Sunday, April 23, 2006

Road warriors

The Tigers won their fifth straight on the road today and are 10-2 away from Comerica, the best road record in MLB.

Nate Robertson, Mike Maroth and Justin Verlander all had great starts over the last three days, giving up a total of one run on 10 hits over 20 innings. If the back half of the rotation pitches anything close to this on a regular basis, the Tigers are a post-season contender.

Robertson's start was a good sign, as he'd been roughed up in his previous two outings. Verlander, with the exception of a horrible start against the White Sox in his second trip to the mound this season, has been solid.

I'm most pleased for Maroth, who lost 21 games in 2003. He is 3-0 this season and has allowed just one earned run in 18.1 innings. He's not a hard thrower, but he's only 28 and might just be getting a feel for being a pitcher. Teams are hitting .234 against him this season, well below his .288 career mark.

Maroth never complained while getting beat up in 2003 and never asked out of starts so as not to lose 20 games. You have to respect that.

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