CHICAGO – Michael Fulmer made the adjustment from the routine of the starting rotation to the regular grind of the late-inning bullpen surprising well.
“I’ve learned that adrenaline is a heck of a drug,” the starter turned reliever joked from the dugout at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday afternoon.
Now, he has made the adjustment to sitting for a few days.
It wasn’t an injury concern, the Tigers insist, but Fulmer neither pitched nor warmed up during their two-game series in Milwaukee. Add in Wednesday’s off-day and Thursday’s series opening loss to the White Sox, a game that the Tigers trailed from the first inning al the way through, and Fulmer had his longest stretch of days off since his long relief and spot starting days in April. He’s back available now.
“This is all on purpose,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I mean, I’m not going to report on every single strategy that we have to try to keep guys fresh. But yeah, we wanted to give him a break through the Milwaukee series, and then we got break [Thursday] so there was really no reason to use him. …
“I think we’re paying attention to all of our arms. We’re seeing the rash of injuries around the league and we’re not going to just turn our back on a real issue that’s prevalent throughout the league.”
Fulmer, who underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2019 and returned to action last summer in short starts, has generally pitched every 2-3 days for the past month since he made the sudden transition from starting one game against the Red Sox to closing out the next. He pitched three times in four days in mid-May, capped by two innings in a May 15 win over the Cubs, then went on a stretch of pitching every other day.
“They just kinda talked to me a little bit about giving me a few days,” Fulmer said, “and I’m thankful for it. Like I said, big workload for me, not having done it in my career. But everything’s been pretty good.”
The Tigers’ winning ways in May contributed to Fulmer’s workload. He pitched in 11 of Detroit’s 14 wins for the month, including saves in four of them. He closed out his month with a pair of 22-pitch outings in a three-game span against the Yankees, racking up the final four outs of a 6-2 win to complete the sweep despite three hits and a walk while loading the bases in the ninth.
“It’s just part of the body not being used to it,” Fulmer said. “I don’t think I’ve ever pitched on short rest in my life, or at least in my career. Going every fifth day and having those off-days, you might not feel the greatest in between starts but you tell yourself, ‘Oh, I have three more days until I have to pitch. I can figure it out.’ Out of the bullpen, on your less-than-stellar days, you have to find a way to get it done, and that’s what we’ve done a good job of doing.”
It helps that Fulmer is part of a late-inning duo with lefty Gregory Soto, who pitched both games in Milwaukee and tossed 41 pitches over the back-to-back outings. Soto also pitched three consecutive days in the middle of the month.
Fulmer actually wanted to pitch sooner after his one blown save in Kansas City, having lost on a Carlos Santana walk-off homer, but Hinch gave him a short break.
“I’m feeling very happy with the way this team is playing, honestly,” Fulmer said, “to be able to pitch in those leverage situations, whether it’s a 9-10 ballgame or a 1-0 ballgame. Obviously in Kansas City, I was on the losing side of it, giving up the home run. And that really [stinks]. First time I’ve done that.”