Tigers' Fulmer looks to cool off White Sox
DETROIT -- Michael Fulmer has shown no signs of a sophomore slump.
Fulmer earned the American League Rookie of the Year award last season, posting an 11-7 record and 3.06 ERA. The Detroit Tigers right-hander has picked up where he left off, making four quality starts in April.
He'll try to extend that streak when he faces the Chicago White Sox and left-hander Derek Holland on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park. Fulmer will try to halt the Tigers' three-game slide and the White Sox's five-game winning streak in the process. Chicago won the opener of the three-game series 7-3 on Friday.
In his last outing, Fulmer (2-1) tossed a season-high seven innings and held Minnesota to two runs on four hits while striking out seven.
"I don't know if he's doing a ton different. He's just continuing to perform well," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "It's not like he came up with another pitch or that he's attacking hitters grossly different than he did a year ago. He's continuing to do what he did last year."
Last year, the hitters might have been blindsided by Fulmer's swift development. Fulmer really took off by commanding his changeup to complement his blazing fastball.
Whatever adjustments batters have made against Fulmer, he seems to be staying ahead of the curve.
"When the hitters know you, there's more pressure on the pitcher," Ausmus said. "You can catch a few by surprise for a year or part of a year, although nowadays they see a lot more video than they did even 20 years ago. He's going to probably have to adjust the more he pitches, but clearly so far, so good."
Fulmer has only walked six batters while striking out 23 despite having trouble with his secondary pitches in his first two starts. He faced the White Sox twice last season and did not get a decision while recording a 3.86 ERA.
Knee and shoulder injuries marred Holland's last three seasons with the Texas Rangers but he's off to a strong start with Chicago.
He signed a one-year, $6 million contract in December after the Rangers exercised a $1.5M buyout of the final year of his contract with them. Holland (2-2) has posted a 1.99 ERA in his first four starts and collected his second win in his last outing, holding Cleveland to one run on three hits over six innings.
"He's a veteran presence, combined with (James) Shields and Q (Jose Quintana), guys that have been around and have performed in the past," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "Our hope was that he'd be able to come in and execute and do what he's been doing for us. He's kind of stabilized us a little bit. He's done a nice job to this point."
Holland reached double digits in wins from 2011-13 but started just 35 games the past three years because of the injuries. Last year, he was 7-9 with a 4.95 ERA. He's 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four starts against Detroit.
"I don't know if I would say he's exceeded expectations," Renteria said. "He's definitely lived up to what the organization foresaw in terms of how we've seen him in the past."
Chicago is hopeful that first baseman Jose Abreu will return to the lineup. He sat out on Friday after suffering a mild right hip flexor strain against Kansas City on Wednesday.