A dish best served cold (for Ian).

Tigers 8, Rangers 2

The last time the Tigers were in Arlington their starting pitchers were getting assaulted for many, many runs. Drew Smyly (12 GS, 73.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 0.8 fWAR) made sure last year’s disease didn’t carry over, twirling six innings of one run ball via five hits, a walk, and five strikeouts. Smyly was especially tough on the lefties and gave his offense a chance to take the reins. The Tigers made some rough baserunning mistakes, but the bats got hot and heavy in the 7th inning and pushed across five runs. Martinez, Martinez, Jackson, Avila, Suarez, Cabrera, and Martinez again all reached base in the inning with JDM making the big statement with his blast to centerfield. The Tigers also scored via a solo homer from Kinsler in the 1st and a two run single by Kinsler in the 8th, and his old fans absolutely loved it. The win makes it five in a row for the Tigers and pushes them three games up on the Royals in the Central. Anibal Sanchez (12 GS, 69.2 IP, 2.33 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 2.2 fWAR) will be in charge of taking the series on Wednesday.

The Moment: JD Martinez homers…again.

Redeeming.

Tigers 10, Indians 4

That wretched month started by getting swept in Cleveland. Hopefully it ended the same way. After two wins to kick off the series, Max Scherzer (16 GS, 104.1 IP, 3.71 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 2.3 fWAR) kept the Indians to one run over six innings, allowing six hits and a walk, while punching out eight. He didn’t need to be quite so sharp, however, considering that his offense committed a crime of passion against Josh Tomlin in the 5th inning when they took their 2-0 lead and turned it into a 9-0 lead with the help of some poor defense by the Tribe. Pretty much everyone got into the action. You couldn’t pick just one star, but Kinsler, Cabrera, and Castellanos might make a list of that nature and McCoy and Smith made their debuts. The Tigers will enjoy a much needed day off on Monday after winning four straight and will head into Arlington for three starting Tuesday night. Drew Smyly (11 GS, 67.1 IP, 3.48 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 0.6 fWAR) will be the man on the mound.

The Moment: The Tigers unload for 7 in the 5th!

Like the old days.

Tigers 5, Indians 4

Justin Verlander (16 GS, 104.2 IP, 4.73 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) might not be dead just yet. There’s still a long way to go from here to salvation, but for seven innings on this Saturday night it looked a lot like our old friend out on the mound. He surrendered two runs while walking one and allowing a home run, but he punched out eight with some solid velocity and good secondary stuff. We aren’t going to get the Hall of Famer night in and night out, but he’s going to have more nights like this before he shuts it down. The Tigers bats, for their part, mostly just hit some home runs and called it a day. VMart, Davis, and Kinsler each hit a solo shot and then Blaine Hardy had a huge eighth inning to escape a jam of Al-Al’s making. For the third straight day, then, it was Joe Nathan time, and he got into a little trouble after a pair of strikeouts and the Indians worked quality at bats into a run in the 9th to tie it. It wasn’t tied for long thanks to a Kinsler single, Jackson bunt (groan), and Cabrera double which pushed the ball to Phil Coke who allowed one baserunner in the 10th before shutting it down. Everything went exactly according to plan and the keys will end up in Max Scherzer’s (15 GS, 98.1 IP, 3.84 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 2.1 fWAR) hand on Sunday looking for…the…sweep.

The Moment: Davis and Kinsler go back to back in the 7th.

Awesome, if you missed the bottom of the 8th.

Tigers 5, Indians 4

The Tigers’ skid started in mid May in Cleveland and they came into town determined to undo the curse. Rick Porcello (14 GS, 88.2 IP, 3.76 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.4 fWAR) did his thing, tossing six shutout innings without much drama and the Martinezes did their thing, each turning in a home run of the 2 and 3 run varieties, respectively. The Tigers got a nice set of double plays started by Kinsler and Cabrera to get out of some innings and then they handed the keys over to the bullpen. Alburquerque did his thing and Krol got exposed against righties in a big way, surrendering four runs on two bombs in the 8th before Joba bailed him out. The 5-0 lead faded to 5-4, but Kinsler punched one up the gap to tack one on. Nathan allowed a baserunner but closed the door thanks to a better release point and through it better stuff. (Below, there’s a GIF of the adjustment from yesterday.) The win is their second in a row and puts a series win in view tomorrow with Justin Verlander (15 GS, 97.2 IP, 4.98 ERA, 4.09 ERA, 1.4 fWAR) trying to get back in the game.

The Moment: VMart smashes a two run home run to put the Tigers ahead early.

Relieving.

Tigers 2, Royals 1

The pressure was on after a very poor week and month in Detroit and a bad night for Ausmus on Wednesday, but  Anibal Sanchez (12 GS, 69.2 IP, 2.33 ERA, 2.45 FIP, 2.2 fWAR) came to the rescue with an easy seven innings in which he allowed a single run without a single strikeout. The Royals nabbed a run in the first but he shut the door and gave the offense a shot which they took on a Cabrera double and Martinez homer in the bottom of the 4th. Remarkably, the bullpen didn’t allow any runs and the Tigers won a game in which Miguel Cabrera was thrown out trotting back to second base on an amazing play by Escobar. After a dreadful stretch, a good clean win without much drama was just want the doctor ordered before a 9 game trip. The first of which will see Rick Porcello (13 GS, 82.2 IP, 4.03 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.2 fWAR) on the hill.

The Moment: JD Martinez makes a terrific running catch in foul ground.

Stop asking, geez!

Royals 2, Tigers 1

Drew Smyly (11 GS, 67.1 IP, 3.48 ERA 4.35 FIP, 0.6 fWAR) gave the Tigers a strong pitching performance, giving up two runs in 7+ innings after allowing a run in the first thanks to the actual second base bag and a solo shot from old friend Omar Infante. Other than that, Smyly stayed out of trouble and offered the offense a chance to rally. Martinez, he of the JD variety, put the Tigers on the board with a solo HR that wrapped just inside the left field foul pole, but the Tigers were unable to complete the rally despite a leadoff single from Cabrera to start the 9th inning. That makes it three straight losses to the Royals and probably a lot of losses in the last 30 games, but it’s getting to depressing to count. At least we get to watch Anibal Sanchez (11 GS, 62.2 IP, 2.44 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 2.0 fWAR) on Thursday.

The Moment: JD Martinez homers in the 7th.

Lalalala can’t hear you.

Royals 11, Tigers 4

Losing to Yordano Venture isn’t bad. But Max Scherzer (15 GS, 98.1 IP, 3.84  ERA, 3.26 FIP, 2.1 fWAR) allowing 10 runs, well that’s downright depressing. Max struck out five and walked one in four innings, but he surrendered two home runs and ten hits in the effort that included a 51 pitch second inning. The Tigers put together a few runs over the course of the game, which is nice, but there’s only so much you can do when your pitching staff hangs 11. I would recommend that you don’t look at the standings page after this one and I’ll spare you the details. Not a whole lot to like in a month of things not to like. It’ll be Drew Smyly (10 GS, 60.1 IP, 3.58 ERA, 4.48 FIP, 0.4 fWAR) on the mound Wednesday afternoon.

The Moment: Eugenio Suarez makes a dandy snag on a liner.

[averts eyes, peaks through fingers].

Royals 11, Tigers 8

I’m going to be honest with you all, this didn’t go well. Justin Verlander (15 GS, 97.2 IP, 4.98 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.4 fWAR) looked fine for the first few innings and then the 5th and 6th innings came along and ruined all of that. When all was said and done, Verlander had gone six innings after allowing seven runs with two walks and two strikeouts against a mediocre offense at best. Verlander showed some signs of life in his last few starts, but it’s hard to find positives in this one. The bats got a couple of early runs, but Verlander’s seven and the bullpen’s four runs were way too many to overcome. Blaine Hardy got a chance to make his MLB debut and struck out the first two batters he faced, which was a nice moment in the midst of a disaster. Then, of course, the Tigers scored 6 runs in the 9th inning to make it look a lot more interesting than it was and put the fear or God into the Royals. Max Scherzer (14 GS, 94.1 IP, 3.05 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 2.2 fWAR) goes Tuesday.

The Moment: Blaine Hardy punches out the first two batters of his MLB career.

On the right side of things, at least.

Tigers 4, Twins 3

In theory, this was a good game. In theory. Rick Porcello (13 GS, 82.2 IP, 4.03 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.2 fWAR) was good, except for five batter stretch in the six inning that should have ended a run earlier if not for a poor connection from JDM to Avila when they had Morales out at home by 25 feet. He went seven innings, gave up three runs, and generated a lot of easy outs, but left the game with the score tied. The Tigers grabbed a pair early and tied it shortly after the Twins took the lead on a Castellanos RBI double. Joba held serve in the 8th, despite a bit of trouble, and Nathan did the same, despite a bit more. Torii led off the 9th with a single and VMart reach on complete whiff on the warning track. JDM came up and hit a shallow fly ball, but with the help of a poor throw it was enough to score Hunter for the walk off win. It didn’t feel like a winning series, but the Tigers sent the Twins packing after taking two of three. Justin Verlander (14 GS, 91.2 IP, 4.61 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) will get the ball on Monday when the Royals come to town.

The Moment: JD Martinez hits a shallow, but game winning sac fly.

Closer than it should have been.

Tigers 12, Twins 9

Let me put it this way, this one started out well. Anibal Sanchez (11 GS, 72.2 IP, 2.44 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 2.0 fWAR) was dominant until his final inning in which the Twins picked up a couple of add on runs as he tired, but the lead was already so large that it’s hard to sweat it. The offense absolutely unloaded, however, starting in the third inning with seven runs on many hits. Suarez and Martinez both homered and came one leg shy of a cycle each. Kinsler reached base four times, so did Avila and Suarez. It was an all out assault that was a long time coming for the Tigers offense that had been awfully quiet as of late. Of course, the day ended in “y,” so the bullpen melted down and ended up allowing six extra runs to force Joba to warm up in a game m that was, at one point, 11-1. The team will look to take the series on Sunday with Rick Porcello (12 GS, 75.2 IP, 4.04 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.0 fWAR) getting the nod.

The Moment: Tigers load up with a seven run 3rd inning.