The Tigers visit for a quick two game set that is scheduled for Tuesday May 21 and Wednesday May 22, both with 7:05 PM start times. The Tigers will look to avenge a series loss at home just nine days ago. Afterwards, the Tribe will embark on a trip to Fenway for four games and then to Cincinnati for a pair.
Team in a Box
Detroit Tigers |
Offense |
AL Rank |
Pitching |
AL Rank |
|||
2013 Record |
23-19 |
Runs/Game |
5.3 |
1st |
Runs/Game |
4.2 |
6th |
AL Central |
2nd |
OBP |
348 |
1st |
H/9 |
8.3 |
7th |
Last 10 |
4-6 |
SLG |
432 |
5th |
BB/9 |
2.9 |
6th |
Last 30 |
16-17 |
Steals |
16 |
13th |
SO/9 |
9.6 |
2nd |
Since last we met the Tigers, they have taken two of three from the Astros at home and lost three of four in Arlington to slide into second place. They are currently slumping as their starting rotation all decided to have a bad turn save Rick Porcello. Their runs per game have dropped to sixth and H/9 has slid to seventh. Also, Austin Jackson landed on the DL right after our last series, juggling the lineup a bit. They still lead the league in runs scored and on base percentage, but the slugging has slid down from third to fifth. The improved defense from early in the season kind of regressed while down in Texas, albeit most of it was mental, not scorer's decision related.
Projected Lineup
Pos |
Player |
Bats |
PA |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS+ |
LF |
Andy Dirks |
L |
133 |
246 |
318 |
390 |
89 |
RF |
Torii Hunter |
R |
183 |
310 |
350 |
409 |
103 |
3B |
Miguel Cabrera |
R |
197 |
387 |
457 |
659 |
194 |
1B |
Prince Fielder |
L |
192 |
277 |
406 |
523 |
147 |
DH |
Victor Martinez |
S |
175 |
209 |
269 |
297 |
52 |
C |
Alex Avila |
L |
125 |
179 |
256 |
304 |
49 |
SS |
Jhonny Peralta |
R |
169 |
320 |
381 |
467 |
126 |
2B |
Omar Infante |
R |
154 |
313 |
344 |
444 |
109 |
CF |
Avisail Garcia |
R |
10 |
200 |
200 |
500 |
79 |
With Jackson out, Garcia was recalled and he starts in center and typically hits ninth in the order. Garcia was very impressive with a 319/373/319 90 OPS+ line in 51 plate appearances as a 21 year old last season. Leyland may also choose to play Don Kelly in center as well, but he doesn't hit well at all, which means he should tag us for a home run ala Brendan Ryan. Over their past three series, Hunter has cooled off a bit with everyone else holding fairly steady to where they were 10 games ago. That is except for Cabrera, he has been on fire yet again, a 405/457/857 clip with five homers and 10 RBI. His 2013 is off to an even more fantastic start to his triple crown season last year.
Projected Starters
Date |
Player |
Throws |
ERA |
IP |
ERA+ |
H/9 |
BB/9 |
K/9 |
May 21 |
Max Scherzer (Kluber) |
R |
3.98 |
54.1 |
110 |
7.0 |
2.0 |
11.3 |
May 22 |
Justin Verlander (Jimenez) |
R |
2.77 |
55.1 |
158 |
8.8 |
2.3 |
11.1 |
Interesting that we get the exact same pitching matchups from the last series. Scherzer got the only win against the Tribe in the last series, but that was more because of the offense. He gave up four runs in eight innings, but struggled in his next game against the Astros, five runs in seven innings. Verlander pitched pretty poorly in lasting only five innings against us, but the Rangers got to him even worse, 8 runs in just 2.2 innings. In his last two starts, his ERA has doubled from 1.55 to 3.17. He usually struggles in Progressive as well, a 7-10 record with a 5.38 ERA in 18 starts.
Key Relievers
Player |
Throws |
ERA |
IP |
ERA+ |
H/9 |
BB/9 |
K/9 |
Jose Valverde |
R |
1.13 |
8.0 |
404 |
1.1 |
4.5 |
7.9 |
Joaquin Benoit |
R |
1.42 |
19.0 |
312 |
5.2 |
3.8 |
11.4 |
Drew Smyly |
L |
1.93 |
28.0 |
228 |
6.4 |
2.3 |
9.3 |
The Tribe got to Valverde in the last series, touching him for his first run of the year. His H/9 is fantastic, but he sure is wild with a 4.5 BB/9. And he is the only main reliever with a K/9 below 9.0. Benoit has been his usual very good, but that walk rate is still a bit high. Phil Coke was activated during our last series, but I believe Smyly is the better left handed option at this point.
On the Shelf
- RP Octavio Dotel (right elbow inflammation) - 15-day DL, possible June return
- CF Austin Jackson (pulled left hamstring) - 15-day DL, possible late May return
The Tigers have been relatively healthy so far with Dotel, Coke and Jackson the only casualties so far in 2013.
Almanac
W |
L |
Pct |
RS |
RA |
Pythag |
|
2013 |
2 |
1 |
667 |
15 |
19 |
394 |
2012 |
10 |
8 |
556 |
68 |
83 |
410 |
Last 5* |
40 |
50 |
444 |
385 |
460 |
419 |
Last 10* |
91 |
92 |
497 |
855 |
922 |
466 |
All-Time |
1040 |
1072 |
492 |
9450 |
9693 |
488 |
*Does not include 2013 stats