Postseason within reach, Fulmer shows team-first attitude

DETROIT — Right-hander Michael Fulmer gets it.

It’s not about “me.” And he knows it. It’s about “us.”

And he welcomes that.

So there he was on Wednesday, the last player remaining in the Tigers’ clubhouse once Detroit won, 6-3, in a five-inning, rain-shortened victory against the Indians that allowed them to remain a game back of the Orioles in the battle for the second American League Wild Card spot.

The night had the potential of some personal milestones, all of which got washed away. But Fulmer wasn’t complaining.

He came into the game 6 1/3 innings away from qualifying for the AL ERA title and well in position to join a former Tiger, Mark Fidrych, as the only big league rookies to win an ERA title since the mound was lowered in 1969.

Fulmer wound up three innings short. His ERA now stands at 3.057, a tad better than official AL ERA leader Aaron Sanchez of Toronto, whose ERA is 3.065, but there are no concessions made for an ERA title. It’s one inning of work for a pitcher for each game his team played.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus gave Fulmer a shot to get that additional three innings. He just couldn’t let that goal get in the way of the team goal, which Fulmer understood.

After an initial rain delay of nearly an hour and with the Tigers leading, 3-1, Fulmer was given the ball to start the fourth. Three batters, two hits and a run later, Blaine Hardy got the call.

There went the chance of a victory. There went the shot at an ERA title — barring a start in a Game 163 should the Tigers wind up tied for the Wild Card spot. And it could mean there went an AL Rookie of the Year Award, where Fulmer does seem …

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