Swept Away...

Apparently, the Tigers have a pitching staff.

After seven games, the Tigers are 4-3. If the Twins lose today, they'll stand alone in first place in the Central. That's a stark difference from last year, when they were 0-7 at this same point facing a mountain climb out of the cellar. They never really made it.

This year is different. You can tell that already. I'm not saying that they'll go the the World Series or anything, but it is different. After losing the opening series in Toronto 3-1, the Tigers came home and swept the Rangers out of town. Last year negative momentum would have followed them for two weeks. This year, they came out swinging.

On Opening Day, I was there. It was a blast! I saw my first live Grand Slam. Miguel Cabrera had 6 RBI. Galarraga was fantastic. The Tigers won 15-2. It was very, very exciting.

Game 2 of the series saw Verlander improve dramatically over his first start. He allowed only two hits and one earned run while striking out 8. His ERA dropped by 10. A pair of errors, by Brandon Inge and Adam Everett, brought in two more runs to give Texas the lead, but Everett made up for it by going 2-3 with 2 RBI's and scoring the winning run. Robertson pitched two hitless innings and Rodney struck out the side in the 9th inning for his first save. Robertson may just be a reliever, after all.

So, the Tigers went into the Easter Sunday game with their first series win of the season and a chance to sweep. Jackson pitched very well, despite giving up two home runs. He held the lead to four long enough for the other pitcher, Kevin Milwood, to be knocked out of the game. Once he was gone, the Tigers took over. Inge hit a home run, his AL leading 4th of the year, and they sent all 9 men to the plate. Another clutch hit by Inge put the Tigers ahead 6-4. Lyon and Rodney combined for three perfect innings for the win and the save, respectively.

Does anyone else notice a pattern here? The Texas Rangers lineup is filled with some of the most feared hitters in the game. Last year, they scored more runs than anyone else in the American League. Yet the Tigers held them to only 9 runs over three games. The Detroit bullpen, one of the worst last year, has a streak going of 24 retired batters. If you remove the meltdown in the first game in Toronto, the staff has an ERA under three. Even when those runs are factored in, they're below the league average. This from a team for which pitching was it's biggest concern?

Also, can we talk about how happy I am that Inge is back at third base? He's made two or three spectacular plays in this series alone and he's currently hitting .304. Obviously I don't expect him to hit like that for the whole season, but he was so happy to be playing everyday at third that he's working extrememly hard to keep his job there. Last year, he would have been unwilling to work on his stance the way he did this past offseason and the dividends that it's already paying will no doubt keep him going for most of the season.

Monday they get their first taste of divisional play when the White Sox come to town. This will be the real test, since the Tigers were 27-45 against the Central. That's .375. Still, they have momentum on their side, a couple of white hot hitters, they're pitching well, they're perfect at home, and when it comes right down to it, they're looking down instead of up. That's a good place to be.

Happy Easter.