Spring of the Tigers: Tigers Pitching Suspect in Win Over Braves

As the sun sets on day one of spring training for the Detroit Tigers, a haze of a bittersweet victory looms. The Tigers (1-0) defeated the Atlanta Braves (0-1) in their first game since the end of last season. The score, 5-4, was far from ideal in that a lot of questions still remain.

The concern all offseason had been the Tigers and the pitching staff being able to get back on course. With one win under their belts, the concern is more prevalent than it was before.

The Tigers' pitching was phenomenal for the first four innings. Justin Verlander provided two innings of one-hit ball, followed by Zach Miner pitching two scoreless innings of his own.

After four innings, the Tigers were leading comfortably, 3-0. But the two-headed monster that is the Tigers bullpen then took to the field. Over the next five innings, five Tiger pitchers gave up four runs.

In the fifth inning, the ball was handed to new acquisition Brandon Lyon, the Tigers new closer. In one inning of work Lyon managed to give up three hits, a walk and three unearned runs.

After a rather tumultuous year with Todd Jones as the closer, this was not a good sign for the Tiger faithful.

Bobby Seay pitched a perfect sixth inning, striking out all three of the Braves that he faced. Eddie Bonine gave up a home run to Jordan Schafer in the seventh inning.

Taiwanese import, Fu-Te Ni, was surprisingly good, retiring all three batters that he faced in the eighth inning, on only six pitches, to earn the win. Kyle Bloom, a Rule V pick, struck out two hitters in his perfect ninth, recording a save.

While the disappointing debut of Brandon Lyon was the top story, the apparent reemergence of Justin Verlander is quite intriguing. Verlander looked strong in his two innings, not allowing a ball out of the infield.

If Verlander can return to the form that went 18-6, with 183 strikeouts, in 2007, the Tigers could be a dark horse World Series contender, again. But that is much easier said than done. For now, it looks as if he has his swagger back, and the Braves saw that first hand.

Bobby Seay, Zach Miner, Fu-Te Ni, and Kyle Bloom all pitched well, which is a plus for a Tiger bullpen that had a year to forget in 2008. The Lyon situation will be interesting to watch, but there was a silver lining to the pitching in Lakeland on Wednesday.

The MVP off the mound was undoubtedly Bobby Seay, as he struck out the side in the sixth. A command over his pitches suggested that he has been hard at work this offseason, but it is only one game.

The suspect relief pitching was the key focus of Tiger critics in this game, but the hitting was nothing to smile at either.

The Tiger batters stranded an embarrassing 20 batters, which is simply inexcusable.

Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco, Magglio Ordonez, and Miguel Cabrera all managed to get a hit, which is to be expected. The four combined to hit 4-for-10 with a run and an RBI.

Newcomer Gerald Laird went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and a pair of runs. Though the combination of Lyon and Laird allowed two stolen bases in the Braves’ three-run fifth inning. This offensive performance earned Laird the MVP at the plate for the game. But his shortcomings defensively are rather bothersome.

The loss of Ivan Rodriguez will be clearly noticeable, as Laird has nowhere near the arm strength that Pudge had provided for his years behind the plate for the Tigers.

Lackluster performances by Carlos Guillen and Jeff Larish added to the Tiger inefficiency behind the plate. The pair combined to go 0-for-5 with seven runners left on base.

Though the Tigers won, the fact that they tallied eleven hits and five walks, only to score five runs, is hard to believe for an offense as potent as the Tigers. The Tiger runs were scored off of two sacrifice flies, a wild pitch and two singles. This scrappy play cannot be relied on to win ballgames with a bullpen as shaky as the Tigers.

The fact of the matter is that the Tigers offense needs to cover for a weaker pitching staff. Against the Braves, they escaped with a win, but this is not a reliable means to victory.

The Tigers will travel Thursday to take on the Washington Nationals in Viera, Florida. Tiger pitchers Edwin Jackson, Nate Robertson, Joel Zumaya, and rookie gem Rick Porcello are all scheduled to pitch, with Jackson penciled as the starter.

All in all, the Tigers were good but not great in their first game of the preseason, but spring training is all about finding your identity as a team. And in the Tigers' case, they are still searching for answers.