It wasn’t so long ago that the Detroit Tigers were mired in an all-out freefall. Losses were piling up, frustration was mounting and questions -- about manager Brad Ausmus’ job, some of the club’s underperforming stars, and the direction of the organization as a whole -- persisted.
Every night seemed replete with its own calamity of errors, a unique little horror show offering up the sort of indignities that chip away relentlessly at a team’s psyche.
If that 10-losses-in-11-games stretch was the nadir of this still-young 2016 season, then the Detroit Tigers seem to be reaching a peak right now following the club’s weekend sweep of the Chicago White Sox.
The three-game series culminated in Sunday’s 5-2 finale, in which the Tigers clawed back to the .500 mark (28-28) and gained critical ground against one of their AL Central rivals.
Sunday’s win was a shining example of what the Tigers can look like when all is well -- starting pitching was stellar, the offense provided timely and balanced production, defense was crisp and the bullpen was resolute. The White Sox managed to fortify their ranks with the acquisition of veteran pitcher James Shields on Saturday -- bolstering an already strong rotation -- but they ceded critical ground to a divisional foe and will head home knowing that the battle within the Central will likely not be a two-team race.
“This has been a high point, I’d say, from where we’ve been,” said catcher James McCann. “Pitching has been extremely good, starters and bullpen. Offense did a very good job of fighting, battling, stringing good at-bats together. There have been times this season that we’ve had the baserunners but haven’t had the base hit. This series we were able to put everything together. Hopefully, the momentum carries and we can continue to roll.”
A little more than one-third of the way into the season, it appears that things are finally starting to congeal for the Tigers. The rotation has been solid, and that begins with ace Justin Verlander, who threw another gem on Sunday and held the White Sox to a mere two runs on five hits. Jordan Zimmermann, who managed to avoid the disabled list, has been supremely steady. Additionally, rookie Michael Fulmer’s emergence has been key, Mike Pelfrey has improved and Anibal Sanchez was shipped to the bullpen in place of prospect Matt Boyd.
“That’s the key to winning consistently,” Verlander said. “If your starting rotation is consistent and your bullpen is consistent... I think offense comes and goes. But, pitching, if you can keep that consistent, you give your team a chance to win every night and you reel off a bunch of wins or long streaks where you’re way above .500. That’s really important, so I like the way the team is coming together.”
On Sunday, closer Francisco Rodriguez continued to show what a valuable acquisition he has been since joining the team in a trade this winter, recording his 17th consecutive save. Shane Greene, who was recently activated from the disabled list after missing more than a month with a blistered middle finger, was strong in his second of back-to-back outings, both 1-2-3 innings. Granted, it’s been a small sample size but Greene, who made the team out of camp as a starter, seems able to fulfill a valuable bullpen role, especially with Mark Lowe trying to work his way out of some early struggles.
Defensively, the Tigers were sound against the White Sox. Sunday’s game featuring a few spectacular plays, made back-to-back by shortstop Jose Iglesias and McCann in the fifth inning.
Later that inning, Detroit mounted a timely rally, with J.D. Martinez battling back from an 0-2 count to work a bases-loaded walk that snapped a 1-1 tie and fueled a four-run outburst. An RBI single from third baseman Nick Castellanos was then followed up by a huge two-run double from Justin Upton that had the dugout amped (even Verlander was getting in on the fun, making the team’s “goggles on” gesture toward his teammate). The struggling left fielder, who batted seventh on Sunday, entered the game hitting .214.
Furthermore, the Tigers saw their struggles against left-handed pitching cease, at least for the weekend, as they beat up on three formidable southpaws in Carlos Rodon, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, who was chased after 4 2/3 innings on Sunday.
“We haven’t hit lefties this year like we think we should,” Ausmus said. “Maybe it’s just a matter of the numbers correcting themselves.”
Whether the numbers are correcting themselves or the team is benefiting from going up against three straight lefties isn’t immediately clear, but the Tigers also seem to have found a sweet spot with the composition of their lineup.
Cameron Maybin wasn’t regarded as an ideal candidate to hit in the No. 2 spot, though Ausmus is liking the fit more and more. J.D. Martinez, who recorded his team-leading 34th RBI of the season (tied with Victor Martinez), seems more comfortable batting fifth. Even the experiment with dropping Upton to the seven-hole paid dividends.
“He’s getting on base, he has some speed, he can distract the pitcher, he can score on a double from first, he can steal a base,” Ausmus said of Maybin. “He’s not really the prototypical run-producer. That doesn’t mean he can’t drive in runs... But, the bottom line is if he keeps getting on base, if he keeps having good at-bats in front of Miggy and Victor, and then J.D. behind that, there’s probably no reason to move him.”
And with the way the Tigers have been playing lately, don’t expect tweaks to that lineup anytime soon. Asked if he’ll stick with Maybin in the No. 2 spot on Monday, Ausmus said:
“There’s a pretty good chance, yeah.”
