The Detroit Tigers hit the road this week for a six-game West Coast trip that will first take them to play three against the Seattle Mariners starting Tuesday night.
After a solid showing for much of July, AJ Hinch’s squad has dropped seven of their last nine games — and with the trade deadline now in the rearview mirror, it does not look like it is going to get much better over the home stretch of the season either. Seattle has also seen some struggles lately, having gone 8-7 since the All-Star Break aided greatly by a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox plus taking two of three from the Philadephia Phillies last weekend.
These trips to the Left Coast have been perilous in the past for the Olde English D and it does not look much better over the next three games. Take a look at the pitching matchups lined up for this week’s series, with an obligatory TBD for the Tigers on Thursday.
Detroit Tigers (53-60) at Seattle Mariners (59-54)
Times (ET): Tuesday: 9:40 p.m.; Wednesday: 9:40 p.m.; Thursday: 9:40 p.m.
Place: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, Washington
SB Nation Site: Lookout Landing
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 114 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Montero | 43.2 | 18.3 | 6.5 | 5.85 | -0.3 |
| Castillo | 136.1 | 23.3 | 6.8 | 3.71 | 2.3 |
Game 114: RHP Keider Montero (1-5, 6.18 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Castillo (9-10, 3.43 ERA)
Montero
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Baseball Savant
Castillo
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Baseball Savant
Game 115 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Skubal | 136.1 | 29.9 | 4.8 | 2.64 | 4.0 |
| Kirby | 136.0 | 24.0 | 2.8 | 2.71 | 4.1 |
Game 115: LHP Tarik Skubal (12-4, 2.57 ERA) vs. RHP George Kirby (8-7, 3.04 ERA)
Skubal
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Baseball Savant
Kirby
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Baseball Savant
Game 116 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| TBD | – | – | – | – | – |
| Woo | 60.2 | 18.4 | 2.6 | 3.00 | 1.4 |
Game 116: TBD vs. LHP Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.08 ERA)
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Baseball Savant
Series Outlook: It’s always tough out West
The Mariners lead the American League West but only by 1.5 games over the Houston Astros while the Tigers are 14.5 games behind the Central-leading Cleveland Guardians coming into this one.
Offensively, these teams are not terribly different, with Detroit ranked No. 26 in OPS (.676) while Seattle is ranked No. 27 (.673); in fact, the visitors have scored significantly more runs (20th, 470) than the home team (27th, 447). However, there is a significant difference in the pitching staffs, with the Mariners sitting second in the majors in ERA (3.48) while the Tigers rank 17th (4.01).
Long story short, the good guys do not match up terribly well against the home team and the difference in team records stands for a good reason. Maybe — just maybe — Detroit can catch them with their pants down this week.