The Tigers Series Should Be Taken With a Grain of Salt

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

All A’s fans know that the Tigers have some sort of voodoo curse against Oakland. That’s just a fact. Earlier this year, the two teams split a 4 game series at O.Co. The current series in Detroit has already gone in favor of the Tigers, but this shouldn’t weigh too heavily on the minds of A’s fans.

For starters, the starters. Scott Kazmir pitched extremely well before cramping up in the humid Detroit weather. Even then, it took some late-inning heroics by former Athletic (A’s kryptonite) Rajai Davis to grab the victory for the Tigers.

On Tuesday night, the Tigers shut down the A’s offense, true. Brad Mills started the game for the Athletics, while Rick Porcello took the hill in opposition. Porcello has been hot, throwing his second consecutive shutout on Tuesday. Brad Mills is the 9th place starter for the A’s. He won’t (fingers crossed) be starting in the playoffs.

Even Wednesday’s matchup of Jesse Chavez and Justin Verlander goes in the Tiger’s favor. Yes, Verlander has been struggling mightily this season, gathering a 4.80 ERA thus far. Chavez on the other hand has the better stat line, with a 2.94 ERA heading in to Wednesday, but it would be ridiculous to pick against Verlander against the A’s in any situation. The tight-pant-wearing pitcher just has their number.

But these aren’t the pitching match-ups we’d have in the playoffs. If anything, we should be encouraged by the performance Kazmir put on. Couple that with Sonny Gray, who has already shut down their lineup once in the postseason, and one has to like the A’s chances.

The Tigers have taken another series from us A’s fans, but don’t worry. It’s only July. There is a lot that can happen between now and Oaktober.