Even if he didn't pitch well, he likely would have gotten the win, as the Mud Hens scored 20 runs. But Maroth did pitch well. He gave up a run on one hit (a 2nd inning homer) and struck out three. He didn't walk anyone as well. He threw 85 pitches for 52 strikes.
This seems promising, except for the fact that his elbow is feeling a bit of tenderness after this go around.
Regardless, it is almost time for Maroth to join the big club. The question is what to do with him when he does. He will most definitely join the rotation, but then the question becomes what to do with Zach Miner.
Miner gives up a lot of hits, but he seems to pull the games off. However, it is his first time through the batting order that seems to kill him. If he pitches late into games, he tends to pitch better as the game goes on, and hitters actually have a lower batting average the third time through order than the first--not something you look for in any type of reliever. However, Miner has earned his spot on this team.
With Ledezma coming around as the left-hander, it seems like a bad thing for Roman Colon who has pitched well, but even with Jamie Walker's recent troubles in getting the one out, a second left-handed option in the bull pen is definitely necessary.
Miner will likely move to Colon's spot--the right-handed long reliever, and Colon will likely be sent down. This way, the Tigers have a left and right-handed spot starter who has won a game in Miner and Ledezma and they still have a lot of different one-out possibilities with Walker, Zumaya and Rodney.
It will be interesting to see what they do, as reports say that Leyland will not go to a six-man rotation at this point. The starting pitching seems to be as rested as it needs, though Bonderman didn't look too good yesterday. Rogers seems to be coming around, and he got rest by simply getting knocked out of a couple starts early after the break. Verlander has seemed worse since his rest than before. Robertson just needs some run support, and Bonderman has been lights out save for a couple innings since the first of June. All this without Mike Maroth, who was pitching better than any of them before his injury.
