Tigers Starting Pitching Gives Team Reason for Optimism After Doubleheader
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The Detroit Tigers split Sunday's doubleheader in Baltimore, losing the first game on a walkoff home run and winning the second game. Despite the split, the Tigers should definitely be encouraged by what they saw out of starters Framber Valdez and Troy Melton.
Valdez started game one and went 6.0 innings, and allowed one run on two hits while walking two batters and striking out five. Valdez still holds an ERA of 4.28 and a WHIP of 1.33 for the season, but an outing like the one he had against Baltimore hopefully leads to consistency down the line.
As for Melton, he pitched game two of the doubleheader and got through 5.2 innings of work while allowing one run on two hits and walking three batters, and striking out three. Melton just came off the IL to make the start in game two and looked more than good enough.
Melton picked up the win in game two to split the doubleheader after Saturday's game between the Orioles and Tigers was rained out. Both of these starts from Melton and Valdez should have netted the Tigers wins.
But the fact that both pitchers had almost identical stat lines and both pitched fairly well should have the Tigers' staff pumped up. Valdez has had a rough start to the year but is slowly figuring it out and Melton's start should hopefully lead to another good outing down the line.
Despite the Tigers struggling in the standings, the starting pitching needs to continue this type of consistency. The Tigers have more than good-enough veteran starters, but they need to figure it out soon and get it together.
Jack Flaherty needs to start being more consistent in the Tigers rotation
Another starting pitcher on this Tigers roster who is a veteran like Valdez, who knows how to pitch well, especially in big moments, is Jack Flaherty. Flaherty has been in the league for quite some time now, but has really struggled so far this season for the Tigers.
Flaherty pitched Friday's series opener against the Orioles and only lasted 3.1 innings, where he gave up six earned runs on eight hits and took the loss. Flaherty's season ERA sits at 5.94, and his WHIP sits at 1.66 through 47 innings.
Flaherty is a guy who can pitch a ton of innings and has playoff experience. But so far this season, he has not lived up to what the Tigers are expecting from him. The Tigers need more out of their veteran, and hopefully, he figures it out after how well Valdez and Melton pitched.
The Tigers have been struggling because the starters are not doing their job and are not lasting long in games. But if the starting pitching can figure it out before it ends up being too late, things could turn around soon.
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Tyler Miller is a 26-year-old Sports Journalist who has had a passion for writing ever since graduating from Georgia Southern University with a Journalism degree in 2022. Tyler has been writing about sports for going on 8 years now. Tyler has been a Detroit Tigers fan ever since Miguel Cabrera was tearing up the league in the early 2000s and has followed them from there till now with superstar Kevin McGonigle being in the mix. Tyler also has had experience writing for FanSided in the past where he was a site expert and a contributor across different sites.