Nate Robertson is in the fight of his life. His job with the Tigers, maybe even his big league future, are on the line. And he knows it.
        Those things were on the 31-year-old left hander’s mind Friday as he turned in a performance that Jim Leyland, the man who will ultimately pass judgment, called “the best Nate has looked” this spring.
        In the race for the fifth spot in the Tigers’ starting rotation, right now it is: Advantage Robertson.
        Earlier this week, Leyland warned those players who are on the bubble in the scramble to make the team that they “need to start competing.”
        Robertson got the message. On Friday, he pitched four shutout innings of two-hit ball as the Tigers downed the Washington Nationals, 5-2, in one of the best games the team has played this spring.
        And no one needed it more than Nate, one of last season’s leading goats.
        With two weeks to go in spring training, Robertson has moved ahead of struggling Dontrelle Willis,  rookie Rick Porcello, who realistically remains a longshot, and Zach Miner.
        Robertson is 2-1 this spring with a 3.27 ERA, even as he tries to reinvent himself as a pitcher. “There’s probably a little bit of transition,” he admitted.
        Earlier this week, pitching coach Rick Knapp told Robertson  he needs to “become more left handed.”
        That has Robertson thinking about becoming more like departed Tigers’ veteran Kenny Rogers -- relying on cunning and guile instead of simply trying to overpower hitters. In fact, Robertson spoke at length with Rogers about that very subject this week.
        “What got me here was throwing a lot of pitches inside, a lot of hard stuff,” Robertson explained . “I’m not sure I can’t still do that. But I think it’s time to rely on some other things. This game is a chess match. There’s a lot of scouting going on.
        “In spring training, my mind-set was always to out there and better myself,” Robertson recalled.
        “But that’s a luxury I can no longer afford. Now there’s not a whole lot of room for error. That’s not an ideal situation for anybody.
        “In the past, it was always written down,” he said.
        “Now, it’s ‘do or go.’ There’s nothing written down anywhere for me right now.
        “Here I am, fighting for a job,” Robertson added. “That’s a new dynamic for me.”
        In seasons past, Robertson routinely threw pitch after pitch in the low 90s. That was his bread and butter. He attacked hitters inside.
        Now such pitches are rare.
        “I’m learning what you do after you throw 1,000 pitches in the big leagues,” Robertson explained. “But in my mind, I know I can be successful at this level.
        “The plane flies out of here in less than two weeks, and there are no answers yet,” Robertson said.  “Everybody wants to know.
        “At least I know my luggage will go back to Detroit,” he added wryly. “Because that’s where my house is.”
        For one afternoon, anyway, Robertson could afford to smile.