Life In The Cell

Here Come the Tigers

The Sox open up a 3-game set against the Tigers (known affectionately around here as the Motor City Kitties) at Comerica. This could prove to be a pivotal series in the season for the Tigers. Or, it could be like most of the big primaries in the Democratic race, in that it doesn’t really decide anything. As I write, the Tigers are 5.5 game back of the White Sox. A sweep in either direction, could really change the Tigers’ focus. Say the Sox sweep, that means they’re up 8.5 games which is quite a large lead. This may lead the Tigers to wave the white flag on the season. If it were to go in the opposite direction (here’s hoping it doesn’t), then the Tigers would be a mere 2.5 game back of the Sox (disregarding the Twins) and would then be definite players before the trade deadline. What is most likely though, is that neither team sweeps and things remain mostly the same, as I said before, like after most of the primaries.

Whether or not a sweep is in the cards, this is an important series for both teams. Division games always are, moreso when you have two teams in the playoff hunt. The Motor City Kitties have won 5 of their 7 games since the All-Star Break, which is pretty good, though I will admit it wasn’t against the stiffest competition (Baltimore and Kansas City).

Today, they send Nate Robertson to the mound to face Gavin Floyd. On the year, Robertson is 6-8 with a 5.69 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP, which aren’t great numbers by any means. He has been scuffling lately; in his last 6 starts, he’s gone 34 2/3 innings with a 6.23 ERA while giving up 51 hits and 5 HRs. He has thrown a gem in that span, a complete game, 1-run performance against the Mariners. He also had an outing amongst his last six where he went 6 1/3 innings and gave up only 1 run. The end result looks nice, but he pitched poorly in that game, surrendering 11 hits and issuing 2 free passes. Basically, the Sox should score some runs against this guy, which is always nice to have when Floyd is on the mound. I’m still at the point where I think Floyd will pitch well, but am secretly bracing myself for the worst. Maybe I’ll get over it completely if he tames the powerful Tigers’ lineup.

The second game of the series pits John Danks against Justin Verlander. I like how this worked out; you have the Sox’ young ace against the Tigers’ young ace. Verlander has brought his ERA down to 3.95 after it reached as high as 6.05 as late as mid-May. In his last 6 starts, he’s posted an impressive 2.30 ERA while striking out 7.8 batters per nine innings. Amongst those 6 starts, was a start against the Sox where he was domininat. He pitched a complete game, surrendering only 1 run on 4 hits. It looks like he’s gotten back in the groove after getting rocked consistently to start the year. Danks has been impressive all year long (his ERA is currently at 3.03 to go along with his 1.205 WHIP) so there’s no need to break him down farther. He’s been steady and good for quite awhile now.

The finale has Javy Vazquez against Zach Miner who is sporting a 3.73 ERA in almost only relief work. He has served out of the bullpen all season long, save for his last appearance July 21. In that game, he pitched 6 shut out innings. He’s been effective in his Major League career as a reliever but less so as a starter, so it’s hard to say what the Sox will have on their hands. Javy has been struggling a bit since around mid-May. He’s seen his ERA climb a full run to 4.57, though he has pitched two strong games in his last three (that middle game was a stinker). In both of his good performance, he recorded 10 K’s, while giving up 3 runs and receiving the L. In one of those games he went the full 9 and in the other he went 7.

I’ll have to give the Sox the pitching edge in games 1 and 3 and say it’s a wash in the middle one. With that in mind, I’m confident the Sox can pull out a series win even though the Tigers are hitting a healthy .296/.374/.488/.861 over the last 14 days and .330/.407/.536/.943 over the last 7.

If you want to see what Tigers’ fans are saying, take a look behind enemy lines at:

Mack Avenue Tigers

and

Tiger Tales