Detroit Tigers Heroes and Zeroes Week 11

Jun 20, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez (28) and center fielder Anthony Gose (12) chase down a triple hit by New York Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner (11) during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

It was yet another disappointing week of baseball for the Detroit Tigers last week, who are flirting way to close to .500 for fans’ comfort.

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The just completed week, June 15 to 21, ended with an exclamation point on Sunday, with a 12-4 victory over the New York Yankees as the Tigers’ bats came alive with five homers, including three from a red-hot J.D. Martinez (who we will discuss later).

That great game on Sunday should not overshadow what a tough week the Tigers experienced, losing two of three to an underachieving Cincinnati Reds team, bullpen blowouts, starting pitcher issues and more.

The zeroes list could have gone on forever, but to save you from slide show fatigue, we whittled it down to three names.

Nick Castellanos, Ian Kinsler, Anthony Gose, Rajai Davis, Yoenis Cespedes and even Jose Iglesias could have made the list as hitters, as could have Justin Verlander, Alfredo Simon, Kyle Ryan and Joba Chamberlain on the pitching side.

Alas we had to make some cuts and make room for players who did have solid weeks in an otherwise dank 2-4 week.

So without further ado, on to Detroit Tigers Week 11 Heroes and Zeroes!

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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.

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Jun 21, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joakim Soria (38) pitches during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Detroit Tigers won 12-4. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

#4 Zero: Joakim Soria

We discussed how Ian Krol has a knack for allowing homers out of the bullpen, which is very troubling for a reliever. But perhaps more troubling is Joakim Soria‘s struggles lately, especially with the long ball.

I hesitate to call Soria the Detroit Tigers’ “closer” because quite frankly in the month of June, he has not been their closer, though that is really no fault of his own. In the 17 games the Tigers have played prior to Monday’s game in Cleveland, the team has only been in a save situation for the closer twice.

The “blown save” is often a misleading stat because it not only relates to closers. While a reliever in the sixth, seventh or eighth who inherits a lead can never receive a save (unless they go three innings which is very rare) but they can receive a blown save if the opponents tie or take the lead.

So while the Tigers have a ton of blown saves this month, Soria only has one of them, back on June 5 against the Chicago White Sox. He received a save in his next appearance on June 7 but has not been in a save situation since. In fact in the three weeks since that save, he has only appeared in three games and the rust is clearly apparent.

Soria has allowed a homer in each of his last four outings (including Monday’s game which doesn’t technically count in last week’s tally), two of those came in garbage time, June 14 vs Cleveland and Sunday against the Yankees, but the one against the Reds ended the game in extra innings on a Grand Slam.

Soria needs to be better, but he needs to be utilized more. We saw this last year when he was used sparingly after coming over in trade but he was sharp when used more often. Part of that is situational, the Tigers are not finding themselves in save situations, but part of it is that Brad Ausmus struggles at using relievers in the right circumstances.

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Jun 21, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez (19) pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

#3 Hero: Anibal Sanchez

Anibal Sanchez‘s 20+ inning scoreless streak came to an end in the second inning on Sunday, but luckily his Detroit Tigers hitting teammates supplied him with plenty of run support.

A lot has been made of Sanchez’s struggles this season. Looked at as a very solid middle rotation option that the Tigers would not have to worry about much, it had been a bit of a nightmare early on for Anibal.

He was able to throw a second straight scoreless outing last Monday, going the distance in the complete game shutout of Cincinnati. He was not nearly as effective in New York, but managed to hold his own–although he did allow a pair of solo homers, which is still a concern (though we should remember Yankee Stadium’s insane hitting friendly dimensions).

Nonetheless when you see the efforts that Justin Verlander and Alfredo Simon offered up this week, not to mention a shaky outing from Kyle Ryan, Sanchez’s solid week was very much-needed.

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Jun 21, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez (28) rounds the bases on his two run home run during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

#1 Hero: J.D. Martinez

Seemingly happy to have his Super Martinez Bros. comrade back in the lineup, J.D. Martinez came through with a week that resembled most weeks for him in 2014.

While the duo are no longer hitting back-to-back at this time, they are still playing off each other well. In Sunday’s first inning, Victor Martinez hit his second homer of the season, and first since coming back off the DL Friday. Two batters later, J.D. stepped up and launched his second homer of the week, and first of three on the afternoon.

Martinez became the first player to hit three homers in New York against the Yankees since Bo Jackson of the Kansas City Royals did it in 1990, and first Tiger to do it against New York since Charlie Maxwell at Briggs Stadium in 1959. It was the first time he has notched three homers in his career and became the first Tigers to do it since Miguel Cabrera hit the trifecta mark in August 2013.

In addition to the homers, J.D. Mart was getting on base a lot, earning nine hits and scoring five runs.

An inconsistent offense is getting a little more punch lately with Cabrera’s hot streak, J.D.’s rise from the ashes and Victor’s return.

Let’s hope this unit can keep it up and the pitching can start to come around.

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