Detroit Tigers Week In Review: Week 4

(To read Week 3’s issue, click here.)

The Detroit Tigers in Week 4 of the 2015 MLB season proved they can bounce back from a rough start to their series. They won their series against the Minnesota Twins and split the 4-game series with the Kansas City Royals.

When combining their records from Week 3 and 4 the Tigers are just an average 7-7 but they still seem to be the class of the American League.

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They have seemed mortal in the last two weeks but teams over a course of 162 games will have stretches like that. It’s a long season and teams will struggle at times.

In Week 4 the Tigers faced off against two division rivals and performed above-average which is what should be expected from this team.

Splitting the series against the Royals was a good sign for these Tigers as they dropped the first two games of the series against their division foes.

For now as the Tigers enter the 2nd month of the season Tigers fans should be optimistic. It’s still a long season but they’ve started off more than respectably and should do well for the rest of the season.

And now, a look back at Week 4 for the 2015 Detroit Tigers

Record: 4-3

Opponents

@ MIN: 2-1

@ KCR: 2-2

Game of the Week: Saturday, May 2nd vs Kansas City Royals 2-1 W

The Game of the Week for Week 4 was an absolutely masterful performance by the Tigers ace David Price.

The Tigers 100% needed a win after dropping the first two games and Price came through big for this Tigers team.

While he didn’t get the shutout he did go on to pitch the complete game. He took matters into his own hands and didn’t let the Tigers bullpen have any say on his masterpiece.

The Tigers starting rotation hasn’t been as good it was the past few years but with performances like this from their ace Tigers fans can rest easy.

While one game isn’t indicative of the entire season there’s no doubt this was an important game. After back-to-back losses against your primary division foes and Price goes on to throw a gem like that? Amazing.

Surprise Performance of the Week

Shane Greene vs Minnesota Twins 04/29/15

Line: 4.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 K, 9 H, 0 BB, 85 pitches

While in the first 3 weeks this line was of a good pitching performance in Week 4 that is not the case. Greene in his start against the Twins struggled mightily.

He shut down the Twins in his first start of the season only to be tagged for giving up 7 runs against this team.

A lot of news has been made about Greene’s sudden regression to mediocrity. He started off the season with a bang only to be roughed up in his last two starts.

While Tigers fans should not have expected Greene to produce his early season stats over the course of a season, nobody expected him to fall off a cliff like he has in his last two starts.

For now though Greene just has to produce and be successful. He had an odd pitching line striking out 8 Twins while being roughed up for 7 runs so it’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back his next start.

Biggest Takeaway from Week 4

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While the Tigers looked to be slumping in such a big series against the Kansas City Royals in their first two games, they bounced back nicely to tie it up.

Early in the season their biggest division rivals easily seems to be the Royals and games against them will matter much, much more.

The way they bounced back after a bit of panic from the Tigers fan-base shows just how confident they are. They’re the winners of this division for 4 straight years and still the class of the AL Central.

It’ll take a lot more than a couple of games to dethrone this Tigers team. Even the (fiery) Royals know that they’ll have to get past the Tigers first.

For now though fans should know this Tigers team is good. Don’t let a few games they under-perform in fool you.

Upcoming Schedule 5/4-5/10

@ CWS 5/5-5/7

Game Times: 5/5 8:10 PM, 5/6 8:10 PM, 5/7 2:10 PM

vs KCR 5/8-5/10

Game Times: 5/8 7:08 PM, 5/9 1:08 PM, 5/10 8:05 PM

The Tigers head on to this week to face off against two important division rivals. While preseason projects had the Chicago White Sox as a potential breakout team they’ve struggled to begin the season.

Except there’s no reason to play them easy though. While they’re in the middle of a losing streak there’s no denying this team’s talent.

With guys like Jose Abreu, Chris Sale, and Jeff Samardzija there’s no reason to be playing these guys easy. The Tigers need to know that and go on the road and execute their game plan.

On their other series this week they face off against the Kansas City Royals again at Comerica Park. Just like mentioned above many times these games will matter the most down the stretch.

The Tigers just need to do what they’ve done all season against the division rivals and beat up on them. They’ve played well thus far against them so far and just need to win.

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