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Detroit Tigers should be encouraged by Jordan Zimmermann’s Opening Day outing

By Brad Faber

FORT MYERS, FL - MARCH 11: Pine tar and rain bag n the step to the Baltimore Orioles dugout before the Spring Training game against the Boston Red Sox at Jet Blue Park on March 11, 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
FORT MYERS, FL - MARCH 11: Pine tar and rain bag n the step to the Baltimore Orioles dugout before the Spring Training game against the Boston Red Sox at Jet Blue Park on March 11, 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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Detroit Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann had a decent start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday afternoon. He should have something to build off of going forward.

On Friday, the Detroit Tigers‘ season began with a heartbreaking 13-10 extra-inning loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite the loss, there were a number of positives in Friday’s game for the Tigers. One of them was the performance of starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann.

Before the end of Spring Training, it was reported that Zimmermann would be the Tigers’ Opening Day starter. While some thought that the honor would go to Michael Fulmer, manager Ron Gardenhire elected to go with the veteran Zimmermann.

Aside from a fantastic month of April back in 2016, Zimmermann has struggled throughout most of his time in a Tigers uniform. From 2016-17, Zimmermann went 17-20 with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.477 WHIP overall. He battled injuries back in 2016 as well, which some have speculated could be part of the reason for his decline.

However, Zimmermann has now begun the 2018 campaign with a pretty solid start. He went six innings against the Pirates on Friday, allowing six hits, four earned runs and one walk. He also struck out eight batters. Zimmermann never struck out more than seven batters in any of his 29 starts from last season. Not only did the strikeouts return, but Zimmermann also had very good control, as he has throughout his career. He has a lifetime 1.92 BB/9.

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Some have also wondered if being fully healthy and getting a fresh perspective from new pitching coach Chris Bosio could lead to a comeback for the soon-to-be 32-year-old Zimmermann. While it was only one outing, and admittedly not necessarily a great one, Zimmermann appears to be off to a decent start.

There are still quite a few question marks in the Tigers rotation aside from Fulmer. Francisco Liriano had a great spring, but it remains to be seen whether that will translate to the regular season. Matt Boyd had a strong spring and an excellent September last year but still has a lifetime 5.47 ERA over parts of three seasons in the majors.

The Tigers are also still waiting for Daniel Norris to reach his true potential, and Mike Fiers, who is currently on the disabled list, had a very rough spring. In short, it would be helpful if Zimmermann could do his part to stabilize the starting staff.

Next: Miami Marlins Opening Day 2018: 20 Years later, same story?

While Zimmermann may not return to being the pitcher who finished fifth in the NL Cy Young voting for the Washington Nationals back in 2014, he certainly showed on Friday that he can help the Detroit Tigers win some games this year. It was a solid start for him to build off of going forward.

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