Complete.

Tigers 6, Rangers 0

Maybe the six run attack catches your eye, or the fact that the Tigers have responded to a terrible month with seven straight wins, but the story on this night was Rick Porcello (15 GS, 97.2 IP, 3.41 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.6 fWAR) who twirled his first career complete game shutout. He went the distance once in 2013, but allowed a run that time around. Porcello wasn’t facing an intimidating lineup, but blanking a team with several quality hitters when Sanchez and Smyly couldn’t is still worthy of admiration. Porcello surrendered three hits and three walks while striking out six and found his way out of what little trouble he was in with some timely double play balls. With just a touch of hard contact against him, the Tigers unheralded star (except here of course!) stole the show and lifted the team to their second straight road sweep. They’ll try to keep it going on Friday night against the Astros with Justin Verlander (16 GS, 104.2 IP, 4.82 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) taking the hill.

The Moment: Porcello finishes off 8 masterful innings.

Not particularly pretty, but effective.

Tigers 8, Rangers 6

Early on, Anibal Sanchez (13 GS, 75 IP, 2.64 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 2.1 fWAR) looked great, but his last three innings were much worse than his first three and he left having allowed four runs in 5.1 innings. There was a noticeable loss of command in the 4th inning and beyond that saw Sanchez surrender two hit batters and a home run to Carlos Pena. Thankfully, the Tigers bats stayed hot and protected Sanchez. They sent seven men to the plate in the first and scored three runs, picked up two more in the third, and then got back to back home runs from the Martinezes in the 5th to hang 7 early runs on the Rangers. Sanchez was relieved by Blaine Hardy, who was terrific, and the Tigers danced their way to their six straight win. After all that losing, things changed quickly. Rick Porcello (14 GS, 88.2 IP, 3.76 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.3 fWAR) will be asked to complete the sweep on Thursday.

The Moment: The Martinezes go back to back.

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.