Three weeks ago, Armando Galarraga was on the bubble. His job was in jeopardy. His days in the Tigers’ starting rotation appeared numbered. There were those who suggested his 13 wins last season had been a fluke.
        Now Galarraga is arguably the Tigers’ third most dependable starter, behind All-Stars Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.
        Winless since April, Galarraga has enjoyed three good outings in a row. He won two of them and should have won all three.
        “It appears he is over the hump,” Jim Leyland said Tuesday.
        As was the case with Verlander last year, Galarraga first had to learn how to deal with adversity before he could take the next step forward toward becoming a bona fide big league winner.
        “There are lessons to be learned, and you can study for the test, but you can’t take the test before you get it,” Leyland philosophized. “You can’t rush that.”
        In other words, you never know how a person is going to handle adversity until they have to deal with it.
        “It’s important to learn how to do well, but it’s also important to learn how to handle a slump,” Leyland said.
        “Because you’re going to have ‘em up here, I don’t care how good you are. This is a tough game to play.”
        Galarraga gave the Tigers seven strong innings against the Royals on Monday night. With the pitch counts of Verlander and Jackson creeping back up lately and rookie Rick Porcello struggling, Galarraga could be a critical factor down the stretch.
        “If we get innings out of any of our starters, it’s a plus for our bullpen,” Leyland said