Detroit Tigers: Last Week’s 5 Heroes and Zeroes

Apr 22, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher David Price (14) stands on the mound and looks up at the snow during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Zero: David Price

Let’s get the negatives out-of-the-way first with the first of two zeros in the 3-4 week for the Tigers. One glaring negative was David Price.

Although he only pitched one game last week (not including Monday night’s performance), it was particularly tough for Price to lay the egg he did last Wednesday.

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It was an absolute crazy night to play baseball and the game probably should have been postponed, but because of MLB’s unbalanced schedule in favor of more divisional games and inclusion of interleague games, this was the only trip for the Yankees to Detroit this season. So the game played on through snow flurries and mid-30’s temp.

The night before Kyle Lobstein pitched admirably but required bullpen assistance which was a failure, turning a one-run game into a 5-2 Tigers’ loss. Sure the conditions were lousy, but Price really needed to go long to save the bullpen from being cold literally and figuratively. He could not do that.

David went just 2.1 innings, allowing eight runs on 10 hits. The first half inning, when he allowed six runs, was 40+ minutes long.

Over his last two starts against the Yankees (spanning just 4+ innings) dating back to last year, Price has allowed 16 runs. Perhaps skip him in the rotation in the Tigers’ trip to the Bronx in June?

Look, aces like Price will have games like that, but Price seems to have more than his share of these stink-bombs. For a guy that can look like the best pitcher in baseball one day and AAA-level the next is a complete oddity.

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