http://i.imgur.com/ClHrTds.jpg

Rough start to the game, followed by a few solid innings and a huge gift from Torii Hunter by not running home on a ground ball with the infield back, leading to a double play to get Gibson out of a jam.

Wasn't sharp tonight though, as he only threw 61% of his pitches for strikes. He was particularly bad with his slider command. You could tell that early on, Detroit just wasn't offering at it. He threw the slider 11 times in his 26 pitch first inning. 7 times, it was a ball, twice it was fouled off, once it was swung through and once it was put into play for an out. He did have some better success with it after the first inningh, though.

The lack of control manifested itself in the form of 7 hits and 3BB over 6 innings. Detroit is a potent offense, particularly 2-5, but since August 8th, Gibson has put up a 4.5 BB/9 rate. While he is a ground ball pitcher and will erase some runners with double plays, his low strikeout numbers don't leave him much wiggle room. He is still only a couple years removed from Tommy John surgery, and this is the most innings he's pitched in a season, so perhaps it's just some fatigue as we head down the stretch, but it's something to monitor going forward