or, since he is coming off of an injury to his throwing elbow, they want to take it easy on him.
His first 3 starts since coming back
4 IP, 79 pitches
5 IP, 84 pitches
6 IP, 89 pitches
He's either healthy or not. Especially by his 3rd start. And this isn't the only instance. Tigers starters, even when pitching well get taken out early. Because for some reason Gardenhire seems to think we need to use 4-5 RP a game.