Tigers vs. Twins Pitching Matchups

Tuesday

Twins: Kevin Slowey(RH) - 5.50 ERA, 34.1 IP, 50 H, 25 K, 2 BB, 6 HR

- Example #69,432 of why we don't show the nearly worthless "Win" stat for pitchers:  Slowey is 4-1, but has just two quality starts in his six outings.  He started with two forgettable outings, was dominant in his next two, but then floundered in his last two. 

- You'll notice the two walks in 34 innings, which is incredible.  An average major league starter would have closer to 11.  That helps him considerably, because Slowey has always given up hits, usually about one per inning (which is also about the major league average).  But 50 in 34 innings?  No wonder he's struggling.

- It's not all doom and gloom.  He had a great spring, and looked poised to breakout this season after posting a 3.99 ERA last year.  His middle two starts show he has the talent.  He just needs to make adjustments, particularly to lefthanders.  They're really crushing him this year, hitting .364.  And fully half of all those hits have been for extra bases. 

- But getting on track will be difficult against Detroit.  Of the six Tigers who have faced Slowey at least five times, five of them are batting at least .333. 

 

Tigers: Armando. Galarraga(RH) - 4.08 ERA, 35.1 IP, 33 H, 29 K, 16 BB, 4 HR

- Baseball wonks are fond of pointing out all the starting pitchers that the Texas Rangers, a team that perennially needs starting pitching, have given away, but they often overlook Galarraga.  He came to the Tigers just before last year in a swap of minor leaguers, but the injury to Dontrelle Willis gave him a chance and he ran with it posting a 3.73 ERA.

- Prior to that, the 27-year-old wasn't a highly sought prospect, and even coming into this season, he had his detractors.  A 1.85 ERA in April tends to silence the critics.

- He's struggled his last two outings, and is sporting a 9.00 ERA in May.  He's giving up home runs this month (3 already). 

- Overall lefties are hitting .286 against him this year, so it shouldn't be too surprising that Morneau, Mauer and Bushcer all have career batting averages north of .300 against him.  And Kubel?  He's just 3-14, but one of those is a home run. 

 

Wednesday

Twins: Glen Perkins - 3.73 ERA, 41 IP, 38 H, 22 K, 8 BB, 3 HR

- Perkins was the best Twins starter earlier this year bar none, beginning the season with three quality starts where he went at least 8 innings and gave up no more than two runs.

- But since then he's struggled, posting a 7.47 ERA over his last three starts. 

- The difference?  Statistically there hasn't been a on of difference, other than just giving up more hits.  But if you look at the individual pitches, it looks like there has been slightly less control, and that's resulted in more hits and less favorable counts. 

- Perkins is likely not disappointed that Carlos Guillen is out of the lineup this series.  He's 5 for 10 against him.  Miguel Cabrera is 4 of 10 with a home run.. 

 

Tigers: Dontrelle Willis - 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 0 HR

- If he wasn't pitching against the Twins, he's the kind of guy you might want to root for.  Willis.  Willis was one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball as a 21-year-old in 2003, winning NL Rookie-of-the-Year honors.  Two years later he finished second in the NL Cy Young voting. 

- In 2007 his performance declined markedly with the Marlins, but that didn't stop the Tigers from acquiring him in a blockbuster trade AND signing him to a guaranteed three-year contract for $29 million.

- Things fell apart in 2008.  he struggled so badly that the Tigers sent him down to Single-A to rework his trademark delivery.  It seemingly didn't help much, as he earned a 8.53 ERA in September.

- If only that was the worst of it.  This year, after struggling in spring training, he was put on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder.  He's worked his way back through the minors, including two starts in AAA where he posted a 3.55 ERA over 12.2 innings.  That included eight strikeouts, six walks, twelve hits and one home run.  This is his first start of the year.

- Previously he threw about 75% fastballs, and then sliders versus left-handed batters and sliders and changeups against right-handed batters.  In the past, a good chunk of his success was thought to be due to the deception inherent in his funky delivery. 

 

Thursday

Twins: Scott Baker - 6.83 ERA, 27.2 IP, 31 H, 21 K, 5 BB, 8 HR

- It's been a rough road for Baker this year, and we're only in mid-May.  He was shelled in spring training, missed his Opening Day start with a sore shoulder, and then gave up so many home runs in his first two starts that his manager actual said "He stinks right now. Not all the time. But right now he does. And he needs to un-stink."

- The progression continued.  In his 3^rd start, he gave up runs, but they weren't home runs.  In his fourth start, he gave up runs, but they were all in the seventh inning after throwing a no-hitter for the first six innings.  And last week he threw seven innings of shutout ball en route to his first win of the year. 

- Beware of Magglio Ordonez and Curtis Granderson.  That's generally true, but especially for Baker.  In 28 at-bats, Ordonez has 12 hits.  And in 34 at-bats, Granderson has a reasonable nine hits, but four of them are home runs. 

 

Tigers: Justin Verlander(RH) - 4.50 ERA, 44 IP, 38 H, 56 K, 14 BB, 3 HR

- Verlander's success in previous years coincided with  (and drove) the rise of the Tigers in the middle of this decade.  His struggles last year (4.84 ERA) coincided (and partly drove) the egg the Tigers laid in 2008.   It isn't clear which direction Verlander and the Tigers are going this year, but it's a good bet it'll be the same direction.

- The Tigers ace, Verlander was borderline awful early in the year, posting a 9.00 ERA after his first four starts.  Since then, he's been awesome, giving up just one run over his last three starts and 23 innings.  His last game was a two-hit shutout. 

- Whether it's coincidence or not, I don't know, but Verlander has a 0.95 ERA at home and a 7.20 ERA on the road. Let's hope that holds up.

- Even in an uneven year, he's been death to right-handed batters who are hitting just .191 against him. 

- Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Crede are all hitting .333 or better against Verlander over his career.