Before Detroit Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer took the mound for Monday's series opener, he made a promise.
To his wife, Kelsey.
"It's my wife's birthday today," Fulmer said after the game, "and I told her I'd pitch well."
For the first time in a long time, probably before Tommy John surgery sidelined him two years ago, the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year and 2017 All-Star can confidently say he delivered on his promise. He fired three shutout innings Monday in the Tigers' 5-1 win against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.