The Detroit Tigers opened up their 2024 Major League Baseball campaign last weekend with a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox in the Windy City thanks to some solid pitching and some clutch hitting. The strong start has the fanbase amped for what could be a magical summer for the Olde English D.
Next up, AJ Hinch’s team travels to the Big Apple to take on the New York Mets at Citi Field for a three-game midweek matchup. While the visitors enter the week with a perfect 3-0 mark, the home team has a reciprocal 0-3 record to show for so far.
Below is a look at the pitching matchups for the Tigers at Mets which gets started on Monday night in Queens, New York.
Detroit Tigers (3-0) at New York Mets (0-3)
Times (ET): Monday: 7:10 p.m.; Tuesday: 7:10 p.m.; Wednesday: 7:10 p.m.
Place: Citi Field, Queens, New York
SB Nation Site: Amazin’ Avenue
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 4 Pitching Matchup (2023)
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Olson | 103.2 | 22.2 | 9.2 | 4.01 | 1.5 |
| Manaea | 117.2 | 23.7 | 7.5 | 3.90 | 1.1 |
Game 4: RHP Reese Olson (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Sean Manaea (0-0, 0.00)
Reese Olson is first up on the mound for Detroit this week as the 24-year-old looks to build on his successful rookie campaign in 2023. The right-hander started 18 of his 21 appearances, holding his opponents to a 1.12 WHIP and logging a 111 ERA+, while showing other signs of brilliance along the way. The sophomore threw 14 2⁄3 innings this spring — with four of five coming as starts — logging a 3.68 ERA with 14 strikeouts and four walks over that stretch.
Sean Manaea takes the bump on Monday night for the Mets in his first appearance on an East Coast team after spending his career out in California, playing six years with the Oakland Athletics before spending a season with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, respectively. It has yet to be seen how the change of scenery affects the 32-year-old, but he can usually be counted on to throw a lot of innings. The southpaw logged 16 2⁄3 innings this spring for a 3.24 ERA, striking out 21 while walking four in four starts.
Game 5 Pitching Matchup (2023)
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Mize | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Houser | 111.1 | 20.0 | 7.1 | 3.99 | 0.9 |
Game 5: RHP Casey Mize (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Adrian Houser (0-0, 0.00)
Casey Mize gets set for his first MLB appearance since 2022 on Tuesday after sitting out nearly two seasons recovering from Tommy John as well as back surgery. The good news is that the 26-year-old was reported to have increased his fastball velocity during spring training as he ramps up his arm strength for full-time duty. The former first-overall pick threw 20 1⁄3 innings this spring — with five of his six appearances starts — putting together a 2.20 ERA along with a 1.14 WHIP, striking out 20 while walking nine.
Adrian Houser, much like Manaea, is making his first appearance with the Mets after spending all seven years of his big league career with the Milwaukee Brewers. The 31-year-old put up solid overall numbers in his final year with the Brew Crew, though his WHIP — which has long been his Achilles heel — was an elevated 1.39, demonstrating a wont to allow baserunners. The veteran posted a 5.25 ERA this spring stretching over 12 innings (four starts), along with a surprising 0.83 WHIP and 14 strikeouts against one walk; two home runs and nine total hits really hurt him, however.
Game 6 Pitching Matchup (2024)
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Skubal | 6.0 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 1.64 | 0.3 |
| Quintana | 4.2 | 19.0 | 9.5 | 5.99 | 0.0 |
Game 6: LHP Tarik Skubal (1-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Jose Quintana (0-1, 3.86)
Tarik Skubal gets his second start of the season on Wednesday after a sterling effort on opening day for Detroit. The 27-year-old ace brought a five-pitch arsenal into the game against the ChiSox, with the four-seam fastball averaging 96.6 mph, while also employing his changeup, sinker, slider and knuckle curve, respectively, to keep the hitters off balance.
Jose Quintana is also making his second start of the 2024 campaign, albeit with much different results than Skubal in his first time out. The 35-year-old gave up way too many baserunners against Milwaukee, who managed to plate a pair of runs on him thanks to a pair of hits and walks, plus a dinger; he did strike out four batters in 4 2⁄3 frames.
Series Outlook: Tigers could sweep another
The Mets have some beef in their batting order so the Tigers pitchers cannot get too loose against these guys, especially the likes of home run thumper Pete Alonso. The pitchers, on the other hand, while are better on paper than the last trio are beatable if Detroit can get guys on base. Asking for another sweep — especially on the road — to open the season might be a bit unreasonable, but do not be surprised if the Motor City Kitties at least win the series.