Verlander No-Hits and Scherzer Undefeated, but Penny and Porcello Are Key

Justin Verlander is rightfully receiving national acclaim for his near perfect no-hitter of the Toronto Blue Jays and Max Scherzer is leading the major leagues in wins, but it's the performance of two other starters that should give Tigers fans reason for optimism.

Even though Rick Porcello and Brad Penny may be a couple of Buicks to Verlander and Scherzer's Porsches, they've been nearly as impressive as their more physically gifted teammates lately.

While great seasons by Verlander and Scherzer are necessary, they're expected, and without much help from the rest of the rotation, would likely mean another .500 record for the Tigers.

Porcello and Penny came into the season as question marks, but good seasons by these two would mean a serious run at a playoff berth for the Tigers.

Four starts into the season, Penny appeared to be a bust as an off-season addition to the rotation.

But since barely missing out on an April 23rd no-hitter against the White Sox (thanks to a questionable scorekeeping decision), Penny has rebounded nicely for the Tigers.

Penny is 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA over his last four starts, and while he doesn't have close to the stuff of a Verlander (Penny averages less than 4 Ks per 9 IP), he's doing an excellent job of getting opponents to hit ground balls.

Penny is 10th in the AL among starters with a 1.10 ground ball to fly ball ratio and his WHIP and opponent's batting average are both lower than his career averages.

He's also looked very comfortable at home, with an impressive 2.36 ERA at Comerica Park.

Even more impressive has been the start that Porcello has had to the season. 

With Max Scherzer proving to be one of the best No. 2 starters in the league, the pressure is off Porcello to be Justin Verlander's sidekick at the top of the rotation.

After allowing 10 earned runs in his first two starts, Porcello has allowed only one or two earned runs in each of his last five starts.

Porcello's still giving up plenty of hits (opponents hit a lofty .287 against him), but he's giving up a ton of singles.  Only 13 of the 47 hits against him have been for extra bases.

Since last season, Porcello has improved his ground ball to fly ball ratio (from 1.03 to 1.16) and his strikeout per nine inning ratio (from 4.65 to 5.83).

His last two starts have seen him out-pitch AJ Burnett and Fransisco Liriano—fresh off his own no-hitter.

Heading into the season there were just concerns about Porcello's ability to rebound to his rookie season form and even more reason to doubt Penny's ability to prove he's still a quality MLB pitcher.

Their performances lately are starting to prove that the Tigers' rotation isn't merely a two-man show.

Now if Phil Coke can start to chip in, I might need to clear my October.