After beating up on mostly floundering, non-contending teams, the Tigers have gotten a bit of a reality check from the potentially playoff-bound Oakland A's this week. Their vaunted starting pitching rotation has been hammered in the first three games of the series.
Enter, for the series finale today, Max Scherzer, whose 19-1 record has been questioned because he has benefitted from getting more than seven runs per game in run support. It's also been questioned how meaningful Scherzer's astounding record is because the Tigers' rotation is so solid otherwise.

Max Scherzer: Needed to halt the slide

In 2011, Justin Verlander consistently ended Tigers' losing streaks with stellar pitching performances. It was his biggest selling point in being named AL MVP.
Of Scherzer's 19 wins this season, eight have followed losses. Four of his five wins in June, and his last three victroies in May, occurred when the Tigers had lost the previous game.  Scherzer's last seven wins, since June 28, came following a Tigers' victory.
It should be noted Scherzer did win his games following Tigers losses when the club needed it most. They were strong performances, not necessarily based on run support. Three of those wins came against playoff contenders (Indians, Rays, Red Sox). It was also during a period when the Tigers were missing Anibal Sanchez from the starting rotation and
Verlander was struggling.
But it's been awhile since he has been tested in this manner.