The Detroit Tigers struggled on their recent home stand, dropping two out of three to the Milwaukee Brewers before repeating the process against the Washington Nationals. The Motor City Kitties now hit the road in search of better luck away from Comerica Park.
The first leg of the road trip takes AJ Hinch’s squad to Texas to take on the Houston Astros starting on Friday night. The home team is coming off a three-game series loss at the San Francisco Giants this past week and is hoping to get back on the winning path against the visitors.
Coming into the series, the Tigers sit in fourth place in the American League Central division trailing the Cleveland Guardians by 11 games while the Astros are currently third in the AL Central and eight games behind the Seattle Mariners.
The pitching matchups for this weekend are rather interesting. Take a look at how things stack up below.
Detroit Tigers (33-35) at Houston Astros (31-38)
Times (ET): Friday: 8:10 p.m.; Saturday: 4:10 p.m.; Sunday: 2:10 p.m.
Place: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
SB Nation Site: The Crawfish Boxes
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 69 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Skubal | 79.2 | 31.1 | 4.9 | 2.19 | 2.7 |
| Brown | 61.1 | 24.6 | 10.7 | 4.86 | 0.0 |
Game 69: LHP Tarik Skubal (8-1, 1.92 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Brown (2-5, 5.58 ERA)
Skubal faced the Astros back in Detroit on May 11, earning his fifth win of the season thanks to 6 1⁄3 innings of two-run ball on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven. I think Baseball Savant’s 2024 MLB Percentile Rankings tell everything else you need to know about the 27-year-old.
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Baseball Savant
Brown faced significant struggles in the first month of the season but since has started to find something of a groove. The 25-year-old originally from Detroit put up a 3.05 ERA and 4.35 FIP over 38 1⁄3 innings since the start of May, walking 15 while striking out 43 — but allowing six home runs over that stretch. The righty had a perfectly satisfactory outing against the Tigers on May 11, lasting five frames while allowing just one run on a solo home run while walking none and striking out seven.
Game 70 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Flaherty | 72.2 | 33.5 | 3.6 | 2.71 | 1.9 |
| Verlander | 57.0 | 21.3 | 7.1 | 4.97 | 0.2 |
Game 70: RHP Jack Flaherty (3-4, 3.22 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (3-2, 3.95 ERA)
Flaherty continues his rebound season in style for the Tigers, coming into the series ranked second in the majors in walks per nine innings (1.24) and fifth in strikeouts per nine (11.64). The 28-year-old faced the ‘Stros back on May 10 in what was technically a quality start, allowing three runs in 6 2/3 innings while walking none and striking out seven in the loss. The righty has not given up a run in the last 11 2⁄3 innings stretching back to May 30 against the Boston Red Sox.
Verlander is a familiar face to the Detroit faithful as the storied veteran prepares to face his original team for the second time this season. The 41-year-old threw an absolute gem in Detroit on May 12, going seven scoreless innings while allowing just a pair of hits and walks plus eight strikeouts. The future Hall of Famer might be in the twilight of his career, but he certainly still has some gas left in the tank.
Game 71 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Maeda | 44.1 | 18.3 | 8.4 | 5.65 | -0.1 |
| Arrighetti | 52.1 | 25.5 | 12.1 | 3.83 | 0.8 |
Game 71: RHP Kenta Maeda (2-2, 5.89 ERA) vs. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (3-5, 5.33 ERA)
Maeda played with fire his last time out just a few days ago but managed to minimize the burn in four limited innings. The 36-year-old has been oscillating between good and bad outings over his past several starts and unfortunately, the trend calls for a downswing this time around. Which Kenta will show up in Houston on Saturday afternoon? Tigers fans have their collective fingers crossed.
Arrighetti, who should not be confused with a delicious pasta dish, is still finding his way during his rookie campaign in 2024. The 24-year-old rough traditional numbers are a result of a pummelling he took to open the season but as the month of May waned he began to figure things out. The righty has put up a 1.23 ERA and 3.63 FIP in his last three games stretching over 14 2⁄3 innings, giving up nine hits (one home run) and nine walks while striking out 18.
Series Outlook: Going to be a tough weekend for the Tigers
One would assume that Detroit wins the opening game given the projected pitchers, but the other two are definitely up in the air. The Flaherty-Verlander matchup is without a doubt a must-see event, but Sunday’s pair leaves a lot to be desired. The trouble is that the Astros are fifth in OPS (.737) among major league teams, which breaks down into a .259 batting average (second), .320 on-base percentage (seventh) and .417 slugging (fourth) — that is a formidable offense. The silver lining is that the Tigers are 17-16 away from home while the Astros are 17-18 at Minute Maid Field.