Andrew Miller Watch: Day 5

The Tigers pulled off a comeback win this afternoon, overcoming deficits of 4-0, 6-3 and 7-6 to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-7. Detroit took their first lead of the afternoon on a Marcus Thames pinch-hit, broken-bat, two-run double off Jays closer B.J. Ryan in the top of the 9th to make the score 8-7. The Tigers chipped in 2 more insurance runs in the 9th, and Todd Jones closed out the game to bring Detroit's overall record to 7-4.

The reason the Tigers needed a late comeback to pull out the victory? That would be another shaky start by Chad Durbin, who gave up 8 hits and 6 runs in 4 innings. The Jays sat on Durbin's 2-seam fastball, registering 7 of their 8 hits off of Durbin on that pitch, including Alex Rios' 2-run homer in the 4th that threatened to break the game open. The concerning part about Durbin's two lackluster starts is that his struggles don't come from a lack of control, but a lack of effective stuff. Durbin has only walked two batters in 8 2/3 innings pitched this season, but still has been shelled to the tune of 17 hits and 12 earned runs, including three home runs against. The Blue Jays were taking strikes all game, waiting to tee off on Durbin's 2-seamer. It seems like Durbin just doesn't have an effective enough pitching arsenal to succeed at the major league level. We'll see how long Leyland allows him to pitch the Tigers into deep holes before he digs Andrew Miller or Zach Miner out of the minors and takes some of the pressure off of Detroit's hitters.


Get ready, young Andrew. Your time will come soon...