The Tigers beat Cleveland again today, this time 5-3. They’re 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2016 – I know, it feels like a lot longer than that. Julio Teherán pitched five strong innings to get the win and the bullpen looked good again, with Derek Holland, Michael Fulmer, and Bryan Garcia in control of their innings of work. Tyler Alexander struggled a bit but was able to right the ship before things got out of control. Garcia picked up a very efficient four-out save, not something we’ve been accustomed to very often over the past few seasons. He looks like a closer to me; I think Soto has the stuff to do that, too, but I like Garcia’s sense of calm. In any case, it’s nice to have two legitimate options for the ninth inning.
Other positives over the first two games include Robbie Grossman’s patience at the plate. He’s walked six times so far, the first Tiger hitter ever to do that in the first two games of a season (Norm Cash held the record with five until today). Jeimer Candelario seems to be locked in as well, with a nice, short batting stroke that allows him to put the ball where he wants it to go, as he showed today with his sharp opposite field hitting.
Best of all, we’ve beaten Cleveland twice already in 2021. Considering what a pain they’ve been over the past couple of seasons, that’s a reason for optimism. This is still a very young team in most ways, and is likely to get younger as some of the prospects make their way to the major league roster as the season moves along, but they’re fun to watch so far, with a lot of small ball hustle and two strong starts from the front end of the rotation.