The mystery of Sunday's starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers has been solved. At least for now.
Nate Robertson threw a bullpen session this morning, and according to Jason Beck's report, everything felt okay with his groin injury. So he's the guy for Sunday against the Minnesota Twins.
Most importantly, Robertson didn't experience any pain or restriction throwing as he would under game conditions. That was a concern for the Tigers, as Jarrod Washburn's knee seemed okay when he threw on the side. But he didn't work at "game speed" and the knee obviously reacted differently under those circumstances.
In the two starts before the one in which he was injured, Robertson allowed one run in 10 innings, with eight hits, eight strikeouts, and three walks. Against the Blue Jays last Friday, he gave up two runs, six hits, and five walks in less than four innings. That led to speculation from Jim Leyland and Gerald Laird that Robertson's groin may have been hurting him before a play at home plate aggravated the injury.