Category: Series Preview
Opening Day – Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox
Comerica Park (Opening Weekend)
Thursday (4/5) 1:05 PM:
Verlander (0-0) vs. Lester (0-0)
Saturday (4/7) 4:05 PM:
Fister (0-0) vs. Beckett (0-0)
Sunday (4/8) 1:05 PM:
Scherzer (0-0) vs. Buchholz (0-0)
It is hard to ignore the excitement around the Detroit Tigers heading into the 2012 season. The rotation is finally set, the 40 man lineup still has some if’s, but Opening Day is here!
With a starting rotation that has a huge upside yet, and an offense that should be absolutely lethal, the Tigers are strong contenders for their first World Series championship since 1984. When Victor Martinez went down shortly before spring training, nobody expected the replacement to be slugger Prince Fielder. It leaves a shaky defense in the infield, but a lineup that has the potential to make up large deficits in a hurry. But with such a potent lineup, it should take a lot of pressure off of the starters and bullpen, knowing that there is some room for area as long as the bats producing. If Justin Verlander can come even close to duplicating last year’s results (he has actually said he is expecting to be better than last year – is that possible?), and Doug Fister pitches with the same effectiveness that he had when he came over to the Tigers from the Mariners in a trade last year, look out. It is difficult not to be enthusiastic if you are a Tigers fan.
The Red Sox made a lot of changes in the off season after a very disappointing end to their 2011 campaign. Bobby Valentine is in as manager and looking to change the culture of the team. The top end of their rotation, which the Tigers will see this weekend, is one of the best in the game, so it should be an exciting series to start a season that has Tigers fans, players, and coaches alike, hungry for success.
This blog receives a fair amount of traffic on a daily basis and I would like to interact with visitors throughout the year. Any comments, thoughts, or opinions are welcome! Anything you would like to see as a regular feature, or changes made to current postings, will be taken into consideration. It’s a new year and that means a fresh start!
Rolling on into Baltimore!
Preview
The Tigers bats did not show up for the series in Cleveland, where they dropped 2 of 3 to the Indians. 2 of those games were winnable (Porcello didn’t give a good outing on Wednesday) and the bullpen was fantastic for the series. The Tigers come to town to take on the last-place Baltimore Orioles, who took 2 of 3 from the Tigers in the second series of the year. 
The pitching matchups-
Friday: Penny (7-9, 4.92 ERA) vs. Simon (3-5 4.08 ERA)
Saturday: Scherzer (15-5, 4.33 ERA) vs. Guthrie (5-15, 4.38 ERA)
Sunday: Fister (4-12, 3.37 ERA) vs. Reyes (5-9, 5.49 ERA)
Game times: Friday and Saturday are 7:05 ET starts, Sunday is 1:35 ET.
Analysis
Baltimore ranks dead last in nearly every important pitching category. Detroit has an offense that ranks in the top 10 in many offensive categories. This spells, on paper, a good series for Detroit. We need the bats to wake up, having posted no more than 4 runs in 6 straight games now. Maybe Baltimore can be that catalyst we need. I am not going to do statistical analysis much for this series. The Tigers should beat this team.
Prediction: Being optimistic, I’m going with a sweep. But realistically, I like Detroit to take 2 of 3 here. Watch out for Guthrie in game 2 and hope that Penny can give a solid outing in game 1. Then we can head back home!
Series Preview – Tigers vs. Indians
Preview
The AL Central leading Tigers head to Cleveland to take on the 2nd place Indians in a pivotal matchup that can really give the Tigers some ground in the standings or allow a young Cleveland team to gain more traction on the race to October.
The Tigers come in having taken 2 of 3 games from Kansas City over the weekend. They held the hottest hitting team in the AL to nine runs in 3 games. It’s weird saying that about a Kansas City team but like I’ve mentioned several times now, manager Ned Yost has that team playing some very solid baseball with a young and talented lineup and rotation.
Cleveland arrives back home after a 7 game stretch that saw them go 3-4 against Boston and Texas. 
The pitching matchups-
Tuesday: Fister (4-12, 3.29 ERA) vs. Masterson (9-7, 2.63 ERA)
Wednesday: Porcello (11-6, 4.49ERA) vs. Jimenez (6-9, 4.64 ERA)
Thursday: Verlander (16-5, 2.30 ERA) vs. Carmona (5-11, 5.19 ERA)
Game times: All games are at 7:05 pm ET
Analysis
The first two games of the series have 2 phenomenal matchups with newcomer Doug Fister going up against Cleveland’s ace Justin Masterson in the first game, and Rick Porcello facing Cleveland’s big addition Ubaldo Jimenez in Wednesday’s contest.
The Indians are only batting .229 off of Fister (Shin Soo-Choo has somewhat impressive numbers against him, but is currently on the DL), which I think it going to make tonight’s contest a pitchers duel. Masterson has been great this year for Cleveland and, like Fister, has received little run support in his starts. However, in his career, Masterson is 0-2 with a 6.10 ERA, having given up 14 runs in 20 innings. Cabrera, Kelly, Ordonez, and Martinez all have batting averages of .400+ against Masterson in their careers.
The Porcello – Jimenez matchup is the one I want to see. Most of the Tigers have only had one encounter with Jimenez in their career, but he is a very solid pitcher. The asking price for him included both Jacob Turner and Nick Castellanos, and obviously the Indians were willing to give up more than the Tigers were to get him at the trade deadline. In 7 starts against Cleveland in his career, Porcello has never lost to the Indians. He is 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA and has held them to a meager .232 average. What has impressed me most with Porcello since the all-star break? 26 1/3 innings pitched, 2 walks. He is not giving teams free passes, and it has helped him tremendously.
The final game of the series pits a short-rested Justin Verlander against Fausto Carmona. Not that being short-rested should make much of a difference for Verlander, who has been more than stellar this season. He was not great in his last start, but definitely good enough to win on most nights. He pitched a complete game shutout versus the Indians earlier this year but is only 11-11 in his career against the Indians, posting a 4-8 record at Progressive Field. These numbers should not phase him, as the current Indians have a .219 batting average against him, and he obviously was sharp in his only encounter against them this season. Carmona is 8-4 in his career with a 3.48 ERA. He did not pitch well the first 3 months of the year (6.07 ERA), but had a very solid July (2.53 ERA).
Prediction: I like the Tigers in 2 of 3 here. I can’t bet against Verlander or Porcello right now, and Ubaldo has not done well against the Tigers in AL parks in his career. I would not be entirely surprised to see a sweep, however. If Victor Martinez is in the lineup, it really gives Detroit an advantage.
Tigers start 9 game road trip in Kansas City
Preview
The Tigers will be away from the friendly confines of Comerica Park for a critical 9 game road trip that could help distance themselves further in the AL Central or make things more interesting. They hold a 3 game lead over 2nd place Cleveland, and have distanced themselves from the struggling White Sox and Twins (6.5 and 8 games, respectively).
The trips starts Friday in sultry Kansas City. Having just taken 2 of 3 games from the AL West leading Texas Rangers, they will be looking for similar success against the cellar dwellers of the AL Central over the weekend. However, the Royals have won 5 of their past 7 contests and have averaged 7 runs per game during that span, so they come in playing some good baseball. The Tigers are 6-3 versus the Royals this year, including a 5-1 record in Kansas City.
The pitching matchups-
Tuesday: Porcello (11-6, 4.50 ERA) vs. Paulino (1-8, 4.20 ERA)
Wednesday: Verlander (15-5, 2.24 ERA) vs. Duffy (3-4, 5.05 ERA)
Thursday: Scherzer (11-6, 4.23 ERA) vs. Chen (5-5, 4.37 ERA)
Game times: Friday is at 8:10 PM, Saturday is at 7:10 PM, and Sunday is at 2:10 PM.
Analysis
Kansas City always seems to be a pesky opponent for the Tigers, even in their worst years. However, Detroit happens to be rolling into town with arguably their best 3 pitchers (I would make an argument for Fister being in the top 3). This series is hard to gauge because none of the Tigers have much experience against Paulino and Duffy. But, Porcello has not lost since June 28th and went 5-0 in July, pitching 32 1/3 innings and giving up 11 ER with 24 strikeouts to only 5 walks. And Verlander is a threat to throw a no-hitter every time he steps on the mound, so it’s hard to go against either of these two pitchers in this matchup. Tigers batters are currently hitting Bruce Chen at a crisp .302 average, with Miguel Cabrera doing some serious damage in his 16 official at bats against Chen: 8 hits, 3 homers, 7 RBI, and 7 walks. Scherzer has only given up 2 runs in 12 1/3 innings pitched against the Royals this year.
Prediction: Tigers sweep their way out of KC, winning all 3 games. I would not be surprised if they leave town having dropped a close game, however. But the pitching matchups are ideal for three victories this weekend.
Tigers open series with AL West leading Rangers
Preview
The Tigers, coming off a series split with the always tough Angels, start the push into August having completed a .500 month of July. They hold a 2 game lead over the Indians, who started their week off with a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday evening.
The Rangers come rolling into town from right across the border in Toronto, where they dropped two of three to the Blue Jays in their weekend series. Texas made several moves at the trade deadline to solidify their bullpen, adding relievers Koji Uehara from the Baltimore Orioles, and Mike Adams from the San Diego Padres.
The newest addition to the Tigers rotation, Doug Fister, is scheduled to pitch Wednesday.
We also will get our first look at the newest additions to the team, Doug Fister (right) and David Pauley, who were both acquired on Saturday from the Seattle Mariners for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, Francisco Martinez, and a PTBNL. Fister is scheduled to pitch Wednesday’s contest.
The pitching matchups-
Tuesday: Scherzer (11-6, 4.28 ERA) vs. Lewis (10-8, 4.00 ERA)
Wednesday: Fister (3-12, 3.33 ERA) vs. Harrison (9-7, 2.40 ERA)
Thursday: Penny (7-9, 4.89 ERA) vs. Ogando (10-5, 2.88 ERA)
Game times: Tuesday and Wednesday are 7:05 PM starts, Thursday’s first pitch is at 1:05 PM
Analysis
The first two games of the series are toss ups. Both teams have solid offenses that are capable of exploding on any given night. However, Colby Lewis (who gave up 9 runs in a start against the Tigers earlier this year) and Matt Harrison both have ERAs over 7.00 against Detroit in their careers, and I like Fister to come out with a strong debut, pitching for a team that will give him some run support. Unfortunately for Detroit, they run into Alexi Ogando in the series finale, who has owned the Tigers in his two career starts against them, throwing 17 innings while only giving up 2 earned runs. Detroit batters are hitting a meager .188 off of him, so I look for that to be the lone loss of the series for the Tigers. As long as Scherzer spots his pitches and the Tigers offense is clicking, there is no reason why they can’t take this series.
Prediction: Tigers take 2 of 3.
The Optimist Tiger 