Depending on who you ask, that was probably a game that was worth staying up for. At the very least, it was quite entertaining. One of the great things about this sport is that you might have an idea of what the storyline is going to be coming into the game, but things can change very quickly. I would argue one of the least interesting things about this game was the fact that Justin Verlander was making his first start as a Tiger in almost 9 years. I mentioned it in the video and I think the people watching at home were able to see what I saw, Verlander wasn’t good tonight, and as I’ve written about in the past, you sign a 43-year-old starting pitcher to your club, regardless of what the history is there is going to be that chance that father time finally catches up to him. I’m not going to make those kinds of judgments about Verlander based on one bad start at what is historically a hitter-friendly park, but he was fooling nobody tonight. He’ll get another opportunity at home in five days, and I think that that will be a more telling indicator of where Verlander is at this point in the season.
Even with Verlander’s rough outing, nothing was frustrating me more than the offense through six innings of this game. It appeared this was going to be their second straight shutout and another game where I was going to have to sit here and vent my frustrations with the heart of this order being completely unable to do anything in high-leverage situations with runners and scoring position, when the floodgates just opened. I want to thank the Diamondbacks bullpen for that. When you have guys that are coming out of the bullpen and can’t even deliver a proper pitch without being called for a balk, you know that you’re probably in a pretty good position, but what we saw was a prime example of this offense when they are at their best. They were patient but selectively aggressive, keeping the line moving. Unfortunately, Parker Meadows, in at bat where he worked the count to his advantage, couldn’t make solid contact on a 3-1 fastball down the middle.
I’m not a believer in moral victories, and I know that A.J. Hinch isn’t either. At the same time, this fan base would’ve blown a gasket if this offense had come out this year and had a similar stretch to what they had towards the end of last season, where the offense was a total no-show. Even if it is against a dumpster fire of a bullpen, seeing the gears turn with this offense again gives me some hope.
The Tigers are back in action tomorrow with Casey Mize making his season debut against Brandon Pfaadt, whom the Tigers clobbered at Comerica Park last July.