The Detroit Tigers have put together a late-season surge that once again has the fans salivating at the thought of cracking the .500 mark and sneaking into the playoffs via a wild-card spot. However, with less than 40 games remaining, the clock is ticking on the boys in blue as AJ Hinch continues his magic act with a roster that leaves a lot to be desired.
The Motor City Kitties have now won four straight after taking the final game out west against the San Francisco Giants before sweeping the Seattle Mariners at home this week. Add on the two wins out of three tries the Tigers earned in Seattle and Detroit has now prevailed in six of its last nine games.
The Olde English D faces a major test this weekend with the New York Yankees — who are currently tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot on the American League East — in town for a trio of games. Meanwhile, Detroit is 13.5 games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and 7.5 games out of the wild card spot.
Below is a look at the pitching matchups for the two respective teams this weekend, with the Tigers only lined up for one bullpen game. Also note that Sunday’s matchup will be played at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for this season’s MLB Little League Classic and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Detroit Tigers (59-63) vs. New York Yankees (72-50)
Times (ET): Friday: 6:40 p.m.; Saturday: 1:10 p.m.; Sunday: 7:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site: Pinstripe Alley
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network, ESPN
Game 123 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| TBD | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cole | 46.0 | 25.9 | 7.0 | 4.57 | 0.4 |
Game 123: TBD vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (3-2, 4.70 ERA)
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Baseball Savant
Game 124 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Montero | 54.2 | 19.1 | 7.4 | 5.52 | -0.2 |
| Rodón | 131.1 | 25.8 | 7.7 | 4.56 | 1.1 |
Game 124: RHP Keider Montero (3-5, 5.76 ERA) vs. LHP Carlos Rodón (13-7, 4.18 ERA)
Montero
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Baseball Savant
Rodón
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Baseball Savant
Game 125 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Skubal | 149.1 | 30.5 | 4.9 | 2.64 | 4.4 |
| Stroman | 121.1 | 16.6 | 9.9 | 5.15 | 0.2 |
Game 125: LHP Tarik Skubal (14-4, 2.53 ERA) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (8-6, 4.01 ERA)
Skubal
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Baseball Savant
Stroman
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Baseball Savant
Series Outlook: Keep the streak alive?
Detroit’s surprising spurt of success this past week and a half has rejuvenated a fan base that was demoralized by attrition from the trade deadline and injuries. The return of Kerry Carpenter was the centerpiece of a magical four-game stretch that we all hope keeps rolling on but the upcoming opponent will not be easy.
The Yankees come into the weekend with the best OPS (.779) in the majors, which is a far cry from Seattle’s hapless bats at 28th in the big leagues (.667); the Tigers are not much better, ranking 25th (.680). Looking at total runs scored, the pinstripers are second with 630 tallies while the Ode English D is 21st with 511.
On the pitching side, New York is eighth in the majors in ERA (3.83) but 15th in WHIP (1.26) against Detroit’s No. 13 ranking in ERA (3.89) and fourth overall ranking in WHIP (1.20). The key to this series for AJ Hinch’s squad is to keep the Yankees bats at bay while grinding out some runs.