In The Tigers' Biggest Weekend Of The Year, An Opportunity Beckons

By Will Burchfield
Twitter: burchie_kid
With the Tigers playing as well as they have all year, their bats simmering in the summer heat, they head into the first weekend of August looking to make their biggest statement of the season.

Bring on Syndergaard. Bring on deGrom.

Bring on the Mets.

"When August, September roll around, it's playoff time. You start making your move," James McCann said last weekend.

The Tigers are well on their way. They've won 10 of their last 13 games and are 5-1 on their current nine-game home stand. In the past two weeks, they've gained 4.5 games in the A.L. Central and four in the Wild Card race. The breathing room once enjoyed by the Indians and Red Sox has been smothered and snuffed out, the Tigers now lurking with intent.

"You can try to get away, but we just keep squeezing, keep squeezing and we keep squeezing and eventually it seems like we kind of devour you," Cameron Maybin said earlier this week.

Maybin was describing the team's offense, but he captured their second-half mentality. Hot on the trail of a playoff berth, they're dialing up the pursuit with each additional win. The Tigers hung around through the first half of the season, staying just within striking distance, hiding in the high grass - now they've lunged into action and the chase is on.

A 7.5-game deficit in the division has quickly been shaved to three. Detroit is just half a game behind Boston in the wild card race, too, but this team suddenly has bigger goals. The Indians, those elusive, beguiling Indians, artists of the Tigers' first-half woes, are the target now.

And the Tribe seem to be feeling the heat.

After winning their first two series out of the All-Star break, the Indians, at 56-38, owned the best record in the American League. But they've lost seven of twelve games since, including three of their last four, and suddenly have the look of a vulnerable ball club. Their All-Star pitcher Danny Salazar was sent to the D.L. earlier this week, a microcosm of the team's sudden pitching struggles, and the offense, though still productive, was just outslugged by the Twins 37-25 over a four-game series.

Meanwhile, as Craig Monroe might say…

Thus have we arrived at the most important weekend of the season. With the Indians scuffling, the Tigers surging and the defending N.L. champs coming to town, an opportunity is at hand for this team. A moment beckons.

Can the Tigers seize it?

It will start with the pitching, as it always does, and thus it will start with Justin Verlander. He'll be opposed by the imposing Noah Syndergaard on Friday night – "Thor," they call him – fifth in the majors with a 2.48 ERA. Verlander, the A.L. pitcher of the month in July, looks poised for the challenge.

From there, it will fall to Matt Boyd and Anibal Sanchez, the former in the midst of a rise, the latter in the midst of a revival. Sanchez will be charged with a particularly tall task, locking horns on Sunday afternoon with Jacob deGrom – "deGrominator," they call him – fourth in the majors with a 2.41 ERA. It is thus doubly important that Boyd steps up on Saturday.

The Tigers' preferred weapon, of course, is their offense. And though they cooled off a bit toward the end of the White Sox series, they enter this weekend on an undeniable roll. They're averaging over seven runs per game over their last eight, branding opposing pitchers with their red-hot bats. And leading the charge, once again, is Miguel Cabrera, "the declining" Miguel Cabrera, hitting .438 with six home runs and a bulging 1.52 OPS since July 26.

"Last week he was washed up, wasn't he?" Brad Ausmus quipped on Tuesday.

Assuming Maybin (thumb) can play Friday night, the Tigers will roll out their best lineup in months, the lineup they drew up for themselves in the offseason. A healthy J.D. Martinez – 3/5 with a double and a homer since his triumphant return – is back in the fold, likely forcing Nick Castellanos into the six hole. How many teams have a guy with 18 dingers, 58 RBI and a .832 OPS batting sixth?

With the stout-pitching Mets in town, there's no time like now for the Tigers' offense to fulfill its massive potential.

Ultimately, the team's success – this weekend and moving forward – seems dependent on their level of desperation. The Tigers don't want for talent, and thus it's no surprise that their best run of play this season has coincided with a heightened sense of urgency. In the dugout, Ausmus has commented on the players' sharpened focus.

"It seems like the concentration level has gone up, these guys are battling and battling and pulling for each other," Ausmus said. "They're staying in the game, even the guys that maybe have a tough at-bat, they're staying in the game for their teammates."

And on the field, the Tigers are quite literally kicking it into gear, steaming around the bases like there's no tomorrow.

Has anyone ever seen Miguel Cabrera run so fast?

"We're having fun right now," Maybin said after Tuesday's victory.

The Tigers seem to be sensing something, scenting something, in front of them. It is the Mets at the moment but the Indians down the line, August right now but October in the distance. With their gaze fixed fervently on today, tomorrow will take care of itself.

This is an experienced team led by a been-there-before core. It would be a stretch to say they're jaded – heck, they're doing what they love – but the Tigers have an unruffled mien, a noticeably low resting heart rate. They are not easily excited.

"Don't make it any bigger than it is," said Justin Upton, explaining his approach to the stretch-run. "You're still playing baseball. At the end of the day you go out there and you play 162 games and they all carry the same importance."

It is a common refrain within the Tigers locker room, but lately their play has suggested otherwise. They weren't attacking games in May and June the way they are now. They weren't savoring victory with the same sense of delight. It seems the Tigers have been prodded into action by the time of year, roused by the knowledge that these games do indeed matter more. Their urgency has risen as their heart rate has done the same.

So bring on Sydnergaard and bring on deGrom.

Bring on the Mets.

The Tigers have a chance to send a definitive message to the rest of the league this weekend, particularly those suddenly dodgy Indians. With a series win, they will complete by far their most impressive home stand of the year, just as the real season is beginning to unfold.

Comerica Park should be close to full. The crowds should be buzzing. An opportunity is at hand and the Tigers must pounce.