June 1, 2009

Extreme Tigers

Looking at the best pitchers of May, the Tigers produced the two lowest ERAs of the month. Rick Porcello beat Justin Verlander by a hair in ERA, 1.50 to 1.52. They both finished ahead of Zack Greinke, whose May 31 performance landed him with a 1.57 ERA. Picking pitcher of the month from the three is difficult. Verlander wins over Porcello with better strikeout, walk and home run numbers. While Greinke didn’t strike out at the rate of Verlander, his walks were miniscule and his home runs allowed non-existent. The strikeouts and better ERA throw it in Verlander’s favor in my opinion, but it’s very, very close.

The Tigers, unfortunately, also produced the worst ERA in May. Scroll down to the bottom of the list to find Armando Galarraga with an 8.49 ERA. His strikeouts and walks were nearly even, and if you throw in the hit by pitch they are. On top of that, he allowed over three home runs per nine innings. His 0-5 record helped keep the rest of the division in the pennant race. With Bonderman pitching well in rehab, Galarraga’s days a starter might be numbered.

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