Sunday, May 30, 2010

Scherzer is back in a Big Way

After four consecutive losses, the Tigers needed a win badly today.  They needed Max Scherzer to get back on track even more than the needed a win.  They got both.  In his first game back after his stint in Toledo, Scherzer struck out a career high 14 batters in 5 2/3 innings as the Tigers routed the Athletics 10-2.  Phil Coke and Joel Zumaya later added three more k's for a team total of 17. 

Scherzer went down to Toledo to work on his mechanics and it apparently worked.  He looked like a completely different pitcher than the one who last pitched for the tigers on May 14.  According to Brooks Baseball, his average fastball today was 94.5 MPH with a maximum of 99 MPH.  He touched 97 MPH numerous times.  In contrast, his average fastball on May 14 versus the Red Sox was 92.2 with a high of 95.5.  His change-up and slider were also very sharp today.  The only negative was four walks but pinpoint control has never been his forte even when he's going well.

Offensively, the Tigers snapped out of their recent slump. Cabrera led the 15 hit attack with four more hits and four RBI, including his fourth homer of the series.  Needless to say, Cabrera was not the one of the hitters who was slumping.  More significantly, Brandon Inge had three hits including a home run and two doubles.  Gerald Laird added two hits as well.        

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