Los Angeles @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 22, 2010 ) Detroit 5, LA Angels 4
Fernando Rodney returns to the city to where he spent his first seven seasons in the majors. The Detroit Tigers may be happy to see him they haven’t necessarily missed him.
Detroit’s bullpen has been the best in baseball - even without Rodney, who signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason. Rodney saved 37 of 38 games for the Tigers in 2009, his first season as a full-time closer.
When the Angels offered such a lucrative deal just to be a setup man (it already had an expensive closer in Brian Fuentes), the Tigers weren’t willing to match it. Instead, they paid a little more to get the more experienced Jose Valverde from Houston.
Valverde cost the Tigers $3 million more than Rodney received from the Angels, plus Detroit holds a $9 million option for 2012. But more importantly, Valverde has saved more than 40 games twice in his career and entered the season averaging 38.7 saves over the last three years.
Valverde has seven saves and an 0.82 ERA during the first month of the season, anchoring Detroit’s rise to the best bullpen in baseball. The Tigers enter tonight’s weekend series with a bullpen ERA of 2.22.
The Angels have been thrilled with Rodney, at least through April. Fuentes has already made one trip to the disabled list and has made just five appearances this season. Rodney filled in admirably while Fuentes was out, going 5-for-5 in save situations.
Rodney may eventually replace Fuentes as the full-time closer, but for now Angels manager Mike Scioscia is standing by Fuentes, who saved 48 games last year in his first season with the Angels.
Detroit’s powerful bullpen might come in handy tonight when Rick Porcello takes the mound. Porcello was one of the top rookies in baseball last season when he finished 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA.
Some type of adjustment was expected this season, since Porcello just turned 22 in December and opponents now had a full year of film on him. But Porcello hasn’t won since his first start of the season and has given up six runs in each of his last two outings.
He was blasted by the Angels in Anaheim on April 20, when he allowed six runs in 4 1-3 innings, and drags a 7.91 ERA into tonight’s start. He hasn’t pitched past the sixth inning in any start this season.