Week 9 ended up as the first losing week of the season for the Tigers, who lost 4 and won 2.
Many people have mentioned it, but it must be said again- this team is not hitting right now for a lick! At least not when it counts. Here are the numbers....
Week 9 had a total of 44 hits in 187 At Bats, for a Batting Average of only .235. Their BA has been dropping like a rock for the past 4 weeks. In Week 6 they had a .304 BA, Week 7 was .260, Week 8 .272 and now .235. The number of runs scored per game has, of course, dropped right with it to 3.50 this week. And there is no power to make up for the lack of hits- Week 9 had 9 extra base hits (and only 1 home run- Thomas' grand slam today against the Angels).
Pitching is the biggest reason that this team is still in this race at all (that and a weak Central division). Here is a stat the entire pitching staff should be proud of: The Tigers have allowed the fewest runs in the American League. And it really isn't close- Detroit has allowed 241. The next best is Boston at 257 allowed. The starters' ERA is 3.92 for the year. Verlander earned Pitcher Of the Month for the AL in May. Porcello earned Rookie of the Month for the AL in May. Jackson just quietly shut down everything in front of him in May.
Defense also continues to be strength for the Tigers this season. As of today they have the 3rd best fielding percentage in the American League (.988) and have only committed 25 errors in 55 games. This past week was actually one of their worst with 5 errors committed.
Verlander and Jackson allowed a total of 1 run this week over 17 innings. The only blemish on the starters' record was Willis' melt down. There are many calls for his head because of his "performance" on Thursday (where he allowed 5 runs on 5 walks in the 3rd inning after shutting Boston down in the 1st and 2nd).
Another episode in Tiger related life was the on again, off again "final" destruction of Tigers' Stadium. I have great memories of seeing games in Tigers' Stadium when I was younger. But I have great memories of seeing games in Comerica Park too. As long as I have a place to see the Tigers play I'm a happy camper.
Week 9
2 W, 4 L
1st place
Place Games Back
Det 1st -
Min 2nd 3.0
Chi 3rd 4.5
KC 4th 6.5
Cle 5th 7.0
Next week is a rare 5 game series with the White Sox and then the start of the happy hunting grounds of Interleague play!
