Rick Porcello News

Jim Leyland earned his 1,699th win as a major league manager as the Tigers remained tied with Cleveland atop the AL Central.

Ian Kinsler is not in the starting lineup due to bruised ribs, the apparent result of this awkward slide into third base Thursday night against the Detroit Tigers.

With the one-quarter mark of the 2013 season approaching, the Detroit Tigers have reinforced the fans' offseason hype that they are a strong World Series contender.

And fittingly, the opener features two of the premier pitchers - Tigers ace Justin Verlander , who has led the American League in strikeouts three of the past four seasons, against Rangers ace Yu Darvish , who leads all major league pitchers in strikeouts this season and is among the leaders in victories.

The Tigers' bullpen has been the team's biggest question mark the entire season, and that isn't likely to change any time soon.

The Tigers took advantage of Bud Norris' inability to locate his fastball en route to a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros.

There's no doubt Drew Smyly's move to the bullpen has been a successful one, but has it actually been a valuable one? Don't confuse the two.

Ryan Raburn of the Cleveland Indians gets hit by a pitch from Detroit's Rick Porcello on Sunday.

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Detroit Tigers' Brayan Pena is congratulated in the dugout after his two-run home run off Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Zach McAllister during the second inning in Detroit on Sunday.

Detroit Tigers' Brayan Pena goes to the mound to talk to Rick Porcello in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Indians on May 12, 2013.

Asked to bunt for the first time in a decade, Hunter's attempt didn't end well. What a surprise.

Assembling a major-league roster is a lot like putting together a puzzle. If the pieces don't fit, the job can't be finished.

Making a case based upon the numbers for Smyly's promotion to the starting rotation and Porcello's subsequent move to the bullpen Rob made a case yesterday for Rick Porcello to start against the Nationals rather than pushing him back to Sunday against the Indians .

Justin Verlander leads Detroit's dominant starting staff, which has the Tigers in first place in the AL Central.

While there are many great things to like about the start of the baseball season, one of the best is watching that player or two on each team who ends up being the breakout star in April and gets off to a terrific start.

The decision to skip Rick Porcello's turn in the rotation this week is puzzling, given the teams that the Tigers are scheduled to face in the near future.

Miguel Cabrera had an MVP and Triple Crown year in 2012. But as good as he was at the plate, there was one weakness in his game.

This next episode of the hit reality show "Yet Another World Series Preview" features pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Jordan Zimmermann in a game that is sure to be described by someone with the words "lack of run support" tomorrow morning.

We all miss from time to time. As fantasy owners, we take all the information we have at hand and try to make the best decision possible for our team, but sometimes we're just simply wrong.