After a horrid weekend against the A's, the Tribe welcome another scorching hot team to Progressive, the division leading Tigers. With the Indians in last place and 10.5 games behind the Tigers, it almost an absolute must they sweep the Tigers. Looking at the matchups and just how poor this team is performing right now, the odds seem to be a trillion to one on that occurring.
- Monday's game is at 7:00 PM (Smyly vs. Kluber) [ESPN]
- Tuesday's game is at 7:05 PM (Verlander vs. Bauer)
- Wednesday's game is at 12:05 PM (Scherzer vs. McAllister)
The Indians then head to Baltimore for four games and three in Chicago without a day off.
Division Watch: White Sox at Royals, Twins at Padres.
Team in a Box
Detroit Tigers |
Offense |
AL Rank |
Pitching |
AL Rank |
|||
2014 Record |
27-12 |
Runs/Game |
4.8 |
6th |
Runs/Game |
3.4 |
1st |
AL Central |
1st |
OBP |
329 |
4th |
H/9 |
7.8 |
1st |
Last 10 |
7-3 |
SLG |
428 |
2nd |
BB/9 |
2.8 |
1st |
Last 30 |
21-9 |
Steals |
37 |
1st |
SO/9 |
7.9 |
12th |
Fresh off of road sweeps of the Orioles and Red Sox, the Tigers have a great shot at finishing this trip at 9-0 against the Indians. And just two weeks ago, they ran off an eight game winning streak to fuel that 21-9 record over the past month.
The hitting, while not as fantastic as last season, is still lethal with Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez both smashing the ball all over the park lately. They are second in slugging and a shockingly lead the league in steals. Heck even Victor Martinez has two swipes. The pitching staff has dominated the competition, although the strikeouts are significantly down from last season. They give up the fewest runs and the fewest baserunners in the game. Defensively, they are third best in errors, sixth in fielding percentage and fourth in double plays.
Projected Roster
Pos |
Player |
Bats |
PA |
BA |
OPS |
C |
Alex Avila |
L |
109 |
220 |
705 |
1B |
Miguel Cabrera |
R |
171 |
316 |
888 |
2B |
Ian Kinsler |
R |
177 |
315 |
799 |
3B |
Nick Castellanos |
R |
128 |
233 |
641 |
SS |
Andrew Romine |
S |
84 |
187 |
465 |
LF |
Rajai Davis |
R |
125 |
283 |
743 |
CF |
Austin Jackson |
R |
156 |
271 |
767 |
RF |
Torii Hunter |
R |
146 |
304 |
814 |
DH |
Victor Martinez |
S |
164 |
331 |
973 |
IF |
Danny Worth |
R |
26 |
250 |
561 |
OF |
JD Martinez |
R |
43 |
231 |
612 |
UT |
Don Kelly |
L |
47 |
310 |
788 |
C |
Bryan Holaday |
R |
35 |
303 |
676 |
Cabrera had a rough start to the season, but is quickly re-approaching his MVP levels. The MVP of the Tigers this year though is our old friend Martinez. He leads the Tigers with nine homers and has struck out just nine times as well. Davis has more than replaced the missing Dirks in left, including 14 steals. Enough in fact, Dirks may end up in a bench role when he returns.
The experiment with Alex Gonzalez did not last much longer after our last series. Romine has taken that spot in the field, but has not hit much. Naturally I expect him to homer and drive in five in these three games. The other change to the roster since last we met is the former Astro Martinez. He was signed late in spring training.
Projected Staff
Player |
Throws |
ERA |
IP |
WHIP |
K/9 |
Justin Verlander |
R |
3.15 |
60.0 |
1.333 |
7.1 |
Max Scherzer |
R |
1.83 |
59.0 |
1.034 |
11.1 |
Drew Smyly |
L |
2.70 |
33.1 |
1.110 |
8.1 |
Rick Porcello |
R |
2.91 |
52.2 |
1.006 |
5.6 |
Robbie Ray |
L |
0.75 |
12.0 |
1.000 |
6.0 |
Anibal Sanchez |
R |
2.89 |
28.0 |
1.2.14 |
8.7 |
Joe Nathan |
R |
3.24 |
16.2 |
1.140 |
8.1 |
Joba Chamberlain |
R |
3.57 |
17.2 |
1.245 |
11.7 |
Ian Krol |
L |
1.98 |
13.2 |
0.878 |
5.9 |
Al Alburqurque |
R |
3.63 |
17.1 |
1.212 |
11.4 |
Phil Coke |
L |
7.45 |
9.2 |
1.862 |
3.7 |
Evan Reed |
R |
2.81 |
16.0 |
1.188 |
6.2 |
Justin Miller (optioned on Sunday) |
R |
3.48 |
10.1 |
0.968 |
4.4 |
The staff ace is undoubtedly Scherzer, who will rightfully command a huge deal in the offseason. Think the Red Sox or Yankees might come a calling for him? Verlander has rebounded from last year, but is still allowing too many baserunners. Smyly is the one lefty we face. His last start against the Orioles was a no decision, but he pitched well enough to win. And to top things off, that deal of Fister in the offseason is leaning heavily in the Tigers favor as Ray has had a great start to his young career while Sanchez has been on the DL. Speaking of which, Sanchez was activated for the Sunday win which means Ray is now in the pen.
The bullpen has righted itself after a rough start with just Coke having a poor season. And the other piece in the Fister deal, has been lights out to boot. The only change since April is that Luke Putkonen has been disabled. Joel Hanrahan was signed earlier this month while he completes his rehab from Tommy John surgery.
On the Shelf
- LF Andy Dirks [60 day DL], possible June return
- SS Jose Iglesias [60 day DL] , possible late 2014 return
- RP Bruce Rondon [60 day DL] , out for season
- RP Joel Hanrahan [15 day DL], possible June return
- RP Luke Putkonen [15 day DL], visiting Dr. Andrews for elbow issue
Almanac
W |
L |
Pct |
RS |
RA |
Pythag |
|
2014 |
1 |
1 |
500 |
8 |
9 |
446 |
2013 |
4 |
15 |
211 |
70 |
120 |
272 |
Last 5* |
33 |
58 |
363 |
340 |
479 |
348 |
Last 10* |
83 |
100 |
454 |
816 |
965 |
424 |
All-Time |
1043 |
1087 |
490 |
9513 |
9803 |
486 |