Tigers/Red Sox Pitching Matchups

Monday- Jeremy Bonderman vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka

Jeremy Bonderman is on pace to strike out 108 batters. That would equal his career low, set in his rookie season of 2003 (and that's IF he throws 210 innings). He only has 18 Ks in 35 innings (with 7 of those coming against Texas), leaving many to wonder what the problem is. Jeremy's start earlier this season against the Sox doesn't look too shabby, on paper. One earned run in five innings is very respectable, but asking the bullpen to throw four scoreless innings was too much (Tigers loss 2-1). He walked four batters in those five innings, allowed another five hits, and only struck out two (all while throwing 90 pitches).

Strikeouts have not been a problem for Boston's Matsuzaka, as he's fanned 32 in 35.2 innings. His control has been spotty on occasion, with games featuring four, five, and six walks. But even in those starts (with a game against the Yankees being an exception), he's been masterful. The highest hit total in one game against him is five, and he's doing a decent job of reigning in the longballs (only three this season). The Red Sox are getting their money's worth.


Tuesday- Nate Robertson vs. Tim Wakefield

Nate had arguably his best start of the year against the Red Sox. However, this isn't saying much, as he still allowed four runs in 5.1 innings. It was way too many baserunners on way too many pitches. There hasn't been a whole lot of good to say about Nate's season up to this point.

The last time the Tim Wakefield saw the Tigers he had his shortest start of the season, but didn't see any repercussions in the loss column. Only three men reached via base hit (a season low for Wakes), but the knuckler walked five and mixed in a couple of hit-by-pitches as well. Wakefield has gone at least five innings in every start this season, so a patient approach like last time would serve well.


Wednesday- Armando Galarraga vs. Clay Buchholz

People are still waiting for Galarraga to have that one horrific "blowup" start, but it hasn't happened yet. The positives are that he's keeping his walks down, his WHIP is still paper thin at 0.87, and that his ERA is sitting at 1.88. The bad news is that his strikeout numbers have gone down in each successive start, and he's been giving up more hits in each start as well. These don't seem to be good indicators, and the league may be catching up to him. The fact that Boston is not only patient, but can hit with the best of them is probably not going to help matters either. I don't do predictions, but keep an eye on this one.

Clay is the other reason to keep an eye on this young pitching duel. While Josh Beckett may be the Red Sox ace at the moment, he's keeping the seat warm for Mr. Buchholz. At only 23, the Boston righty is striking out everything he sees (33 Ks in 34 IP). The 3.71 ERA is nothing to scoff at since he's so young, but the fact that there's room for improvement is scary. He's been hit around a decent amount, which has led to his 15 runs allowed. But his walk total has been pretty good, and he's only allowed three home runs so far.


Thursday- Justin Verlander vs. Josh Beckett

Justin was having himself a pretty darn good game against the Twins on Saturday. That was until Craig Monroe deposited a two-run home run into the Left Field seats. He allowed seven hits in that game, but only walked two. It may just be one of those two steps forward, one step back things, but he'll get there eventually.

To close out the series, Boston will send Josh Beckett to the hill. The only concern Red Sox fans may have is if Beckett approaches the number of home runs he allowed in 2006 (36, wow). He's been tagged for four of them in only five starts. Luckily for him, that has been darn near the only negative. His 4.17 ERA is very deceiving. He's sporting 0.96 WHIP, has struck out a batter per inning (34), is not walking anyone, and has gone at least 6.2 innings in each start since his first. He's going to be the same horse this season that he has in the past, and the Tigers had better take notice.