On Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers are out in the desert for a quick two-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks as their west coast trip continues. Detroit will be sending ace Justin Verlander to the mound as he looks to continue building off of back-to-back seven inning outings where he allowed fewer than three runs. The Tigers will see a familiar face opposing them, as they go up against former teammate Robbie Ray. Ray is off to an excellent start in 2017, sitting fifth in the National League in strikeouts. Nothing sucks more than waiting till 9:40 p.m. — get it together, West Coast — to watch the Tigers, but we have some great updates to help pass the time.
Around Tigertown
J.D. Martinez played in a rehab game for the Toledo Mud Hens on Monday, inching closer to his return and season debut. Justin Verlander talks about hitting since he’ll be batting in his start on Tuesday. Lynn Henning gives us nine options for Tigers’ closers with the recent struggles of Francisco Rodriguez. While we’re all banging our heads against the wall because of Rodriguez, Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs stops to help us appreciate what a great career Rodriguez has had. While most Tigers fans suffer through bullpen struggles, one fan has turned it into a profit, and business is good right now.
Nolan writes about how Brad Ausmus has gotten better about bullpen management this season. Kurt details how the bullpen struggles start with the front office in his latest column. John Niyo of the Detroit News similarly places part of the blame on Al Avila. The Bless You Boys team roundtables about which Tigers players we have irrational love for. We’re also having a meet-up this summer, August 19, when the Dodgers come to Detroit if you’re interested in meeting us.
Check out what’s going on around the American League Central in the latest installment of Central Intelligence. Mark Trumbo homers off of a pitch that was 4.62 feet off the ground. Jacob DeGrom leads the National League in strikeouts. He had his fourth 10-strikeout game in his last five starts as the Mets beat the Giants in walk-off fashion on Monday.
Oh and in case you weren’t tired of hearing about the Oakland Athletics walking off, they did it for the third straight day on Monday. Is there any field in Major League Baseball that takes more punishment than Coors Field in Colorado? Well, the Rockies and Cubs game was postponed after a hail storm battered the field.
Jameson Taillon, starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, underwent surgery for suspected testicular cancer. We wish him a speedy and healthy recovery. Major League Baseball’s sinker is a dying art as the percentage of sinkers being thrown has nose-dived in the past eight seasons. Who is the new poster boy for the Fly Ball Revolution? FanGraphs’ Dave Cameron tells us it’s Yonder Alosono and he has a pretty solid argument. Adam Jones always seems to be the nicest guy in baseball. This time he shows it by playing Rock, Paper Scissors with a fan.
In non-baseball news, former Chicago Cubs catcher David Ross continues to advance in the Dancing with the Stars.
What kind of sorcery is this?
Dellin Betances, Curveball movement (hp view). pic.twitter.com/ioNaWiBmOU
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 8, 2017
71% of the Earth is covered by water. The other 29% is covered by Kevin Pillar.
.@KPILLAR4 specializes in the ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/6wanInxev8
— MLB (@MLB) May 9, 2017