Fister Could Be Key Part Of Playoff Rotation

Doug Fister was acquired from Seattle at the trade deadline in July to stabilize the back end of Detroit's rotation.

With a 4-1 record in seven starts, you'd have to say he's certainly done that.

Fister struck out a career-high 13 batters over eight innings in Detroit's 4-2 victory in Cleveland on Monday, which stretched the Tigers' lead over the second-place Indians to a season-best 7 1/2 games.

He has compiled a 2.64 ERA in his seven Detroit starts, and one of those was the loss in Baltimore in which, pitching on extra rest, Fister allowed eight runs (two unearned) in 5 2/3 innings.

In his last three starts he has allowed a total of two runs. Overall, he has fanned 36 in 44 1/3 innings -- with a fastball that touches 93 mph only on occasion and only with a good tailwind.

"He's a pitcher," manager Jim Leyland said. "He goes both sides of the plate, changes speeds and he's got a good breaking ball. That's a pretty good combination.

"The biggest thing for me is what I talk about all the time. He throws quality strikes. Some pitchers throw strikes. But quality strikes and strikes are two different things."

Fister found out early in baseball that just because he was 6-foot-8 he wasn't going to be Randy Johnson. And not because he's right-handed and Johnson was a southpaw.

Fister uses his height to throw nearly over the top, so his fastball goes from 9-10 nine feet above flat ground down to a hitter's knees in a distance of 60 feet, 6 inches. When he's right, as he has been his last three times out, Fister's curve has a head-to-shoes drop in the vicinity of the plate. His changeup has just enough of a dip on it to make batters either miss or hit a nice bouncer to an infielder.

The Tigers are drawing some national attention as they pull away in the AL Central, and some of that is directed Fister's way.

He's being mentioned as part of a postseason threesome -- with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer -- that could make the Tigers tough to beat in a playoff series.

"He mixes the ball really well," said his catcher, Alex Avila, "he throws a ton of strikes and he throws anything in any count."

Considering Detroit got virtually zero victories from its various No. 5 starters from April 14 on, Fister looks like a very good acquisition.

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