Leading Off: Today marks the 113th Opening Day in Tigers history. The Tigers are 52-59-1 in the previous 112 season openers. The Rundown The Tigers are in first place. And so are the Twins. But the Rangers are not, and that’s always a good thing. Today’s Game: Tigers @ Twins | 4:10 p.m. ET | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM Justin Verlander vs. RHP Vance Worley This is the seventh time the Tigers have opened the against the Twins, the first time since March 31, 2003 at Comerica Park. Previous openers: April 5, 1983: Tigers 11 – Twins 3 April 4, 1984: Tigers 8 – Twins 1 April 1, 1996: Twins 8 – Tigers 6 April 1, 1997: Twins 7 –…
Three years ago, the Tigers acquired Max Scherzer in a megatrade and the club envisioned him as part of a high-octane one-two punch with Justin Verlander. Scherzer displayed flashes of his potential with the Diamondbacks in 2008 and ’09 and observers in the desert thought that Scherzer would be part of a lethal rotation combo, but with Brandon Webb. He appeared in 16 games (seven starts) in his rookie season and though he didn’t earn a win, he posted a solid 3.05 ERA and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. In ’09, he made 30 starts on his way to a 9-11 record with a 4.12 ERA and fanned 9.2 batters per nine innings. Scherzer was an unknown quantity for most Tigers fans when he…
On Tuesday night Jim Leyland said the A’s played a perfect game in the 2-0 Oakland Game 3 win. I’d submit that the Tigers returned the favor Thursday night in a game the was perhaps the most emphatic decisive game we’ve seen since Game 4 of the 2006 ALCS. Wow. I wasn’t sure what version of Justin Verlander we’d see in Game 5. Ends up we saw the model we hoped for: all business, dominant, explosive. A complete-game, four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts to boot. How about Omar Infante with a two-for-three night and two runs scored — plus a stolen base. (!) And Austin Jackson: two hits, two runs batted in and a pair of runs scored. And wait, there’s more: Delmon Young…
Six months ago I turned out the lights on The Fungo. The other day, I changed my mind. I know you’ve got lots of great Tigers blog choices so I hope you’ll work this site into your rotation. Allow me, if you will, to catch up on the past half-year: Victor Martinez out. I think this injury, like few others that I can remember, showed how close to the edge a Tigers offense was treading. Suddenly the club had no designated hitter, no number-two catcher (though who expected him to catch more than a handful games – at most – in 2012?) and no one to hit behind Miguel Cabrera. And, with Magglio Ordonez not coming back, who else would be a reliable middle-of-the-order…
The Wednesday Rundown The Tigers are in first place for good, 12.5 games ahead of the Indians. Today’s Game: Tigers @ Royals Max Scherzer (14-9, 4.39 ERA) vs. Felipe Paulino (3-6, 4.12 ERA) | 8:10 p.m. – FSD/1270 AM and 97.1 FM Notes on Scherzer Lifetime against the Royals Scherzer’s 4-4 with a 3.93 ERA. This season: 2-2, 5.66 ERA … The Tigers have a 19-12 record in the 31 games he’s started in 2011 … He’s struck out 20 batters in his three starts during September. He’s 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in the three starts … Scherzer’s making his 13th start following the All Star break. In his previous 12 outings, he is 4-5 with a 3.95 ERA and 66 strikeouts. Notes on Paulino Tonight is…
