Game 68: Tigers vs. Brewers

Alfredo Figaro gets his first major league start his career in Fox Network afternoon game against Dave Bush. Figaro is 24 years old, and was protected by the Tigers from a potential Rule 5 pick this off-season when they placed him on the 40-man roster. He impressed Leyland at Spring Training and he does have the stuff to potentially help solidify the back end of the rotation. I can only imagine how nervous he is, and thus, I am not going to look too much into this game. Realistically, I think the Tigers will give the kid 2-3 starts to see what he has got. If he doesn't deliver and Armando continues to struggle, then I have to think that Miner and Luke French may be getting the ball every fifth day pretty soon.

Lineups for today:

Gameday Lineups
NO. MILWAUKEE DETROIT
1. C. Counsell, 2B C. Granderson, CF
2. C. McGehee, DH P. Polanco, 2B
3. R. Braun, LF M. Cabrera, 1B
4. P. Fielder, 1B M. Thames, DH
5. B. Hall, RF D. Kelly, LF
6. M. Gamel, 3B B. Inge, 3B
7. J. Hardy, SS J. Anderson, RF
8. J. Gerut, CF G. Laird, C
9. J. Kendall, C A. Everett, SS

-The bats have started heating up after the benching (or maybe I shouldn't call it that)of Magglio. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. But, Thames and Cabrera each looked good again. And, Cabrera continues to provide great defense at 1st base.

But, lets not kid ourselves. The story of this game was always going to be about Figaro. Could he handle the pressure of the big leagues, and provide a good start for us? All in all, that answer was yes. Only 5 innings is not great, and he was hit hard a few times after leaving too many pitches up in the zone. But, he threw strikes and K'd 7 Brewers. This was a good start for the kid, and he is certainly deserving of another one.

Something else to keep an eye on is a potential demotion of Ryan Perry. He continues to struggle with his command, and the Tigers may opt to send him down to the minors to work on a few things. We need him to be at his best for the stretch run. He's got the stuff to excel at this level. He needs the control, though. It'll be interesting to see if DD and Leyland decide its time to give him a few weeks at Toledo or Erie to figure things out, and put Zack Simons (from Erie) as a potential replacement.

Verlander's going tomorrow as the Tigers are going for a much-needed sweep before an off day on Monday.