The Detroit Tigers kicked off their seven-game homestand this weekend with a series loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays as the good guys simply did not have enough to enact revenge on the team that blew them out of the bay to open the season. AJ Hinch’s squad now has two wins and three losses in the month of August, giving them a .400 winning percentage — which is not too far off their overall mark of .441.
Now nine games behind in the American League Central division, the Motor City Kitties host the first-place Minnesota Twins inside Comerica Park for a four-game series starting Monday night. The opponent comes in five games over the .500 mark and appears to be pulling away in the worst division in baseball despite the Cleveland Guardians hanging around at 4.5 games back.
Take a look below at an abbreviated preview of this week’s pitching matchups using Baseball Savant’s 2023 MLB Percentile rankings. Note that the Tigers’ Wednesday starter is still to be determined.
Detroit Tigers (49-62) vs Minnesota Twins (59-54)
Times (EDT): Monday: 6:40 p.m.; Tuesday: 6:40 p.m.; Wednesday: 6:40 p.m.;
Thursday: 1:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site: Twinkie Town
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 112 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Wentz | 76.1 | 20.6 | 9.2 | 5.36 | -0.1 |
| López | 134.2 | 29.9 | 6.5 | 3.39 | 3.0 |
Game 112: LHP Joey Wentz (2-9, 6.37 ERA) vs. RHP Pablo López (6-6, 4.01 ERA)
Wentz
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Baseball Savant
Lopez
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Baseball Savant
Game 113 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Rodriguez | 94.1 | 25.5 | 5.8 | 3.10 | 2.4 |
| Gray | 124.1 | 23.7 | 8.5 | 2.92 | 3.5 |
Game 113: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 2.96 ERA) vs. Sonny Gray (5-4, 3.18 ERA)
Rodriguez
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Baseball Savant
Gray
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Baseball Savant
Game 114 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| TDB | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ober | 103.2 | 23.7 | 4.4 | 3.82 | 1.9 |
Game 114: TBD vs. RHP Bailey Ober (6-5, 3.21 ERA)
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Baseball Savant
Game 115 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Olson | 54.2 | 21.9 | 5.7 | 4.29 | 0.5 |
| Maeda | 59.2 | 29.6 | 6.6 | 3.45 | 1.3 |
Game 115: RHP Reese Olson (1-5, 4.94 ERA) vs. RHP Kenta Maeda (3-6, 4.22 ERA)
Olson
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Baseball Savant
Maeda
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Baseball Savant
Series Outlook: Last chance to make a mark
Sitting 13 games under .500 and nine games out of first, the Tigers are all but mathematically eliminated from the division. But technically, there is still a chance and Detroit can also play spoilers from its current position. A series loss this week would be a penultimate nail in the coffin, but if the Olde English D can pull off a series win — or dare I say, a sweep (dare, DARE!) — things could stay interesting for at least a little bit longer.