Tigers on roll with strong turn through rotation

Tigers on roll with strong turn through rotation
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 04/25/11 5:43 PM ET

DETROIT -- Two months ago, Justin Verlander was scrutinizing every pitch he threw in an early spring side session, trying to take a regular-season mentality into Spring Training to better prepare himself for April.

Four weeks ago, Max Scherzer was searching for answers after being beat up for 11 earned runs in his Spring Training finale.

Three weeks ago, Brad Penny's struggles were creating questions about whether he really is a National League pitcher.

Two weeks ago, Rick Porcello was looking for ways to get hitters off his sinker and force opponents to play him honest.

Now, this is the rotation Penny envisioned three months ago, when he jumped leagues and signed with the Tigers. As he sat in the clubhouse Sunday afternoon, fresh off a Tigers sweep of the White Sox, he felt like it was as much about the pitching as the lineup being pitched.

"I think this team's going to be tough to beat," Penny said. "You saw this weekend, we put everything together. The White Sox, I understand, are struggling, but they've faced a lot of tough pitching. ... Chicago's a good team, and I know they're getting a lot of flak for not hitting, but they'll hit.

"They're all professional hitters, and you can't take a team like that too lightly. And I think we did a good job of that. We came out, jumped on their pitchers. Even [Sunday] with Max, if you keep the game close, they're going to break out. It just shows that if you make pitches, you get outs."

That's the difference one good turn through the rotation can seem to make. In the Tigers' case, it has been a great turn.

The struggles of the White Sox offense were news coming into Detroit, and they'll continue to garner headlines going out. Their strings of quick outs reflected their frustration. That said, Tigers pitchers didn't let them catch their breath.

Penny, Verlander and Scherzer combined for three runs on nine hits over 22 innings with 18 strikeouts. Before that, Porcello tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball Wednesday at Seattle, giving him 12 2/3 innings and two runs allowed over his last two starts.

No Tigers starter has come close to a rough outing since Phil Coke walked four Mariners in his first inning last Tuesday night at Safeco Field. Considering Coke had tossed 13 2/3 innings of two-run ball on six hits over his first two starts, his struggles last week seemed more like a hiccup than a trend.

Coke seemed to be relishing another shot at Seattle this Tuesday night at Comerica Park.

"I welcome the opportunity," Coke said. "If anything, I love challenges."

When the Tigers were off to a 3-6 start, their pitching struggles were hard to ignore, from a 6.19 ERA to 35 walks over 77 innings. Since then, they're 9-4 with a 3.05 ERA, with the last five wins going to their starters.

Dismiss the most recent opponent if you must, but don't disregard the arms delivering the outs.

"There's two ways of looking at it," third baseman Brandon Inge said. "You can put it as [Chicago] is a struggling team. But a good team is going to have trouble against those three guys you throw out there. In our ballpark, with those three guys pitching, you're going to have trouble winning one.

"One way to go is they're a struggling team and they're not doing well. The other way is, I don't think anyone in the league wants to face our pitching staff."

Verlander has been pitching borderline dominant since the season began, the product of a Spring Training plan designed to combat his usual April struggles. The rest have had their issues to overcome.

Arguably the one opponent that has given Scherzer fits this season is Yankee Stadium and its short right-field dimensions. After yielding four home runs there on April 3, Scherzer has given up five runs on 24 hits over 26 innings in his last four starts. He has given up only one home run in that stretch.

Make no mistake, it starts with those two. They don't start back-to-back in the rotation, at least not as it's currently ordered, but the Tigers haven't lost their starts in the same turn through the rotation. Of course, they haven't lost any of the five games Scherzer has started this season.

The point is, they've been the most consistent of the starters, as they should be. And as long as they are, they give the Tigers leverage on their schedule.

"With Max and Justin, it's going to be hard to lose three in a row," Penny said.

After that, it's about getting as many starters rolling at the same time as possible. That's where adjustments come in.

Penny and catcher Alex Avila found something Saturday when they went time and again to his sinker once his curveball wasn't working. It produced the kind of ground-ball ratio he was producing in St. Louis early last year before a lat injury ended his season.

Alex Avila caught all three games, and saw the contrasting styles intertwine perfectly.

"Justin was just absolutely overpowering," Avila said. "Brad had a great two-seamer going and located as well as anybody did. I think he had 11 or 12 ground balls. And Max, being able to locate with all three pitches, and all three pitches working for him, that keeps hitters off balance. When they can't eliminate pitches and they have your whole repertoire to think about, it makes it tough."

Said Scherzer: "We had a real good plan coming into the series. I think everybody was executing their pitches. When we can do that, we're pretty good, and you add in a little defense, a little offense, and we're going to win some ballgames."

Porcello had a better mix of pitches last week to keep the Mariners from sitting low in the strike zone on his sinker. He has another five days to go before his next start, the product of two off-days in a five-day span, and he plans to use it to build up his arm and try to recapture some velocity he seems to have lost from last year.

Coke spent Thursday's off-day throwing at Comerica Park, trying to work out his arm. But his walk total suggested he beat himself as much as or more than the Mariners did.

Whether or not starters feed off each other is a difference of opinion. One of manager Jim Leyland's favorite phrases is that momentum is only as good as the next day's starter. Sometimes the matchup overrules everything else.

Whether or not momentum exists, the Tigers will need more solid starts this week to continue winning. Unlike last week, this week's series against the Mariners includes showdowns with reigning American League Cy Young award winner Felix Hernandez opposite Coke on Tuesday, and rookie sensation Michael Pineda opposite Penny on Thursday.

Penny has been part of stacked rotations before, including the 2003 World Series champion Marlins staff that included Josh Beckett, Carl Pavano and Dontrelle Willis.

"Looking back through my career, it seems like it happens that way: If you're pitching good, everybody starts pitching good," Penny said. "But you can't really look at it that way. You have to go out and try to do the best you can every time, try to stay the same intensity. It's a long year. Just don't lose focus, and make pitches. But historically, from what I've seen, yeah.

"I think it's more of a pride thing. I want to do better than him. I want to help this team win. If we all pitch well -- if I have a good year, and those four other starters have great years, pitch better than me -- we're going to be in a good spot. That's what it's about, playing in the playoffs, man. That's why I put a uniform on."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.