposing pitchers, and in one of the best moves of the season Magglio Ordonez is hitting behind Cabrerra and Martinez in the #6 spot where his bat is coming alive. Look for Ordonez to hit his stride soon. In the short run the Tigers may struggle as they get used to the new lineup while facing good Toronto pitching, but Martinez and Ordonez both hitting at the same time will start generating some runs and get some Tiger wins.
If they get pitching. Phil Coke took another loss recently and Brayan Villarreal could not hold the game for him. Meanwhile, every time Brad Thomas gets into the late innings opposing hitters seem to get on base against him with walks or hits. Thomas is holding down the bottom of the pitching rankings for the Tigers (see the Regular Season rankings page). Coke continues a rough stretch of pitching as he struggles to settle himself in as a starting pitcher. Fortunately for the Tigers all of the other starters have improved, with good outings from Penny, Scherzer and Porcello winning the games against the Yankees.
The best surprise in the bullpen this year has been the performance of young Al Alburquerque. After a very rough Spring where he struggled to find the strike zone Alburquerque seems to be maturing as we watch and currently sits atop the pitching rankings page for the Tigers. He leads the bullpen with 18 strikeouts while walking only 5 over 10 and 1/3 innings.
If the pitching continues the way it has over the last week, the 6-game road trip could end very well indeed.
Prediction for this week? Tigers will win 4 of the 6 road games!
GO TIGERS! ---Rob
Photo Credits:
Magglio Ordonez and Al Alburquerque Photos by Robin Buckson - Detroit News
Downside? Austin Jackson still struggles at the head of the lineup and Ryan Raburn struggles with strikeouts against good right-handed pitching. Will Rhymes was starting to hit in the #2 spot before being sent down to Toledo for the hot bat of Scott Sizemore who hit the left-handed CC Sabathia hard in Sizemore's first game of the season with the Tigers. Since then, Sizemore has struggled, going only 2 for 12 (.167) against the good right-handed pitching he faced in the following 3 games. Brandon Inge is in a slump as well going only 3 for 24 (.125) in the last 7 games. The hitter trends graph shows both Austin Jackson and Inge stuck at the bottom of the team hitting (see: Hitter Trends) with no signs of climbing out. Austin will need a several game hitting streak to get him going. The other unanswered question is whether Sizemore will find himself down there with Jackson and Inge. Time will tell.
 |
| Magglio Ordonez |
Upside? Brennan Boesch is settled into the #3 spot, and Victor Martinez is back in the lineup. Boesch is getting a lot of balls to hit and keeping his streak going. Martinez being back in the lineup behind Cabrerra has made it much harder for opposing pitchers, and in one of the best moves of the season Magglio Ordonez is hitting behind Cabrerra and Martinez in the #6 spot where his bat is coming alive. Look for Ordonez to hit his stride soon. In the short run the Tigers may struggle as they get used to the new lineup while facing good Toronto pitching, but Martinez and Ordonez both hitting at the same time will start generating some runs and get some Tiger wins.
If they get pitching. Phil Coke took another loss recently and Brayan Villarreal could not hold the game for him. Meanwhile, every time Brad Thomas gets into the late innings opposing hitters seem to get on base against him with walks or hits. Thomas is holding down the bottom of the pitching rankings for the Tigers (see the Regular Season rankings page). Coke continues a rough stretch of pitching as he struggles to settle himself in as a starting pitcher. Fortunately for the Tigers all of the other starters have improved, with good outings from Penny, Scherzer and Porcello winning the games against the Yankees.
 |
| Al Alburquerque |
If the pitching continues the way it has over the last week, the 6-game road trip could end very well indeed.
Prediction for this week? Tigers will win 4 of the 6 road games!
GO TIGERS! ---Rob
Photo Credits:
Magglio Ordonez and Al Alburquerque Photos by Robin Buckson - Detroit News
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