The Detroit Tigers lost a heart-breaker on Friday night in the opener of a three-game home set against the Los Angeles Angels, falling 1-0 to the visitors. Matt Manning bounced back big time to get back into his groove, putting seven innings of one-run ball on three hits — including a solo home run — one walk and six strikeouts on 90 pitches, but unfortunately took the L in this one. While the pitching was spectacular, the offense once again no-showed for a brilliant outing by one of the Motor City Kitties’ young hurlers.
The home team looks to get even on Saturday as the two teams face each other in a matinee matchup that pits a pair of southpaws against each other. The Tigers send out their jack-of-all-trades while the Angels have an emerging talent on the mound as the two squads fight for respectability in what has been a disappointing season for both this summer. Take a look at how the two hurlers match up this afternoon.
Detroit Tigers (45-76) vs. Los Angeles Angels (52-67)
Time/Place: 1:10 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Halos Heaven
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, Fox Sports 1, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchups: LHP Tyler Alexander (2-7, 3.98 ERA) vs. LHP Reid Detmers (4-3, 3.45 ERA)
Game 122 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Alexander | 54.1 | 12.4 | 5.8 | 4.25 | 0.3 |
| Detmers | 94.0 | 24.2 | 9.0 | 4.26 | 1.1 |
Tyler Alexander’s last start against the Chicago White Sox left a bit to be desired, as the 28-year-old surrendered three runs on six hits and three walks, along with a dinger, while striking out two over five frames to take the loss that day. However, the left-hander’s return to the starting rotation has been a bit of a crutch for the Tigers, putting up a 3.38 ERA and 3.31 FIP over four games that stretched over 16 innings — though he has taken the loss in all four of those outings. Mind you, three of those four losses we by two runs or less, with the third being by three, so his offense has not exactly bolstered him either.
Reid Detmers is now in his second major league season after being drafted by L.A. with the 10th pick of the 2020 MLB draft out of Louisville. Following a bitter cup of coffee in 2021, the 23-year-old has begun to figure things out, putting up solid traditional and advanced numbers including a sparkling 1.07 WHIP; he is also one of just eight pitchers to throw a shutout this season.
The left-hander gets by on a five-pitch arsenal headlined by his four-seam fastball (93.4 mph), followed by a slider (84.9 mph), curveball (73 mph), changeup (83.2 mph) and a sparsely-used sinker (94 mph), which he employs at 44.2%, 22.9%, 19.6%, 12.1% and 1.2% clips, respectively, per Baseball Savant. Take a look at how he compares with the rest of the league below.
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Baseball Savant
Key Matchup: Tigers’ offense vs. Detmers and Co.
Last night’s loss was truly a gut punch as Manning did exactly what he was supposed to do to earn a W, but instead, the bats went limp for the nth time this season. Nobody expects Alexander to be a shut-down pitcher in the starting role and he has done an admirable job keeping games close for a team that has seen a historical level of attrition on its pitching staff, so somebody is going to have to get it going at the plate. Otherwise, it could be a long afternoon for the Olde English D.