Who was the last Tiger to..........

[roarintiger1]

.....get a pitching win in back to back games??
That is before Duane Below........

Anyone care to do the research? And no, I don't already have the answer...I really have no idea.

[Espen1978]

Im gonna throw out a name, with no basis for my guess - John Warden.

[Motor City Sonics]

Matt Anderson?

[Motor City Sonics]

Well, (cheating from Elias Sports Bureau) Paul Gibson did it in 1991, but the games were on April 8th and April 11th. I don't know if any Tiger has done it on back to back days. I guessed on Anderson because I remember a game (in 2000 I think) when he got a victory when throwing one single pitch.

[Motor City Sonics]

Here was the one-pitch victory.

April 30, 2000 Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com

[Motor City Sonics]

Here was the one-pitch victory.

April 30, 2000 Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com

I was at that game and I remember the Tigers scored 2 in the 9th and Juan Gonzalez came up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. Juan Gonzalez hit a MAMMOTH drive to deep left field that today (because of the bullpens) would have been a Grand Slam, but was caught for one of the longest outs I have ever seen and I turned to my friend Steve and said "he's not gonna stay here......."

[Beckett]

It happened twice last year.

Al-Al: 5/30-31 against Minn.
Valverde: 4/12-13 against Texas.

2011 Detroit Tigers Schedule, Box Scores and Splits - Baseball-Reference.com

My guess is it's not that rare, though it's impressive to have happen to a rookie this early in the season.

[John_Brian_K]

Can we talk more about the stat itself? The 'winning pitcher' stat?

As big of a baseball fan I am....I get confused as to who gets the win and why sometimes.

[lesgoblu02]

Starters have to go 5 innings to qualify for a win. Relievers only need to be the pitcher of record when their team takes the lead to get a win.

Prime example why the stat sucks:

Valverde on opening day blows a 2 run lead, but finishes the inning. Tigers score to win in the bottom of the 9th. Valverde gets the win.

[tiger337]

Tigers wins:
Below 2
Valverde 1
Verlander 0

[catswithbats]

Starters have to go 5 innings to qualify for a win. Relievers only need to be the pitcher of record when their team takes the lead to get a win.

Can't who gets the win also be up to the scorer's discretion? I seem to recall a game last year or the year before where a pitcher who was technically the pitcher of record was bypassed (he had really struggled and may or may not have given up runs) and the subsequent reliever got the W even though he wasn't in the game when the winning run scored.

I'm not sure if I'm just imagining this though.

[PuNk42AE]

In Major League Baseball, the winning pitcher is defined as the pitcher who last pitched prior to the half-inning when the winning team took the lead for the last time.

There are two exceptions to this rule. The more common exception is that a starting pitcher must complete five innings to earn a win (four innings for a game that lasted five innings on defense). If the starting pitcher fails to meet the innings requirement, the official scorer awards the win to the relief pitcher who, in the official scorer’s judgment, was the most effective.

The second exception applies only to a relief pitcher who makes a "brief appearance" and is himself later relieved. If, in the official scorer's judgment, the relief pitcher was "ineffective," the win is awarded to the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective, in the official scorer's judgment.

It doesn't happen that often though.

[catswithbats]

Thanks, PuNk42AE.

I believe it was this game.

[Charles Liston]

Tigers wins:
Below 2
Valverde 1
Verlander 0

Well it's just a good thing that the bullpen knows how to win. You can teach that you know, it's a repeatable skill. Too bad Verlander hasn't figured it out yet.