The Detroit Tigers bounced back from a series loss to the San Diego Padres last weekend by taking two of three from the Oakland Athletics out west, keeping their record above .500 and the chase for the final wild card spot intact.
The Motor City Kitties now return home to the comfortable confines of Comerica Park to host the Colorado Rockies — yet another team from out west. The three-game series kicks off a six-game home stand, which sees the Baltimore Orioles come to town after the Rox.
But first things first — Colorado is last in the National League West sitting 32 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers and mathematically out of the postseason. Detroit, on the other hand, is nine games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and in a three-way tie for the first team out of the wild card at three games, along with the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners.
Below is a look at the pitching matchups for this week, with the Tigers miraculously listing all three starters coming up while our old friend TBD rides the bench. On the other side, TBD will be getting two starts for the visitors.
Detroit Tigers (73-71) vs. Colorado Rockies (54-90)
Times (ET): Tues: 6:40 p.m.; Wed: 6:40 p.m.; Thur: 1:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site: Purple Row
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 145 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Montero | 74.0 | 19.1 | 8.3 | 5.19 | 0.0 |
| Blalock | 26.2 | 12.7 | 11.9 | 5.24 | 0.1 |
Game 145: RHP Keider Montero (4-6, 5.47 ERA) vs. RHP Bradley Blalock (1-2, 5.40 ERA)
Montero
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Baseball Savant
Blalock
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Baseball Savant
Game 146 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Mize | 90.0 | 16.3 | 5.9 | 4.00 | 1.2 |
| TBD | – | – | – | – | – |
Game 146: RHP Casey Mize (2-6, 4.30 ERA) vs. TBD
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Baseball Savant
Game 147 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Skubal | 174.0 | 30.3 | 4.8 | 2.54 | 5.3 |
| TBD | – | – | – | – | – |
Game 147: LHP Tarik Skubal (16-4, 2.53 ERA) vs. TBD
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Baseball Savant
Series Outlook: I am once again asking for a win
With 18 games remaining, every game is ostensibly a must-win from this point on. The Tigers might be three games out of the WC but they do not own the tiebreaker, which technically puts Detroit four games out of the postseason. With the O’s coming to town afterward, AJ Hinch and Co. must take advantage of the weak opposition.
Colorado comes into the week ranked 17th in OPS (.704) and 22nd in runs scored (605) against Detroit’s 24th ranking in OPS (.684) and 20th in runs scored (608). It is on the pitching side that this matchup is lopsided, with the Rockies ranking last in ERA (5.40), WHIP (1.50) and batting average against (.284) versus the Tigers at fourth (3.96), second (1.18) and a three-way tie for seventh (.236), respectively.
Long story short: There is no reason why the Olde English D cannot claim another series win… how about a sweep for the good guys?