THESE GUYS Won Five Straight?

W-the Tigers? THESE TIGERS? After going 2-9 to open the season? THEY won five straight? What in blazes is going on??

I mean, statistically I look this team over and I just don't see it. Who's their best hitter? Backup catcher Jake Rogers? Who's their best pitcher? Relief asset Jason Foley? Riley Greene's hitting .262, and hit a homer today, but is he really at the peak of what they wanted him to do? And having Eddie Rodriguez and Matt Boyd pitching efficiently is a step up, but aren't Mize, Skubal, Brieske and Manning all injured right now? Isn't that the whole youth movement?

But...they're winning. They've won 5 straight. And they're getting these wins against good teams like the Guardians, Giants and Blue Jays. Even shaky teams have hot streaks sometimes, but...I'm just shocked that it's this one.

I mean, this Tigers team has employed so many people that either are too injured to or aren't doing well enough to meet their potential. You even have Spencer Turnbull TRYING to get back to pre-surgery mode, and not quite getting there yet. Meanwhile, Spencer Torkelson still isn't hitting, Schoop still isn't hitting, Baddoo hasn't hit since, like, May 2021, Kerry Carpenter just started hitting yesterday, and both Matt Vierling and Nick Maton are slowly getting there but not even where they were in Philly. Hell, if you ask me, they should both still BE in Philly, seeing how Gregory Soto's been pitching. 

At the same time, I think it's kind of cool that the unsung guys are making it work so far. Jake Rogers has been a backup without much to write home about for so long, and now he's lapped Eric Haase and is doing the whole fan favorite thing there. Chasen Shreve has bopped around for years and is now being steadier than he's been in a while as a relief guy. This bullpen is odd and eclectic and it's been one of the only things the Tigers have had this year that works before...however these wins came about happened. And, at the very least, Kerry Carpenter turned his entire season around over the course of three at-bats. 

I don't know if they're gonna go for 6 or chase the Rays or any of this, but the fact that the Tigers can still baffle, and therefore surprise, me is promising for the rest of the season. Maybe they won't be boring and dreadful like the last few years. Maybe something's actually happening.

Or...maybe it's just been a good week.

Coming Tonight: Former Rookie of the Year, currently doing his best.