BASEBALL

Click on the chart to make it big enough to read easily.

TIGERS RECORD BY STARTER
I know that team wins and losses on a given pitcher’s starts depends on how much run support the pitcher gets. It also depends on how the bullpen does while finishing the game. Over a season a pitcher can mitigate this somewhat by pitching well and by pitching deep into games so fewer and better relief pitchers finish the game. Here is how the Tigers are doing by pitcher through August 18.

Verlander19-8
Scherzer 16-10
Porcello 14-9
Penny 11-13
Currently Starring Fister 5-18

TIGERS OVERALL RECORD EXCEEDS PYTHAGOREAN RECORD
Usually when a team allows more runs that it scores it has a losing record. You can use the runs scored and allowed to show how a typical team would do with those statistics. You can see this on sites that show MLB standings as X W-L or Pythagorean Wins and Losses. Right now the Tigers Pythagorean record is 60-63.

The Tigers have winning records in all types of relatively close games 1-run games, 2-run games and 3-run games. This explains why the Tigers have a winning record (65-58) despite allowing more runs than they have scored. It does not show the underlying reason. 20 of the close victories go to Scherzer and Verlander, however, while another 20 are split among the other starters. So there might be something to the pitch-deep-into-the-game theory. (Pitch-deep-into-the-game sounds nicer than middle-relief-is-awful.) I’d have to look closer at how long each start went to confirm it.

I’m going to Comerica to watch the Tigers play the Indians instead.