Detroit Tigers Heroes and Zeroes Week 11

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Jun 3, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Tom Gorzelanny (32) pitches in the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Zeroes: Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Krol

One tie-breaker that could not be made was not including both Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Krol on the zeroes end of this list, so for the first time, we have co-#5 zeroes.

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The poster children for the most recently bullpen failures has been Gozelanny, who was solid earlier this year, and Krol, who has–well– never been solid.

Certainly the starters did not put the bullpen in a great spot. Justin Verlander and Alfredo Simon had efforts that needed a lot of bullpen assistance last week, as did David Price who, no fault of his own, had to be removed because of a long rain delay in Cincinnati on Wednesday.

Gorzelanny appeared in two games spanning 2.1 innings, allowing six hits on four runs, walking two and striking out zero. Krol’s knack for allowing home runs has become troubling as he allowed two over the last week, part of his five-run, seven-hit, three-walk performance in 2.2 innings of work.

When the bullpen was playing well, the starters were minimizing a lot of their exposure and limiting the amount of pressure situations. In others words, the Tigers’ relievers were inheriting either large leads or large deficits. More often than not lately the bullpen has been getting the ball with the game on the line (a one-run lead for either side), and they have failed.

It’s like 2014 all over again. Krol, Gorzelanny and the entire Detroit Tigers’ bullpen need to be better.

Next: Round Trippin' Closer

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