The Detroit Tigers earned their third-straight series win this weekend over the Baltimore Orioles inside Comerica Park, giving the team seven wins in the last 10 tries as they vie for that final wildcard spot.
I will not get any easier this week as AJ Hinch’s squad embarks upon a six-game road trip that first takes them to the BBQ capital to face the Kansas City Royals over the next three games. They have also gone 7-3 over their past 10 games and are now four games behind the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians.
The home team has a 2.5-game lead over the Minnesota Twins for the final wildcard as the Central Division figures into the playoff picture more prominently than predicted this summer. Detroit is 2.5 games out but loses the tiebreaker to both aforementioned teams.
It is going to be a battle these next few days in KC so hold onto your hats, Tigers fans! In the meantime, get a gander at the starting pitchers lined up for this week’s series.
Detroit Tigers (77-73) at Kansas City Royals (82-68)
Times (ET): Mon: 7:40 p.m.; Tues: 7:40 p.m.; Wed: 7:40 p.m.
Place: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
SB Nation Site: Royals Review
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 151 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| TBD | – | – | – | – | – |
| Lugo | 193.0 | 21.7 | 5.8 | 3.27 | 4.4 |
Game 151: TBD vs. RHP Seth Lugo (16-8, 2.94 ERA)
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Baseball Savant
Game 152 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Mize | 94.2 | 17.2 | 5.6 | 3.97 | 1.3 |
| Ragans | 173.1 | 29.6 | 8.4 | 2.99 | 4.6 |
Game 152: RHP Casey Mize (2-6, 4.47 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Ragans (11-9, 3.32 ERA)
Mize
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Baseball Savant
Ragans
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Baseball Savant
Game 153 Pitching Matchups
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Skubal | 180.0 | 30.2 | 4.7 | 2.56 | 5.4 |
| Marsh | 121.1 | 22.8 | 7.1 | 4.19 | 1.5 |
Game 153: LHP Tarik Skubal (16-4, 2.50 ERA) vs. RHP Alec Marsh (8-8, 4.52 ERA)
Skubal
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Baseball Savant
Marsh
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Baseball Savant
Series Outlook: A must-sweep series
If Detroit cannot at least win this series, it can pretty much kiss its playoff aspirations goodbye; on the other hand, a sweep would make things very interesting. Both teams have been flying high recently, but the matchups do not look easy for the Olde English D.
The Royals enter the week ranked 12th in OPS (.725) and ninth in runs scored (709) while the Tigers come in at 23rd (.685) and tied for 17th (635), respectively. On the pitching side, KC is ranked 10th in ERA (3.85), 16th in WHIP (1.26) and 20th in batting average against (.245) against the Olde English D’s third (3.63), second (1.17) and sixth (.235) rankings, respectively.
The Tigers have only earned three wins in 10 tries against the Royals this summer, so clearly this opponent has given the franchise some fits. However, this Detroit squad we have seen the past few weeks looks like a completely different team than earlier in the year, so hopefully, they can prevail on the road this week.