A look at pitching: Tigers and other contenders
posted in Analysis |It was no secret Tigers pitching suffered its worst month of the year in July. An ERA of 4.53 may have been good for sixth in the American League, but it was bad for the MLB-leading Tigers’ pitching staff. A look closer would show the problem was a bit more localized to Kenny Rogers, whose 22 earned runs accounted for about one-fifth of the total number allowed and singlehandedly made the staff’s ERA increase from 4.01, only slightly worse than the Twins in that month.
How does August look? So far, so good. Rogers had a quality start in his only game, and the team ERA is down to 3.26, almost equal to the Yankees but a bit behind the Mariners. There have been a few too many walks, maybe not enough strikeouts, but only five home runs were allowed while facing the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins and (surprisingly capable) Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Twins, not the Yankees, actually lead the AL in OPS post All-Star break, so keeping them to four or less runs in each of the three games is a pretty good thing, too.
As for the White Sox? Things are not going so good. A post All-Star ERA of 5.41 and August ERA of 4.81 cannot be good signs for the defending world champions. Other upcoming opponents, Boston and Texas, have hardly posted better numbers.
If Kenny Rogers has it together, and he suggests he might, and Justin Verlander’s recent rest allows him to catch a second wind, the Tigers’ staff will probably be fine through this difficult stretch. Will they? I’m not sold on Rogers, but I hope so. I suspect Verlander is just fine. We’ll find out Friday. Interestingly, and rather quietly, Verlander and Rogers have flip-flopped in the rotation. Now, it is Jeremy Bonderman, followed by Verlander, Rogers, Zach Miner and Nate Robertson. The Tigers play 17 straight games after today’s off day, so there will be no opportunity to move that around.
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[...] Justin Verlander who was given a free pass his last turn in the rotation, should be well rested for the Tigers. As Mack Avenue pointed out, the Tigers altered their rotation and bumped Verlander ahead of Rogers. While I don’t get into labeling starters #1, #2, etc., I did like the way Rogers was sandwiched between the 2 hard throwing righties. I’m not sure for the reasoning behind the move, except maybe to set a record for pick-offs in a game when Kenny Rogers takes on Mark Buehrle tomorrow. [...]