Friday, June 05, 2009

Getting the runs

For the second consecutive year, the Tigers have shown the ability to put up runs in bunches. For the second straight season, they've shown an inability to score consistently.

Entering tonight's game against Anaheim, Detroit was sixth in the AL with an average of 5.1 runs per game. That seems pretty good, on the surface. But the Tigs, following their 2-1 loss this evening, have won just 4 games in which they've allowed more than 3 runs. They are a terrific 24-2 when holding foes to 3 runs or less.

It just seems amazing to me, though, that a team can average more than 5 per game and yet cannot win when giving up more than 3. Detroit is 3-16 (.158) when allowing 4 to 7 runs. The rest of MLB was playing at a .396 clip when giving up 4-7 runs, entering tonight. Given the expected prowess of the Tigers' offense, one would expect them to be able to win more often than .158 in that range.

The Tigers .750 OPS entering tonight was below the AL average of .765.

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