Detroit — Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take a short-term hit for long-term growth.
That’s essentially what Michael Fulmer did. He made 10 straight scoreless appearances to start the season, but he knew things weren’t right. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sustain that success unless he made some significant changes — especially with his slider.
So he bit the bullet. He went back to the lab with pitching coach Chris Fetter and he worked to get his slider to spin and move like it did last season. It took two weeks and while it was under reconstruction, he got beat up a bit — six runs in five innings, blew two saves, temporarily lost his eighth-inning setup role.