Game XXXIII Thread: Tigers at Royals

I remember a time when Jordan Zimmerman was a really, really good pitcher. For a while he was even the Nationals’ ace simply because they couldn’t keep Stephen Strasburg on the field. Unfortunately for the Tigers, he has not been even remotely that good since joining their team on a $110M/5 Year deal in 2016. If the Tigers are looking for signs of hope his strikeouts and walks have both improved which sets him up with the best season FIP of his time in Detroit, so far, but his ERA is still 5.81 and his home run rates continue to move in the wrong direction.

One thing Jordan Zimmerman definitely has over Royals’ starter Jason Hammel, however, is a win. Hammel is 0-3 so far this season despite limiting home runs to half of what he allowed last year, so far. Hammel’s best start, by far, this season and possibly as a Royal, did come against the Tigers, however. He pitched 9 innings and allowed only 2 runs but the Royals couldn’t get him any run support and the Tigers eventually walked the game off in extra innings against Brad Keller.

Lineups

If the Royals win, today, it will be the first time they’ve won a series all season. It would also be the first time they’ve won as many as 3 games in a row despite losing that many or more 3 times, already, including one stretch where they lost 3 games in a row 3 times in a row. That’s 9 losses in a row for those of you keeping score at home. The wins may not matter, this year, but they’re still much more fun to watch.