Detroit Tigers Square Off With Former Teammate Dontrelle Willis

The Detroit Tigers look to keep their winning streak alive in interleague play against ex-Tiger pitcher Dontrelle Willis tonight.

So far, the Tigers have a perfect record against the National League, sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals in consecutive three-game series'.

Nonetheless, the Tigers should expect a tough night of work, considering D-Train will want to prove that he still has a capacity to contribute quality pitching outings.

However, Willis will have a difficult time doing so against the team that cut him for the lack of results.  He will be pitching against the man who filled his spot in the rotation—Armando Galarraga.

Galarraga has been stellar since he re-joined the Tigers after starting the season with AAA Toledo.

Galarraga has a 2-1 record with an ERA of 2.67, not to mention the “perfect” game he pitched.

Although the Arizona Diamondbacks have the highest ERA of all teams in the MLB right now, Willis has been pretty good during the short time he’s been with the club. Willis is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.80.

While with the Tigers, Willis wasn’t able live up to the hype. He constantly suffered with anxiety issues and the Tigers were nothing but patient. They gave Willis vacations, sent him to the minor leagues for a little, and even chose to cut Nate Robertson instead of him.

In terms of the regular season, this game means nothing—but to Willis, his pride is on the line as he hopes to start fresh with his new team.