Only righty set-up man Joaquin Benoit has been pitching well out of the pen in the playoffs for the Tigers so far. Benoit has pitched in 5 games for the Tigers so far in the playoffs and he is 0-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only given up 4 hits while whiffing 9 batters in his first 7 2/3 innings of the playoffs, and that is very, very impressive. Closer Jose Valverde has been solid in the playoffs until last night. He has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) in the playoffs and he is 0-1 with 3 saves, a 7.36 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. Lefties Phil Coke (4 games, 0-0 with a 10.13 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP) and Daniel Schlereth (2 games, 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP) have been terrible so far. Righties Ryan Perry (4 games, 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP) and Al Alburquerque (3 games, 0-0 with a 40.50 ERA and a 6.00 WHIP) have also been pathetic in the playoffs for the Tigers so far. It’s going to be hard for the Tigers to come back in this series unless the bullpen picks up the pace soon.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Rick Porcello has been awful lately for the Tigers. Porcello has started 4 games so far in August and he is 0-2 with a 9.15 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. He is throwing strikes this month as he has only walked 2 batters, but he has also pitched B.P. as he has allowed 34 hits in only 19 2/3 innings this month. Porcello has now started 24 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 11-8 with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Porcello is now likely on thinner ice than Brad Penny is in the starting rotation.

33-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Penny is walking on thin ice right now for the Tigers. In his last five starts, Penny is 2-3 with a 6.60 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He has now pitched in 22 games (all starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 7-9 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Penny’s stuff is starting to lack at the major league level as he has given up 156 hits this year in only 133 2/3 innings as he is not missing many bats. He also only has 53 whiffs this year which is embarrassing for a pitcher that throws as hard as he does. 20-year old righty Jacob Turner is starting to push Penny for his job. Turner lost his major league debut this year but he looked solid. He worked 5 1/3 innings while allowing 3 hits and whiffing 6 batters. He has a huge upside and the Tigers aren’t scared to rush pitchers as they did exactly that with Rick Porcello just 2.5 years ago.

28-year old lefty Phil Coke has been removed from the starting rotation. Coke started 5 games in June and he was 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. Coke has pitched in 16 games (14 starts) for the Tigers overall this year and he is 1-8 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Coke will be replaced in the rotation by 25-year old lefty Charlie Furbush. Furbush has been impressive with the Tigers this year while working out of the bullpen. Furbush has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He pitched in 8 games (all starts) earlier this year in AAA-ball and he was 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. This was the right move for the Tigers to make. I think Furbush will be a solid starter and Coke will go back to being a solid reliever for the Tigers.

33-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Penny has been very inconsisent for the Tigers. Take May for instance. In Brad Penny’s first two starts in May, he was 3-0 with a 0.83 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. But, in his last two starts of May, Penny was 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP! Penny has now pitched in 11 games (all starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 4-4 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Even though Penny has been inconsistent, the Tigers will take his overall numbers so far this year.