Despite winning last night which we predicted on our POD, the Tigers are in major trouble. Miguel Cabrera is a shell of himself. Yes he can still hit better than 90% of guys that would replace him, but he should be DH'ng. I saw two plays last night and I'm sure there were more. One was a pop fly off the third base line that Cabrera trotted to catch and was 10 ft away. It was a play that 99% of third basemen would make and that kept the at bat alive. It did not come back to hurt them, but the A's is not a team you want to give extra pitches. Cabrera's injury has really pulled this offense down and it's amazing to realize just how good he is. The offense is scoring just 1.37 runs per 9 over their last 5 and they face a very dangerous pitcher here today in Sonny Gray.
Gray could be an All Star next year and posts a 1.99 ERA over 40.2 IP at home with a 0.93 WHIP. He has some poise and good control for a young pitcher and he's striking out more than 9 guys per 9 to go along with his average 93 mph pitch with a nasty curve on the back side. He'll go toe to toe with Justin Verlander who most people will back because of his pedigree. Verlander did not have a good year this year with a 1.46 WHIP and 4.64 ERA during night starts. His control was all over the place in some starts and while he's still capable of throwing a complete game shut out the A's are a very good hitting team and I expect them to rebound from last night. In 2 starts vs. Oakland this year Verlander has only gone 11 inning given up 13 BR and 4ER. Donaldson, Crisp and Cespedes all have good numbers against him and Oakland is 64-27 in their last 91 home games vs. RH starter.
