Detroit Tigers Swept By the Division-Leading Indians:

The Detroit Tigers continue to struggle and underperform. In their most recent three-game series against the division-leading Cleveland Indians, the Tigers left multiple runners on base and were ultimately swept by the Indians.

In Tuesday’s game, the Tigers took an early 3 – 1 lead on a homerun by C Alex Avila in the 2^nd inning. The Tigers offensive struggles continued however as they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position (the one successful time being the homerun by Avila) and left 10 runners on base. Most surprising of those struggles were 3B Miguel Cabrera (0-for-2) and 1B Prince Fielder (0-for-5) going hitless in the game, although Cabrera was walked three times. The Indians on the other hand just continued to chip away at that lead scoring four more runs in the next five innings to earn the 3 – 5 victory.

On Wednesday, Tigers’ pitcher Doug Fister and Indians’ pitcher Zach McAllister had a pitchers’ duel going to start the game with five scoreless innings. The Tigers were the first to score when LF Andy Dirks doubled to score CF Quintin Berry and Fielder grounded into a fielders’ choice scoring Dirks in the 6^th inning. Fister was a little erratic than usual, but he really only made one mistake. Unfortunately that mistake was to DH Travis Hafner and found the seats with one on to tie the game 2 – 2. Yet again however, the Tigers were unable to add any more runs while the Indians scored two more in the 8^th inning to earn the 2 – 4 victory. The Tigers offense was 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position (twice with the bases loaded) and left 10 more runners on base in the loss.

On Thursday afternoon, the Tigers ace Justin Verlander took the mound fresh of his one-hit performance against the Pirates. The Indians got to Verlander early as RF Shin-Soo Choo hit a solo homerun in the Indians first at-bat of the game. The Tigers got a run in the 3^rd inning when Cabrera ground out scoring Berry tying the game back up at 1 – 1. The Indians got another run off Verlander when 3B Jose Lopez singled to right centerfield scoring CF Michael Brantley. Yet again, the Tigers offense was unable to generate another run as they dropped their third straight 1 – 2. The Tigers again left 10 runners on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

On Friday, Detroit begins a three-game series at the Minnesota Twins, who are currently in last place in the division. There is not a lot of times from now to then, but the Tigers need to figure something out. The starting pitching has been respectably good, but the offense and the bullpen continue to let the team down. Detroit will continue to struggle if they can’t get their bats going and they can’t protect a lead when they get it. Although if the Tigers only look back one year, the Indians were handily in first place during the 1^st half of the season until the Tigers put things together in the 2^nd half to easily win the division. (Picture from google.com)

Detroit Pistons Brandon Knight Makes the NBA All-Rookie First Team:

In a season that didn’t have a lot of bright spots, the Detroit Pistons did have one bright spot in the form of rookie PG Brandon Knight. Knight took over the starting point guard position after six games and never looked back. The 20-year-old finished the year averaging 12.8 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.7 steals. While he will look to improve his playmaking and his defense, his numbers were good enough to be voted to the NBA All-Rookie First Team by the coaches. Knight was tied in votes with SG Iman Schumpert of New York and SF Kawhi Leonard of San Antonio for the last spot on the First Team. They were joined by PG Kyrie Irving of Cleveland, PG Ricky Rubio of Minnesota, PF Kenneth Faried of Denver, and SG Klay Thompson of Golden State. Making the All-Rookie Second Team were SF Chandler Parsons of Houston, PG Isaiah Thomas of Sacramento, SG MarShon Brooks of New Jersey, SF/PF Derrick Williams of Minnesota, and PF Tristan Thompson of Cleveland.

As the Pistons prepare for the NBA Draft (June 28^th at 7pm), they have to be excited to have two quality players to build around in PF/C Greg Monroe (2010 1^st Round pick) and Knight (2011 1^st Round pick). And while the draft position of the Pistons is still unknown until the Draft Lottery is held, Detroit is excited to add yet another piece to build around as they try to turn their organization back around to its former glory as a title contender. (Picture from Google Images)

Scherzer Strikes Out Fifteen in Victory Over the Pirates:

Max Scherzer bounced back from a rough outing in his last start to pitch a gem Sunday afternoon. Through seven innings of work, Scherzer threw 115 pitches and gave up two runs (both solo homeruns) on four hits with 15 strikeouts and one walk. His 15 strikeouts were the most by a Tigers pitcher in 40 years and were one shy of the Tigers record set by Mickey Lolich in 1969. As he walked off the field in the middle of the 7^th, he was still in line for the loss trailing 1 – 2…that is until the Tigers offense was determined to get him the lead. In the bottom of the 7^th, DH Delmon Young singled to center field scoring 1B Prince Fielder to even the score at 2 – 2. Then Young and SS Jhonny Peralta (who also had a solo homerun in the 5^th inning) scored on a single by C Alex Avila giving the Tigers a 4 – 2 lead and putting Scherzer in line for the win. With closer Jose Valverde still bothered by a strained back, Joaquin Benoit came on in the 9^th to close the game. Benoit did give up one run in the 9^th, but he earned his first save of the season giving the Tigers the 4 – 3 victory. After the game, Scherzer had this to say of his performance: "Even when I've struggled, I've always believed the next time I go out there that I'm going to have a great start, no matter what. That's always been my belief ever since I've been in the big leagues, and today was no different."

All 15 of Scherzer's strikeouts were swinging strikeouts. The only other pitcher since 1988 to strike out at least 15 -- all swinging -- in a game was Houston's Mike Scott, who fanned 15 Cincinnati Reds on June 8, 1990, according to STATS LLC.

Verlander Flirts With a No-Hitter Against the Pirates:

Tiger ace Justin Verlander came within one hit of joining an elite group of pitchers to ever record at least three no-hitters in their professional career.The Detroit Tigers got a much-needed dominant performance from ace Justin Verlander last night. With none of the other four starting pitchers getting past the 6^th inning in the Tigers last four games, the bullpen really needed a rest. Verlander gave them that while also giving the fans a performance to remember. Verlander walked the 2^nd batter of the game (2B Neil Walker) and didn’t allow another baserunner until he walked OF Andrew McCutchen with one out in the 7^th inning. It wasn’t until DH Josh Harrison hit a soft line drive through the middle of the infield with one out in the 9^th inning that the Pittsburgh Pirates got their first hit breaking up Verlander’s no-hitter bid. Verlander went on to get the next two batters out to record his first ever one-hitter, but you couldn’t help but to think what could have been. After the game, Verlander said of his almost no-hitter, "That's why throwing no-hitters are so difficult. It doesn't take a hard one; it just takes the right placement."

The Tigers did give Verlander the offensive assistance to get the win. 3B Miguel Cabrera and 1B Prince Fielder both doubled in runs in the 1^st inning for a 2 – 0 lead. DH Delmon Young hit a solo homerun and OF Don Kelly singled in a run in the 4^th inning to increase the lead to 4 – 0. Young finally doubled in two more runs in the 7^th inning to give the Tigers the 6 – 0 victory.

The no-hitter would have been Verlander’s third and would have made him the sixth pitcher ever to record at least three no-hitters. The only other pitchers to have at least three no-hitters are: Nolan Ryan (7), Sandy Koufax (4), Cy Young (3), Bob Feller (3), and Larry Corcoran (3). (Picture from freep.com)

Detroit Tigers Struggling to Find Consistency in Both Hitting and Pitching:

The Detroit Tigers continue to struggle to find some consistency hitting and in their pitching. Coming into the season, the Tigers were predicted to run away with the A.L. Central title again this year. Instead, the Tigers currently sit 3 games behind Cleveland after 39 games. So what is going wrong?

The Tigers have had some nice shall we say surprises so far this young season. OF Andy Dirks has been a god-send so far. In 89 at-bats, Dirks is hitting a .360 average with 4 homeruns, 13 RBIs, 19 runs, 7 walks, and only 7 strikeouts. OF Austin Jackson has gotten past his sophomore slump hitting a .331 average with 5 homeruns, 17 RBIs, 29 runs, 20 walks, 29 strikeouts, and 6 stolen bases in 136 at-bats. And of course 3B Miguel Cabrera is his typical productive self hitting a .304 average with 8 homeruns, 34 RBIs, 20 runs, 11 walks, and 24 strikeouts in 158 at-bats. Cabrera is also keeping is errors on defense fairly low with only 6 errors in 39 games played and a fielding percentage of .945. Then there’s the newcomer, 1B Prince Fielder. Fielder is having a pretty good season so far hitting a .299 average with 6 homeruns, 22 RBIs, 23 runs, 15 walks, and 28 strikeouts in 147 at-bats. The numbers look pretty good at first glance, but anyone that has watched the games can tell you that Prince is pressing a little right now. He has that big contract to live up to and is trying to do too much right now with the Tigers offense struggling a little so far. SS Jhonny Peralta has been decent hitting a .269 average with 1 homerun, 11 RBIs, 10 runs, 14 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 119 at-bats. OF Brennan Boesch, 2B/OF Ryan Raburn, and DH/OF Delmon Young have all struggling to bring their success from spring training to the regular season. Boesch, like Fielder, was pressing a little to provide some offense from the #2 spot in the lineup. Since being move down in the lineup to the bottom third of the order, he seems to relaxing a little more and his stats (.237 average with 5 homeruns, 16 RBIs, 20 runs, 5 walks, and 31 strikeouts in 152 at-bats) should start improving. Young has brought struggles at the plate and one off-the-field incident so far to the hibernating Tigers offense. Young is hitting a .235 average with 2 homeruns, 13 RBIs, 10 runs, 6 walks, and 28 strikeouts in 119 at-bats. Raburn continues to have struggles early in the seasons for the Tigers. In 108 at-bats, Raburn is only hitting a .148 average with 1 homerun, 6 RBIs, 7 runs, 8 walks, and 28 strikeouts. Something needs to change here and FAST! The Tigers could look to send Raburn down to the minors to tune up his mechanics or could to look to add a veteran free agent like 2B Orlando Hudson (just released by the Padres) or trade for a second baseman. C Alex Avila looks to be in a little slump as well hitting a .226 average with 4 homeruns, 12 RBIs, 14 runs, 13 walks, and 30 strikeouts in 106 at-bats, but I fully expect him to snap out of his slump soon enough.

The Tigers pitching has had its surprises too. Drew Smyly, who won the 5^th spot in the rotation in spring training, has looked more like the 3^rd best pitcher in the rotation. Smyly is 1 – 0 in 7 starts with a 2.31 ERA, 38 strikeouts, 11 walks, and 5 quality starts. Justin Verlander is his usual dominant self at 5 – 1 in 9 starts with a 2.14 ERA, 68 strikeouts, 14 walks, and 7 quality starts. Doug Fister was injured after 3 2/3 innings during his first start of the season, but he has come back to have 3 quality starts with a 1.59 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and 5 walks in 4 starts with a 0 – 2 record. Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer continue to struggle to consistently have good outings. In 8 starts, Porcello is 3 – 3 with a 5.12 ERA, 27 strikeouts, 9 walks, and 4 quality starts. In 8 starts, Scherzer is 2 – 3 with a 6.26 ERA, 48 strikeouts, 18 walks, and 4 quality starts. Both pitchers need to be more consistent for the Tigers to have a chance to get into the playoffs and go far. The Tigers also need a much more consistent effort from their bullpen. Closer Jose Valverde has made things interesting at times during his 7 saves. He has a 2 – 1 record with a 5.51 ERA, 14 strikeouts, 12 walks, and 2 blown saves. Colin Balester (6.50 ERA, 12 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 18 innings), Luke Putkonen (10.50 ERA, 6 strikeouts, and 4 walks in 6 innings), and Daniel Schlereth (10.29 ERA, 6 strikeouts, and 5 walks in 7 innings) are some more relievers whose strikeout-to-walk ratio haven’t helped their statistic or the Tigers convert more games into victories.

The Tigers definitely have things to fix and work out, but they also have the talent and the pieces to still win the A.L. Central title. The hitters need to fix their mechanics and potentially make a change at second base. The pitchers mainly just need to keep their walks down, but could also make a move or two.