Quality Control

The setup to this series with the hobbled Bronx Bombers was, in all honesty, kind of scary. The Tigers went in with the three starting pitchers they would be sending to the hill having only *one* quality start between them. Mind you, the state of the Yankees pitching staff (sans the back end of the bullpen) isn't a whole lot better. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are experiencing their rookie growing pains, and Andy Pettitte hasn't been his usual ace/#2 self.


Hughes got into trouble early, with Magglio Ordonez driving in a couple on a double in the first inning. By the time he was pulled in the in the middle of the third inning, he had walked more than he'd struck out (three to two), and six runs had come in to score. There would be no runs after that, with the most effective reliever being 25 year old Ross Ohlendorf for 3.1 innings.


Kenny Rogers cruised through six innings on his way to a second quality start of the year. Other than a two-run home run slapped by Robinson Cano, the only rocky part of the start came in the third inning. He quickly got the first two outs, then proceeded to walk the bases full. He did manage to get the final out, but that inning accounted for three of his four walks on the day.

The bullpen was very up and down. Bobby Seay looked good, and Clay Rapada did his job in cleaning up a mess in a very crucial situation. The ugly takes the form of Denny Bautista and frequent offender Todd Jones. Bautista walked the first batter he faced, got two outs, then walked the next two men. With the bases loaded, he hit Derek Jeter to bring in a run and cut the lead to 6-3. In the ninth, Jones showed why he's garnered the contempt of many a Tiger fan. He walked Hideki Matsui, and allowed him to advance on a wild pitch to the next batter. Jason Giambi drove in the runner to cut the lead to 6-4. Todd retired the next three in order to seal the deal.

Yes, it was a save. But therein lies the problem with that stat. If that was a tie ballgame, the Tigers lose the game. Even if it was a one run lead, the game would've radically shifted.